cover image: Panama - Systematic Country Diagnostic (English)

Panama - Systematic Country Diagnostic (English)

3 Oct 2024

This Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) Update assesses the evolution of Panama's development challenges and policy priorities since the publication of the SCD in 2015. During the last eight years, Panama has experienced three major changes in its economic and social landscape: (i) economic growth, though still high, has structurally slowed down, affecting job creation and employment quality; (ii) human capital formation has not improved substantially, and the country is struggling to address the significant deterioration in education and health indicators that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and (iii) the government has demonstrated an increasingly acute awareness of the country's vulnerability to climate change. In addition, Panama's income per capita had the highest level of convergence within the region, reflecting its strong economic performance over the last three decades. However, the country's remarkable gains in per capita income have not been accompanied by a commensurate improvement in economic inclusion and institutional quality. In this context, the SCD Update begins by providing an overview of Panama's recent growth dynamics and poverty trends, before analyzing the country's development challenges and discussing key policy priorities for achieving sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth.
climate change panama education poverty access to finance social inclusion economic growth social development financial inclusion financial sector development

Authors

World Bank

Organizations mentioned

Disclosure Date
2024/10/03
Disclosure Status
Disclosed
Doc Name
Panama - Systematic Country Diagnostic
Pages
136
Published in
United States of America
Unit Owning
EFI-LCR-MTI-MacroFiscal (ELCMU)
Version Type
Final
Volume No
1

Table of Contents

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