Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

Ukraine needs to improve people’s skills to boost productivity and make the country more competitive, according to a new World Bank report launched in Kyiv on June 8th. Skills for a Modern Ukraine says that not enough workers have the skills to match the jobs that firms are looking for, and as a result they are losing clients, access to markets, and innovation opportunities.

Better services trade policy can stimulate inclusive economic growth by promoting access to the information, skills, technology, funding and markets needed for success in an increasingly digital global economy, according to a new OECD report.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Martin Petri, visited Podgorica during May 31 – June 7, 2017, to continue discussions on the authorities’ fiscal consolidation strategy, initiated during the last Article IV mission.

The global economy is expected to pick up moderately but greater efforts are needed to ensure that the benefits from growth and globalisation are more widely shared, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook.

Ministers and high-level officials from 76 countries and jurisdictions have signed today or formally expressed their intention to sign an innovative multilateral convention that will swiftly implement a series of tax treaty measures to update the existing network of bilateral tax treaties and reduce opportunities for tax avoidance by multinational enterprises.

The World Bank on June 6th, approved a $150 million International Development Association* credit for Transport Sector Improvement Project (TSIP) in Ghana. It will help improve regional connectivity in the Northern Region involving rehabilitation of road links from Tamale to Yendi and Tatale on the Eastern border with Togo, and about 200km of feeder roads to link agricultural value chains to provide access to markets and support agribusiness.

On May 26, 2017, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) discussed a staff paper titled “ Social Safeguards and Program Design in PRGT and PSI-supported Programs . ” The paper considers how poor and vulnerable groups can be protected in Fund-supported programs in low-income countries using measures to safeguard and improve public spending on these groups.

World Bank Group Vice President of Development Finance, Axel van Trotsenburg, met with government officials in Lome on June 6th, to discuss opportunities for the country to access significantly higher levels of financing from the International Development Association (IDA).

Against a backdrop of growing inequalities, a new report to the 35 Ministers of OECD countries recommends key policy steps for breaking the vicious circle of increasing inequalities and low growth prospects. The update of the OECD’s Inclusive Growth Initiative, entitled “Bridging the Gap”, along with the accompanying policy brief “Time to Act: Making Inclusive Growth Happen”, indicate that the response to growing disparities is to develop policies that enable people, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, to succeed.