Nepal's Investment Climate : Leveraging the Private Sector for Job Creation and Growth

The objective of the Nepal Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) is to evaluate the investment climate in Nepal in all its dimensions and promote policies to strengthen the private sector. The investment climate is made up of many dimensions that shape the opportunities for investments, employment creation, and growth of private firms. Such dimensions include factor markets, product markets, infrastructure services, and the macroeconomic, legal, regulatory, and institutional framework. The report's key finding is that while there are some niche sectors growing and expanding employment in Nepal (including tourism and certain educational and other services), there are many constraints to the investment climate in Nepal that are hindering the development and growth of the private sector. In particular, political instability, poor infrastructure, poor labor relations, poor access to finance, and declining exports plague Nepal's private sector. To overcome many of these issues and move forward, many reforms are needed. Given the extent of the challenge, effective public-private dialogue is required so that the government and the private sector can work in partnership to address these constraints. The pervasiveness and impact of political instability in Nepal makes the investment climate in the country comparable more to Afghanistan than other countries in the region or the comparator countries used in the analysis. While this comparison is unflattering, it is true. Political instability has stifled growth and limited Nepal's ability to exploit its hydropower and tourism potential. Interestingly, many firms do not perceive access to land and finance as major obstacles. This could be a reflection of lack of dynamism: Nepalese firms are simply not planning to invest, expand, and grow in their unstable and unpredictable environment. The peace dividend is not difficult to measure. As the surveys show, ending civil unrest alone would give back to enterprises 44 working days a year. The effects on economic activity, investment, growth, and job creation could be potentially huge.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Salvi Del Pero, Angelica, Afram, Gabi G.
Language:	en_US
Published:	Washington, DC: World Bank 2012-03-19
Subjects:	absolute terms, access to government, age distribution, aging populations, basic benefit, basic needs, basic pension, benefit level, Benefit Levels, Center for Population, changes in fertility, Chronic Poverty, chronically poor, Consumption poverty, consumption smoothing, contribution records, coresidence, Cultural Change, demographic change, Demographic projections, Demographic Transition, demographic trends, dependency ratio, Dependency Ratios, determinant of poverty, determinants of poverty, Developing Countries, dissemination, economic growth, Economic Transition, Elderly, Elderly Households, elderly men, elderly people, elderly persons, elderly population, elderly women, employment opportunities, Employment Status, family income, family members, family planning, Family Planning Commission, family size, Family Support, farm labor, fertility, Fertility Policies, fertility rate, fertility rates, funded pensions, future generations, global population, government pensions, gross domestic product, guaranteed rate, health care, health insurance, higher incidence of poverty, Household Consumption, Household Head, household income, household incomes, Household Poverty, human capital, Human Development, ill health, illness, incidence of poverty, income distribution, income inequality, Income poverty, Income Quintile, Income Risk, income shock, income support, Individual Account, Individual Accounts, Inflation Rate, informal sector, intergenerational transfers, internal migration, Labor Force Participation, labor income, labor market, labor markets, Labor Supply, legal status, life expectancy, living conditions, local capacity, local development, local economy, low fertility, Male Labor Force, Migrant, migrant family, migrant workers, Migrants, Migration, mortality, National Fertility, national level, national pension, national policy, Nutrition, Old Age, Old Age Support, Old-Age, older people, Pension, Pension Benefit, pension benefits, pension coverage, pension income, Pension Indicators, pension policy, Pension Policy Reform, Pension Programs, Pension Scheme, pension schemes, Pension System, Pension Systems, pensionable age, Pensions, persistent poverty, Policy makers, Policy Research, Policy Research Working Paper, policy response, Political Economy, Poor, Poor Areas, Poor People, Poor Rural Households, poorer households, Population and Development, population census, Population Center, Population Growth, population growth rate, Population Projections, Population Research, Population Statistics, population structure, Population Trends, poverty assessment, poverty gap, poverty head, poverty incidence, Poverty index, poverty level, Poverty Line, Poverty Measures, Poverty Poverty, poverty rate, poverty rates, poverty severity, poverty status, Private Transfers, public policy, public support, reduction in poverty, remittance, remittances, respect, Retirement, retirement ages, retirement decisions, Rural, rural areas, Rural Economy, Rural Household, rural incomes, rural men, rural migrants, rural people, rural poor, Rural Population, Rural Population Growth, rural populations, rural poverty, rural residents, rural workers, safety nets, savings, Social Affairs, social assistance, Social Insurance, Social Pension, Social Pensions, Social Protection, social protection mechanisms, Social Sciences, Social Security, social security benefits, social security system, social services, social support, social welfare, spatial differences, spillover, spouse, State University, support falls, targeting, United Nations Population Division, Urban Areas, urban migration, urban population, urbanization, village leaders, Vulnerability, Vulnerability to Poverty, Working-Age Population, World Population, Young adult, young adults, young people,
Online Access:	https://hdl.handle.net/10986/13138
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!