Uruguay

The development goal of the Public Sector Management and Social Inclusion Development Policy Loan (DPL) Program for Uruguay is to support the development and implementation... Show More + of policies aimed at strengthening resilience to external shocks and improving growth opportunities, with a focus on poor and vulnerable groups. This DPL for US$260 million is to be implemented as a single operation with a Deferred Drawdown Option (DDO). Uruguay recorded a strong macro economic performance over the past nine years. Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged more than 5 percent per year in the period the 2002 debt crisis. The year 2011 was the ninth consecutive year of GDP growth, marking one of the longest growth periods in the country's history. Prudent macroeconomic policies, improvements in structural areas and favorable external economic conditions, such as buoyant demand for its main export products and a booming regional economy, have contributed to the strong economic performance of Uruguay and helped protect the economy during the 2008/2009 crisis. Private consumption continues to be the main driver of the economy. As in previous years, with the exception of 2009, when GDP growth was driven by the external sector, private consumption was the main driver of economic growth. Private consumption grew by 7.6 percent in real terms in 2011, accounting for 6.1 percentage points of total growth. Gross domestic investment, fueled by still high levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows (4.7 percent of GDP in 2011), grew by 7 percent and explained 1.4 percentage points of GDP growth. Similar to previous years, the contribution from the external sector was negative, reducing GDP growth by 2.1 percentage points. Show Less -

The development objective of the Energy Efficiency Project for Uruguay is to increase the demand for and competitive supply of energy efficient goods and services, contributing... Show More + to : (a) increased efficiency of energy use; (b) reduced reliance of the Uruguayan economy on imported energy and fuels; and (c) reduced emission from the energy sector. These changes will allow the project to: i) deepen the cultural change in favor of energy efficiency achieved by the project, ii) complete the implementation and further evaluation of the labeling and standards program, iii) strengthen the implementation of the Uruguay Energy Efficiency Fund, iv) complete the energy efficiency investments currently undertaken by the national electricity utility, and v) have an accurate evaluation of the impact of the project. Altogether, all of these actions will assure the full disbursement of the grant (US$ 6.8 million). Show Less -

The aim of this paper is to review the state of the productive infrastructure of Uruguay and the development policies that govern it and to propose policy options for... Show More + the long term contribution to achieving a higher level of economic and sustainable development, based on the premise that there is a link between the development of a country's infrastructure and its economic growth. The study analyzes the institutions and pertinent regulations. The study examines in greater depth the factors related to infrastructure production that affect the country in a quantum leap in economic growth. The first study concludes that while no one can assert that the sectors of Uruguay's electricity and transportation are inefficient, there are potential sectoral gains. The policy options have been framed by strategic pillars for each sector and can be summarized as follows: Increase the capacity of transport infrastructure and land ports. Maximize efficiency in providing service transport. Strengthen efficient allocation of resources through a multimodal vision. Improve efficiency and regulation. Position as a logistics center in Uruguay the MERCOSLJR. Therefore, the objective of this study is to review the policies in the areas of Uruguay's productive infrastucture that can have a major impact on the productive structure of the country and hence on economic growth, and hence propose elements and policy options for sectors in the long term. Show Less -