This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix examines some aspects of the civil service reform in Benin. It describes the main features of the promotion and compensation system currently in place; assesses the early efforts at reforming the civil service; and examines the main measures envisaged for 1998–2001. The paper assesses the impact of savings and loan associations on financial intermediation. It reviews the development of savings and loan associations in Benin, with particular focus on Federation of Rural Savings and Loan Cooperatives (FECECAM) because of its leading role in the system.

This Selected Issues paper and Statistical Appendix analyzes sources of economic growth in Benin. It concludes that the policies implemented since the early 1990s paved the way for higher growth rate by raising total factor productivity as well as capital accumulation. The paper examines the cotton sector reform in Benin and the subsidies by major producing countries. It also analyzes recent trends in Benin's external competitiveness, and conducts an analysis of the equilibrium exchange rate to assess whether the movements in the real effective exchange rate in Benin were consistent with the underlying macroeconomic fundamentals.

A Billion Dollars a Day “This text provides a good narrative on the economics of government intervention, the structure of the world food system and history of the WTO, and the provision of farm subsidies by developed economies, with a special focus on the U.S. and EU.” P. Lynn Kennedy, Louisiana State University “This extremely well-researched and documented book provides a comprehensive overview of the impact (both intentional and unintentional) that developed nations’ agricultural policies can have on underdeveloped agricultural-based nations.” Jay E. Noel, Cal Poly State University “This text’s discussion and explanation of subsidies is well developed in a historical and international context that is not found elsewhere.” Conrad Lyford, Texas Tech University “Peterson has done a nice job of taking complicated issues and explaining them in a manner that is understandable for students with limited background in policy, development, and trade. This well-written text brings both a U.S. and a world perspective to the timely and important topics of government farm policy and food prices.” Rick Whitacre, Illinois State University Why do Europe, the United States, and some key Asian countries spend, in aggregate, a billion dollars a day on various agricultural price supports, when much of this money ends up in the hands of large agribusiness? In a lively, non-technical, and up-to-date account, this book addresses the core questions that surround the issues of agricultural subsidies. Peterson provides a detailed examination of subsidy histories and the current policies of the United States, various European countries, Australia and New Zealand, and Korea and Japan. Also included is a discussion of how these policies affect developing countries – examining, in particular, their impact on farmers in low-income countries.