This study of Guyana's economy, both analytical and empirical, examines the literature on development policy and applies various theoretical frameworks to data acquired in Guyana since 1945, Dr. Hope considers planning, finance, and administration, seeking to determine whether the Guyana government's development policy has been an instrument of eco

Improving public services, using State resources efficiently, and managing State agencies effectively have been ongoing concerns of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) governments since the beginning of this century. Government officials are now paying closer attention to the results obtained by their administrations. Citizens are now demanding not only universality but also quality in the services that the State provides (e.g., education, healthcare, and legal services). To meet this growing demand for public sector effectiveness, governments have formulated new laws, created or modified institutions, and implemented innovative management methodologies and instruments.Based on data gathered in 24 countries, this book analyzes the current situation, the progress made, and the challenges still facing the governments of the region in their efforts to achieve more effective public administrations.

First published in 1998, this volume uses Guyana as an excellent, comprehensive case study to examine various sectors’ operations, effects upon the environment and the ways in which the sector can impact upon the vitality and development potential of other sectors. The authors attempt to demonstrate how it is possible to adjust current sectoral activities for improved resource utilisation. They begin in the interior looking at mining and forest resource exploitation. Attention then moves towards the coast, looking at agriculture, fishing, human settlement and service provision. A review of industry, transport and energy follows before examining biodiversity, tourism and the Amerindian community. Finally, a detailed analysis is presented of the challenges to be faced in devising a sustainable development national strategy.

Results-based management (RBM) is a public management strategy that involves decision making based on reliable information regarding the effects of governmental actions on society. It has been adopted in various developed countries as a way of improving efficiency and effectiveness in public policy. In Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries, governments and public managers show increasing interest in this management strategy. Given the relative novelty of RBM in the region, however, there is scant literature on the subject. This book is intended to fill this gap in two ways. First, it seeks to describe some of the basic RBM concepts and adapt them according to regional characteristics. Second, it presents an assessment, based on studies carried out in 25 countries, of the challenges facing LAC countries and their capacity to implement results-based public management.

Governments fail to provide the public goods needed for development when its leaders knowingly and deliberately ignore sound technical advice or are unable to follow it, despite the best of intentions, because of political constraints. This report focuses on two forces—citizen engagement and transparency—that hold the key to solving government failures by shaping how political markets function. Citizens are not only queueing at voting booths, but are also taking to the streets and using diverse media to pressure, sanction and select the leaders who wield power within government, including by entering as contenders for leadership. This political engagement can function in highly nuanced ways within the same formal institutional context and across the political spectrum, from autocracies to democracies. Unhealthy political engagement, when leaders are selected and sanctioned on the basis of their provision of private benefits rather than public goods, gives rise to government failures. The solutions to these failures lie in fostering healthy political engagement within any institutional context, and not in circumventing or suppressing it. Transparency, which is citizen access to publicly available information about the actions of those in government, and the consequences of these actions, can play a crucial role by nourishing political engagement.

Guyana continues to make progress in laying the foundation for poverty reduction, but at a very slow pace. Critical issues remain unresolved. The political situation remains problematic, with the two main parties divided along ethnic lines. The most recent mechanism to facilitate a constructive working arrangement between the two parties has broken down and is unlikely to be revived in its current form. Much then depends on the ability of parliament and other institutions to work effectively, which will require that they be strengthened considerably. The Government has scheduled local elections for September 2004, but it is yet to be seen if these can be carried out peacefully, and with the cooperation of the opposition. As the economy remains dependent on certain primary products-bauxite, sugar and rice-which, with the exception of sugar, provide a limited potential for future growth, there is need to diversify the economy to create jobs in other sectors. Establishing an environment for sustained growth remains the main challenge for the Government in the future. Linked with this is the continued need to improve the rule o f law, transparency, and governance in order to provide an efficient and transparent framework within which the private sector can operate. The progress report provides a revised policy matrix that focuses on key issues and updates the matrix in the original PRSP. However, given the downward revision of the overall macroeconomic and expenditure framework,