Download Growth, Economic Diversi cation, and Education Reforms: A Recipe

Try out the new beta version of our site! Yes (http://beta.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/02/02/growth-economic-diversi cation-andeducation-reforms-a-recipe-for-success-in-cote-d-ivoire.print) / No
(http://www.worldbank.org/)
News (http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,pagePK:34382~piPK:34439~theSitePK:4607,00.html)
FEATURE STORY
Growth, Economic Diversi cation, and Education Reforms: A Recipe for
Success in Côte d’Ivoire
February 2, 2017
This page in: English
Français (http://www.banquemondiale.org/fr/news/feature/2017/02/02/growth-economic-diversi cation-and-education-reforms-a-recipe-for-success-in-cote-d-ivoire)
 (mailto:?body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldbank.org%2Fen%2Fnews%2Ffeature%2F2017%2F02%2F02%2Fgrowth-economic-diversi
 TWEET
 SHAREcation-and-education-reforms-a-reci
 SHARE
Copyright Taleb Ould Sid’ahmed/World Bank Côte d’Ivoire
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Côte d’Ivoire remains one of the continent’s most buoyant economies with a growth rate of 7.9% in 2016.
However, the country will need to reform its education system to become a middle-income economy.
A new report from the World Bank o ers recommendations to improve the quality of public expenditure on education to unleash equitable and
sustained growth.
ABIDJAN, February 2, 2017 — After close to ve years of double digit growth rates, Côte d’Ivoire experienced a slight economic slowdown in 2016.
Hovering around 8%, this rate however attests to the country’s resilience in a sluggish regional environment. It remains one of the highest in SubSaharan Africa, which posted its lowest (http://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/brief/global-economic-prospects-sub-saharan-africa) growth rate in
two decades at 1.5% in 2016, reveals a new World Bank Economic Update on Côte d’Ivoire.
Construction and services drove the country’s growth as agricultural production weakened due to poor weather conditions (with cocoa production
slowing in particular). The macroeconomic situation remains sound with in ation contained and external accounts relatively stable. However, according
to the report, the budget de cit is growing (currently 4% of GDP), owing to the increase in spending on security following the March 2016 terrorist
attacks and the government’s move to remedy the country’s infrastructure de ciencies.
“Continued strong economic growth will depend in part on the Ivorian government’s ability to stimulate private sector investments and manage
domestic and external risks,” observes Jacques Morisset, World Bank Lead Economist and Program Leader for Côte d’Ivoire. One of the main external
risks is the drop in world cocoa prices (25% slump in the last 12 months), as cocoa is the country’s leading export and source of income for six million
Ivorian families. An increase in the cost of borrowing on nancial markets could weigh on Côte d’Ivoire’s public debt and limit its nancing capacities.
On the domestic scene, good weather conditions and a stable political environment will also be decisive to staying on this growth path.
The report’s authors note that if the Ivorian economy is to contain these risks and generate more inclusive long-term growth, it will need to continue to
Try out the new beta version of our site! Yes (http://beta.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/02/02/growth-economic-diversi cation-and-
diversify and increase the value-added ofeducation-reforms-a-recipe-for-success-in-cote-d-ivoire.print)
its exports based on the model of emerging countries that are manufacturing
increasingly sophisticated
/ No
products. In the industrial sector, in addition to e orts to increase the sector’s competitiveness, the report notes that there are niches to be tapped,
mainly in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, printing (books and brochures), and the timber industry. The sub-region and the rest of the continent are still
unexplored markets and could become springboards for growth.
Increasing the E
ciency of Education Expenditure
The report, titled “The Skills Challenge: Why Côte d'Ivoire Must Reform Its Education System”, also examines the country’s education sector through the
lens of how greater human capital can increase and improve production. The country’s decade-long crisis dealt a serious blow to the Ivorian education
system and the country continues to lag behind despite the authorities’ e orts to close the gaps starting in 2011. For example, just 63% of Ivorian
students complete primary school compared with 72.6% in Africa and 92.8% in middle-income countries. Those who do complete primary school have
lower literacy and math skills than fellow students in other French-speaking African countries with, for example, a math score of 476 in Côte d’Ivoire as
opposed to 594 in Burundi. These gaps widen in secondary school, notably a ecting girls, children in rural areas, and poor families.
The Ivorian government plans to improve the performance of its education system by allocating more budget resources to the sector. Reforms are also
on the agenda, such as free education for all up to the age of 16 and the development of centers of excellence. The World Bank report advises that one
of the priorities should be to improve the e ectiveness of public expenditure on education. For each percentage of gross domestic product (GDP)
injected into the education system, school life expectancy (the number of years a child spends in the education system) lengthens just 1.6 years in Côte
d’Ivoire compared with 3.5 years in emerging countries such as Thailand and Mauritius. The Ivorian government will therefore need to spend not only
more on education, but will also need to increase the quality of that spending.
As Francis Ndem, education specialist and one of the report’s authors, explains, “One of the ways to improve the quality and e ectiveness of public
expenditure would be to introduce performance-based pay for Ivorian teachers, who are paid higher wages than their colleagues in other African
countries. Teacher training and assessment programs could be set up to facilitate the process. Another recommendation made by the report is to
rethink the subsidies to private schools that take the public sector’s student over ow in order to give families a more e cient direct nancial aid system
and the freedom to choose the school they want for their children. Lastly, steps will need to be taken to reduce administrative expenditure (deemed
high in Côte d’Ivoire) and prioritize the purchasing school equipment and supplies.
Cote d'Ivoire (/en/country/cotedivoire)
Africa (/en/region/afr)
RELATED
WORLD BANK
Press release: Investing in Education Quality Can Lead to More Equitable Growth in Côte d’Ivoire (/en/news/press-release/2017/02/02/investing-in-education-quality-can-leadto-more-equitable-growth-in-cote-d-ivoire)
Blog: What’s behind poor education outcomes in Côte d’Ivoire? (http://blogs.worldbank.org/nasikiliza/what-s-behind-poor-education-outcomes-in-cote-d-ivoire)
(Coming soon) Economic Update on Côte d’Ivoire
The World Bank in Côte d’Ivoire (/en/country/cotedivoire)
The World Bank in Africa (/en/region/afr)
EXTERNAL
Friend us on Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/WorldBankAfrica/%20)
Follow us on Twitter: (https://twitter.com/WorldBankAfrica%20)
Watch our videos on YouTube: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_V29yVYqGo&list=PL59FB6C9C9D741D01)
Listen to our podcasts on SoundCloud: (https://soundcloud.com/worldbank/sets/world-bank-africa)
LATEST NEWS
PRESS RELEASE
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and World Bank Partner to Boost Global Knowledge for Development (http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/pressrelease/2017/02/06/national-university-of-malaysia-and-world-bank-partner-to-boost-global-knowledge-for-development)
Feb 06, 2017
FEATURE STORY
Rural Punjab Goes Digital (http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/02/06/rural-punjab-goes-digital)
Feb 06, 2017
FEATURE STORY
Growth, Economic Diversi cation, and Education Reforms: A Recipe for Success in Côte d’Ivoire
(http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/02/02/growth-economic-diversi cation-and-education-reforms-a-recipe-for-success-in-cote-d-ivoire)
Feb 02, 2017
BLOGS