Sierra Leone's Vision of Prosperity: Overcoming Constraints to Diversification and Growth

Abstract

Sierra Leone’s long term development aspirations and plans are defined in the country's third, 2013-2017, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) better known as the “Agenda for Prosperity”. This piece attempts to reconcile such aspirations with quantifiable, welfare-related indicators in order to measure what would it take to reach desired standards of living over a 25-year period span. Acknowledging the authorities’ desire of moving into a sustained, more inclusive growth path, by means of diversifying Sierra Leonean production base and exportable basket, adding value to natural resource based commodities, and promoting, whenever possible, an increase of local content into different production processes, this report attempts to help uncover binding constraints to private investment and entrepreneurship, in such a way, that policy priorities are pinpointed in the Agenda.

JEL Classification: O11, O4, O2