Puertego: Difference between revisions

The economy of Puertego is considered a mixed model economy based largely on natural resource extraction primarily via agriculture, fishing, and mining, manufacturing primarily of steel, chemicals, and textiles, and remittances from Puertegans living and working abroad with the final providing an estimated $32.5 billion each year from the 14 million Puertegans working abroad. The economic liberalizations brought by the incumbent president have switched the country from an extraction based planned economy to a more market based one split between extraction and industry, the country has adopted much greater economic freedoms than it had under any previous governments with the Special Investment Zones established under him meant to attract foreign investment through very reduced regulations and taxes to business operating there, though the government also maintains monopolies with their state run industries which operate primarily in utilities, banking, and natural resources. Economic growth in the nation has been relatively steady with the economy growing by an average of 8-9% each year since 2008 primarily attributed to the Special Investment Zones established at the time, foreign investors in Puertego get many benefits from the government for investing in the SEZ's including temporary subsidies for their businesses, introductory tax rates being set up for their business, and tax shelters being used so that not all the wealth they make from the business is subject to taxation in Puertego, these practices have widely gotten Puertego labeled as a tax haven. The poverty rate in Puertego is around 4.5% of the population living on less than $1.90 a day, 33.3% living on less than $3.20 a day, and 75% living on less than $5.50 a day, in addition the Puertegan government offers very little in terms of social welfare for average citizens, this combination means that there is a large amount of street crime in the nation's cities and a large black market estimated to be worth around $22 billion with this being allowed to happen by pervasive corruption in almost all levels of the government. Due to a rather large focus on natural resources the economy of Puertego can be very affected by natural disasters such as forest fires or floods. Puertego has an import to export ration of 1:12 though this number is predicted to rise in the future by the government who claim that they hope to get it to 1:20 in the next ten years though the validity of this hope has been called into question, Puertego's main exports are steel, raw minerals primarily gold, copper, and tin, chemicals, textiles, agricultural products primarily rubber, tobacco, and sugar while the country's main imports are electronics, fossil fuels, medicine, food, and fertilizer. Puertego has a debt to GDP ratio of 66% and a credit rating of BB- primarily due to the many governments that came before the current regime running deficits that spiraled the country into 4 different debt crises throughout its history, the national debt of Puertegto is currently being reduced by the government.