The 1999 Economic Sustatinability and Policy Stance Indices

Abstract

The ECA’s economic report on Africa 1999 introduces three new composite economic indicators: the economic sustainability index (ESI), the economic policy index (EPSI), and the annual performance trend index (APTI). The economic policy stance index evaluates policy effectiveness. THE annual performance trend index is constructed as a simple, single – year measure of economic performance with respect to particular countries improvement or decline relative to the previous year. The purpose of this paper is to give a more detailed accounting of these indicators than that which appeared in the Economic report and to elicit comments and suggestions for refinement of the indices for use in future applications.