LatinNews Daily - 7 August 2023

* The government of the Dominican Republic, led by President Luis Abinader, has highlighted a recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which noted the economic progress that has been made in the country in recent years. The IMF report, released on 3 August, stated that the Dominican Republic “has made remarkable progress in terms of income convergence” despite being one of Latin America’s poorest countries in the mid-1960s. Income convergence, which is typically measured by comparing the per capita income of a country to that of a more prosperous nation, often the US, reached 32% in the Dominican Republic in 2022, which the IMF said was a sign that the country’s standard of living “is approximately one-third that of the US”, compared to an average of one-quarter in Latin America as a whole. The IMF added that, “with the right policies, the country has the potential to become an advanced economy in the next 40 years.” According to the IMF, the Dominican Republic’s economic progress has been possible thanks to the transition from an agricultural economy to one driven by manufacturing and services, “bolstered by the exploitation of the country’s tourism potential and the expansion of the financial system”. The IMF estimates potential growth of 5% per year for the Dominican Republic in coming years.