Belize: Selected Issues

IMF Staff Country Reports, May 15, 2024

Source details

Documents the recent episode of food inflation and food insecurity in Belize.
Overviews what policies were announced in Belize and the Caribbean during the recent cost-of-living crisis.
Discusses the policies Belize could implement to protect its most vulnerable households from the threat of food insecurity going forward.
Estimates how much it would cost the government of Belize to protect the vulnerable population against a rise in food prices like the one in 2022.

Food price inflation and resulting food insecurity have been a recent episode affecting vulnerable households in Belize.
The paper assesses appropriate policies based on economic theory and best practices to protect vulnerable households from food price inflation going forward.

Reviews policies announced in Belize and the Caribbean during the recent cost-of-living crisis.
Notes a recent Belize policy that regulates mark-ups on essential goods by wholesale and retail operators; limits on the mark-up for 32 essential goods were introduced to limit the increase in food prices and avoid monopolistic practices.
Recommends that the authorities should evaluate the impact of the mark-up regulation when they have sufficient data.

Recommends policy design that draws on economic theory and best practices to protect vulnerable households from food price inflation.
Emphasizes the need for data-driven evaluation of interventions (for example, the mark-up limits on 32 essential goods) to assess effectiveness and unintended consequences.
Analyzes fiscal and policy costs of protecting vulnerable populations against shocks comparable to the 2022 food price increase.

Source: Belize: Selected Issues (IMF Staff Country Report, May 15, 2024).

Belize: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 24/125; April 24, 2024
- Belize: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 24/125; April 24, 2024 (Markdown version)
- Belize: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 24/125; April 24, 2024 (PDF)