Mongolian and British economists present the first detailed analysis of the shock-therapy approach to economic transition that the remote Asian government adopted in 1990. They look at macroeconomic performance, the agriculture and industry sectors, the labor market, and the emerging financial sector from such perspectives as poverty, gender, privatization, and the environment. They find that policy makers have exacerbated the transition process by underestimating its complexity and by pursuing inappropriate, or at best overly optimistic, policy reforms. The treatment is revised and extended from a volume published in Mongolia in 1999. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

Almost 10 years ago the mineral-rich country of Mongolia experienced very rapid economic growth, fuelled by China’s need for coal and copper. New subjects, buildings, and businesses flourished, and future dreams were imagined and hoped for. This period of growth is, however, now over. Mongolia is instead facing high levels of public and private debt, conflicts over land and sovereignty, and a changed political climate that threatens its fragile democratic institutions. Subjective Lives and Economic Transformations in Mongolia details this complex story through the intimate lives of five women. Building on long-term friendships, which span over 20 years, Rebecca documents their personal journeys in an ever-shifting landscape. She reveals how these women use experiences of living a ‘life in the gap’ to survive the hard reality between desired outcomes and their actual daily lives. In doing so, she offers a completely different picture from that presented by economists and statisticians of what it is like to live in this fluctuating extractive economy.

This publication examines Mongolia’s recent economic development and outlines reforms that would help the country take advantage of its many opportunities. Mongolia is rich in natural resources and, although landlocked, is well-placed to boost trade with its two giant neighbors. The country needs to diversify its economy beyond mining, enhance economic stability, and increase employment. To maximize Mongolia’s potential the government can improve macroeconomic management, enhance the skill base, and provide hard and soft infrastructure to promote trade and efficient logistics. Governance and institutional reforms are also crucial. The government will need to continue to drive reforms so that they are well implemented and deliver the intended change.

This paper compares the output gap estimates for Mongolia based on a number of different methods. Special attention is paid to the substantial role of mining in the Mongolian economy. We find that a Blanchard and Quah-type joint model of output and inflation provides a more robust estimate of the output gap for Mongolia than the traditional statistical decompositions.

This report, the World Bank's first overall review of the Mongolian economy, describes the economic pressures that surfaced in 1991 and the various measures taken by the government since then. The report gives an introductory background, assess recent economic developments and policy issues, and the country's development prospects in the medium term. The report was originally presented to the Bank's Board of Executive Directors in December 1991. Although this version has been updated, the revisions have been limited. While the economy is changing rapidly, and most recent data and policy developments have not been included, this analysis of structure and past trends of the economy is expected to be of interest to those working on reforming socialist economies in general, and Mongolia in particular.