This report provides a longitudinal study of the Fiji economy covering more than 2 decades of growth and development. It presents an economic update and outlook for the Fiji economy and assesses the key drivers of performance across key economic sectors. The report identifies potential reform strategies that can guide future policy action, assist in accelerating growth, and strengthen pro-poor policy development in Fiji.
"Fiji's Natural Heritage" provides an introduction to the flora, fauna and ecology of the Fiji islands. First published in 1988, this new edition has been completely revised, expanded and redesigned. Written for the general reader as well as for the natural history enthusiast, the book provides a comprehensive overview of Fiji's rich biodiversity. The islands have a large number of endemic species. These and the introduced species are illustrated and described with their common, scientific and Fijian names given. Paddy Ryan's text is packed with biological facts and features, as well as many anecdotes detailing encounters with his subjects including the grey reef shark, the crested and the banded iguana, the fiddler crab, the frigate bird, and Fiji's national flower the tagimaucia.
This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights that growth in Fiji in 2013 accelerated to 4.6 percent. Consumption and investment indicators suggest continued strength in 2014, with economic growth projected at 3.8 percent. Headline inflation is currently low as imported commodity and food prices have remained stable. The Reserve Bank of Fiji lowered its policy rate to 0.5 percent in 2011, and monetary policy has been on hold since then. In response to lower rates and improved confidence, net domestic credit accelerated in the first half of 2014. Based on developments in the first half of 2014, the deficit financing target is on track to be met.
The objective of the present edited book is to encompass studies from both developed and developing countries of Asia, Africa Europe, and Americas, to understand and present a comparative scenario of the climate change and other environmental determinants of health and disease in geographically diversified countries. Environment and health perspective dates back to Hippocrates treatise written 400 B.C.E. In his book On Airs, Waters and Places, Hippocrates described diseases as associated with environmental conditions, “Whoever wishes to investigate medicine properly, should proceed thus: in the first place to consider the seasons of the year, and what effects each of them produces for they are not at all alike, but differ much from themselves in regard to their changes. Then the winds, the hot and the cold, especially such as are common to all countries, and then such as are peculiar to each locality. We must also consider the qualities of the waters, for as they differ from one another in taste and weight, so also do they differ much in their qualities. In the same manner, when one comes into a city to which he is a stranger, he ought to consider its situation, how it lies as to the winds and the rising of the sun; for its influence is not the same whether it lies to the north or the south, to the rising or to the setting sun”. There has been a greater emphasis in the last four decades on understanding environmental factors which affect human health, after United Nations established Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988 aimed at to evaluate research on changing environmental condition, particularly climate change and its impacts on human wellbeing, including human health, as consequences of extreme heat waves conditions, sea level rise, forced migration, air pollution, droughts, and wildfires. From these studies, risk levels of vulnerable populations and regions can be assessed and level of resilience of healthcare infrastructure that may be used in environmental health policy and equity of these countries.
This 2009 Article IV Consultation highlights that Fiji’s growth has been sluggish in recent years because of delays in economic reforms, worsening terms of trade, and political developments that have strained Fiji’s international relations and hurt business confidence. Fiji’s economy is expected to have contracted by 21⁄2 percent in 2009, reflecting the adverse impact of the global crisis on exports and tourism. Recent developments have put considerable pressure on the budget. Executive Directors have supported a tight monetary policy to ensure that inflation returns to low levels and to protect foreign exchange reserves.
Subaltern Narratives in Fiji Hindi Literature is the first comprehensive study of fiction written in Fiji Hindi that moves beyond the hegemonic and colonially-implicated perspectives that have necessarily informed top-down historical accounts. Mishra makes this case using two extraordinary novels Ḍaukā Purān [‘A Subaltern Tale’] (2001]) and Fiji Maa [‘Mother of a Thousand’] (2018) by the Fiji Indian writer Subramani. They are massive novels (respectively 500 and 1,000 pages long) written in the devanāgarī (Sanskrit) script. They are examples of subaltern writing that do not exist, as a legitimation of the subaltern voice, anywhere else in the world. The novels constitute the silent underside of world literature, whose canon they silently challenge. For postcolonial, diaspora and subaltern scholars, they are defining (indeed definitive) texts without which their theories remain incomplete. Theories require mastery of primary texts and these subaltern novels, ‘heroic’ compositions as they are in the vernacular, offer a challenge to the theorist.
This staff report on Tonga’s 2013 Article IV Consultation discusses the economic development and policies. Banks in Tonga have been fixing their balance sheets since late 2008. Shrinking the loan books and increasing holdings of reserve assets have prompted negative macro-financial linkages, and reduced business confidence. In response, the National Reserve Bank of Tonga has aggressively infused liquidity into the system, and stepped up risk-based supervision. Progress in improving the regulatory and institutional infrastructure has also continued, including inauguration of a credit bureau. Major gains have been made in budget transparency, the establishment of a Treasury Single Account system, and better prioritization of the budget.
From 2010 onward, Fiji witnessed one of its strongest spells of economic growth since independence. Extreme poverty is in the single digits, but nearly a third of the population is unable to meet basic needs. Fiji thus faces two major challenges: to create a business environment that can attract more private investment to help sustain its growth momentum, and to make that growth inclusive so that all of Fiji can benefit. This country diagnostic study undertaken by the Asian Development Bank identifies the critical constraints to inclusive growth in Fiji and proposes policy options for addressing them.
