Economic and Social Development in Mauritius 2000-2012, Short Report and Data: Macroeconomic Policies in Emerging Markets (original) (raw)

Mauritius : an export-led economic success

1992

In the 1960s and early 1970s, Mauritius had problems of low economic growth, high unemployment and balance of payments deficits. By the late 1980s it had overcome these problems, attained a high level of economic growth and graduated to the World Bank list of middle income countries. The growth of the economy was closely related to the growth of exports. This thesis discusses the development strategies and policies adopted by the government over the last two decades. In the middle of the 1960s, the government adopted an import-substitution strategy to diversify the mono-culture sugar economy by entering manufacturing. This strategy failed to stimulate employment, reduce balance of payments deficits or to improve overall economic growth. In the early 1970s the government began to encourage exports of manufactures to overcome its difficulties. Mauritius then successfully developed labour-intensive, export-oriented manufacturing and tourism. This study identifies the major macro and mi...

Examining the Success of Mauritius

Historically, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to come across the island of Mauritius. It was found by the Dutch in 1598, then the French arrived in 1721, before the British established political control in 1814. Mauritius had a long history of occupations and turmoils even after independence in 1968 and makes it important to raise a question: How did Mauritius succeed in achieving economic and political development after independence despite having high levels of ethnic diversity? This paper will attempt to answer this question by focusing on the economic and political methods used.

The State and Economic Development:"The Success Story of Mauritius”

Government interventionism is widely acknowledged to characterize less-developed countries, but consensus is lacking as to whether it promotes economic development, and if so, how. This paper analyzes the nature of government involvement in the Mauritius model of economic development, and the emergence of a developmental state closely associated with this model. The paper argues that the Mauritian growth miracle is as a result of a proactive governmental engineering where government contributed to development success which goes in sharp contrast with other Sub-Saharan African countries where government failed to play a strong developmental role.

Facing the Global Financial Crisis - Policy Lessons and Recovery from Small Mauritius

Most of the attention around the global financial crisis has focused on its causes and effects in the banking and broader finance sector, particularly among developed and leading emerging economies. However, in a globalised world economy, the crisis has serious implications for developing countries, which are highly dependent on trade, foreign investment, and remittances to meet economic growth and social needs. Though without doubt, there are particular countries that were adversely affected, but there were also countries where the effects of the crisis have been minimal or successfully mitigated. This paper analyses the case of a small island economy of Mauritius which has not been spared by the crisis. However, the impact has been in general moderate with an appropriate policy mix adopted by the government and the private sector. Our study firstly examines the various transmission channels via which the crisis has operated on the Mauritian economy by analysing macroeconomic indicators from 2007 to 2010. Second, we undertake a survey of 150 firms within the private sector to discuss their performance and also the mitigating actions taken to counter the effects of the crisis. Third, we discuss the appropriate policy mix implemented by the government to increase the resilience and optimism of the country.

Facing the Global Financial Crisis - Policy Lessons from Small Mauritius

2009

Most of the attention around the global financial crisis has focused on its causes and effects in the banking and broader finance sector, particularly among developed and leading emerging economies. However, in a globalised world economy, the crisis has serious implications for developing countries, which are highly dependent on trade, foreign investment, and remittances to meet economic growth and social needs. Though without doubt, there are particular countries that will be adversely affected, but there will also be countries that may be less affected, may avoid recession, and may recover sooner than expected. This paper analyses the case of a small island developing state like Mauritius where government has attempted to mitigate the negative consequences of the global economic crisis through an appropriate policy mix. Mauritius has been considered as an outlier in the Sub Saharan African region and is further seen as an example in setting the right strategies in difficult times....