South Sudan is at a crossroads in its recovery, reconstruction, and development. With weak institutions and recurring cycles of violence, South Sudan remains caught in a web of fragility and economic stagnation a decade after independence. This Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) discusses South Sudan’s economic performance since independence, highlighting the need for the country to leverage its natural capital in the agriculture and oil sectors to support recovery and resilience. Economic recovery has stalled in…
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CSRF Research Repository
The CSRF Research Repository aims to support greater contextual knowledge for policy makers, programme managers, and implementers by providing a searchable repository of research, analysis, and resources, and providing periodic updates on new research and analysis.
South Sudan is in a state of profound economic transition, heavily influenced by conflict and large-scale population displacement and return. This transition has fundamentally changed the way in which people live, particularly their relationship with work and money. Young people, particularly women, have generally suffered disproportionately as they try to navigate this rapidly changing and often exploitative political economy. This report summarizes these broader trends and outlines how young men often have little option but…
This Conflict Series Brief analyses the effects of the recent pandemic-induced oil price shock on three vulnerable, conflict-affected countries. This is done by testing the two competing theories of the resource curse and of the rentier state, each offering a different interpretation of the oil-conflict nexus: The resource curse theory posits that an abundance of natural resources, and in particular oil, raises the probability, frequency, and intensity of conflict. The rentier state theory sees the…
The overall aim of this study is to generate evidence from South Sudan on the importance of livestock to livelihoods and the wider economy through (1) exploring the importance of livestock to livelihoods and how this has changed over time; (2) examining the state of livestock markets and how they are changing/evolving; and (3) exploring future prospects for the livestock economy and how this is expected to change. Download
The population dynamics presented in this paper have serious implications for South Sudan’s human development and political stability. Using census data and UN estimates, this briefing paper highlights South Sudan’s recent demographic patterns and trends, starting in 2008 into 2050. The projections presented are based on an exponential growth regime, and the analysis seeks to provide key insights for the aid community to stimulate their thinking on the nature and level of support likely to…
The effects of climate change are expected to be greatest in the Horn of Africa countries, particularly those, such as South Sudan, whose populations are reliant on rain-fed agricultural production to meet their food and income needs. As one of the least developed countries in the world, South Sudan’s population is dependent on climate sensitive natural resources for their livelihoods, making the country particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. South Sudan’s future economy…
Introduction – why the economy matters South Sudan faces three major and interlinked crises: a political crisis which is manifest in part in violent conflict and insecurity; a humanitarian crisis which feeds off the political crisis and; an economic crisis, which is fundamentally about how the resources available to South Sudan are allocated and used. While it is possible to ruin an economy very quickly, sustainably growing and developing an economy in a way that…
This comment discusses some of the recent developments in South Sudan, since its civil war reached a new stage in July 2016. It summarizes some of the causes of conflict, and the political and economic challenges that will be faced in order to establish sustainable peace. Download
This collection of essays – of the Rift Valley Institute Sudan and South Sudan Course – provides a critical guide to current knowledge on key aspects of South Sudan and Sudan, written from a range of disciplinary points of view.
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