Economic Function

The Economic Section is sub unit established within the Treasury Division of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management. The functions of the Economic Section are more focused on Macroeconomics and Fiscal Issues of which the Budget is the most important one. The Unit is mandated under the Public Finance Management Act of 1998, Part III, section 8 - 17, to produce a number of economic reports as part of Good Governance, transparency and accountability. The major reports include the Half Year Fiscal Report which provides economic and fiscal developments of the first half of the year. Another important report is the Fiscal Strategy report which comprise of the annual economic performance, GDP and Fiscal trends. The Fiscal Strategy report also contains the Budget Policy Statement and the Appropriation Budget for the following Year.

In relation to Budget preparation, the economic research unit, play a crucial role in updating the Macro Fiscal framework and providing the GDP forecast for purpose of setting the Budget Ceiling. In doing so, the Economic Unit undertakes a business survey of which staff visited major Business sectors, organizations, Public Corporations and important Government departments to discuss on economic performance and outlook of their companies. These visitations are also extended to the six provinces in Vanuatu. The Economic Section prepares the GDP preliminary forecast which are discussed and finalized by the Macroeconomic Committee (MEC). The Economics Unit also provides economic update to the Ministerial Budget Committee meetings and also provides short research papers and economic advice to the Director General and the Minister of Finance.