A 9 January report from the IMF indicates that in some ways Tunisia has been going in the wrong direction – making it ever more difficult for the government to change course. Governments of recent years have repeatedly spoken of the need to promote private sector growth – almost every loan from multilaterals such as the EBRD has flagged up “boosting SMEs” as a key objective.
But this would require long-term reform. The evidence suggests that successive Tunisian governments have instead gone for the classic Arab quick-fix of cutting unemployment by boosting the state payroll. (CONTINUED - 576 WORDS)
