Mauritians will head to the polls and politicians are considering the economic direction of the island country.

For the last two decades, the countryā€™s economic growth has depended heavily on its offshore sector ā€“ the provision of financial services by banks to foreign firms.

As an isolated country located in the south-western Indian Ocean, Mauritius has linked itself to global financial sectors by easing the flow of capital into and out of its economy. It has signed double taxation avoidance agreements with other countries, and its capital gains taxes are attractively low.

Through double taxation avoidance agreements, foreign entities can establish funds in locations outside their home countries, to take advantage of lower taxes.

But recent initiatives have dimmed prospects for the offshore sector. For instance, the OECDā€™s (the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) significantly limits the incentives available under double taxation avoidance agreements.

As a political economist, I take an interdisciplinary approach to studying development challenges in todayā€™s connected world. My work examines how countries with relatively little economic power manage domestic and external forces to achieve economic transformation.

Tax haven strategies have allowed countries such as Mauritius to gain huge amounts of foreign exchange. But in a recent I argue that these strategies may not have the same appeal in years to come. This leaves Mauritius at a crossroads once again.

The Mauritian government has previously found ways to diversify its economy during times of crisis. First, from sugar to industry. Then to tourism. Later to the offshore sector. Now there is talk of investing in the , but there are few signs that a clear strategy has been defined. With offshore revenues threatened, the Mauritian economy may soon struggle to identify new sources of foreign exchange.

Diversified economy

Mauritius is Africaā€™s most democratic developmental state ā€“ held up as a . It transformed itself from a country with a per capita income of US$260 in the 1960s to one with a per capita income of more than $10,000 in 2021.

At independence in 1968, observers had little hope for the Mauritian economy. Nobel Prize winner James Meade a tragic future for the island nation. He cited sugar dependence, population density and diverse ethnic composition as its weak points.

Yet Mauritius has defied pessimistic predictions and conventional economic theory. It has become among the most African economies.

In the 1970s, economic development was largely focused on industrialisation to reduce dependence on imports. While there was minimal growth in exports, manufacturing employment grew from 5% to 20% of the labour force over the decade. But as sugar prices fell in the late 1970s, the Mauritian economy plunged into crisis.

In the early 1980s, Mauritius adopted reforms, adhering to conditions set by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The government decided to go further than simply liberalising its financial sectors and reducing capital controls. Against the advice of multilateral donors and foreign governments, Mauritian politicians decided to build an offshore financial centre.

In the late 1990s and 2000s, Mauritius was widely celebrated for rapid economic growth and diversity. This came from special economic zones (promoting textiles and apparel growth), tourism and the offshore sector.

For decades, African countries have sent government officials on to learn from Mauritian success.

But like most late developing countries (or former colonies), Mauritius is still heavily reliant on imports. Its offshore sector has provided vast amounts of foreign exchange to buy imports. If offshore sector revenues dry up, Mauritius might have to apply to the International Monetary Fund for loans.

Mauritius as a tax haven

In my paper, I describe the evolution of Mauritius as a tax haven. It started with strategic state involvement. The Mauritian government amended its banking legislation to offer lower taxation and exemption from exchange control.

Its tax treaty with India soon became the most significant avenue for the development of Mauritiusā€™ offshore businesses. An increasing number of Indian funds moved their businesses to Mauritius to take advantage of tax benefits.

Similarly, Mauritian entities have been the leading investors in India since 2000. Mauritius-based funds have this century. But things are changing. There are signs that funds are now selecting Singapore (as well as other competitors to Mauritius) as the preferred destination for investments.

Indiaā€™s response to the OECDā€™s convention to implement tax related measures has gone further than many other countries. The Indian government agreed to remove the capital gains exemption that entities held in Mauritius had enjoyed over the years. By 2018, Singapore had overtaken Mauritius as the leading investor into India.

In March 2024, India and Mauritius amended their double taxation avoidance agreement to comply with the OECDā€™s measures. Among the changes, firms do not qualify for tax incentives if the principal purpose of their transaction is simply to avoid tax.

What next for Mauritius?

The new amendments to the double taxation agreement are likely to constrain the growth of Mauritiusā€™ offshore sector. The financial sector has not transformed beyond providing basic services like fund administration. This is unlike other more diversified financial sectors like Singapore, which specialises in capital markets, foreign exchange, commodity trading and corporate banking, aside from fund administration.

With foreign firms recently buying some of Mauritiusā€™ biggest offshore management companies, there are signs that Mauritian banking will be relegated to simply doing basic work for larger financial centres. It is likely that overall revenues and foreign exchange from the sector will reduce.

Focusing resources on a new pillar for Mauritian growth is more urgent than ever.

In the last few years, Mauritian have been characterised by questions over Prime Minister ā€™s authoritarian turn, as well as accusations of corruption, nepotism and cronyism. The nation will have to reach a new political and economic consensus to avoid future economic difficulties.

, Senior Lecturer in Politics, Governance and Development, Global Development Institute

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Arising out of ACRC research findings and developed in consultation with local and city-level stakeholders, the four pilot projects were proposed by city research teams as potential solutions to address critical urban development challenges in their locations.

City-based researchers and practitioners ā€“ already versed in the ACRC research and approaches ā€“ will lead the projects.

In Nairobi, the pilot intervention focuses on improving childrenā€™s access to healthy diets. Current efforts to provide school meals in the city do not include informal schools and day care centres located in informal settlements, as they are not registered and are unrecognised by public authorities.

This project aims to strengthen and expand an existing school feeding programme to encompass schools located in informal settlements. It entails conducting action research to identify ways to link food production and supply systems within and outside the city, to sustainably supply food for the expanded school feeding programme.

The project in Harare centres around upgrading and regularising informal enterprises located in the Glen View Eight complex. Zimbabweā€™s national government established the complex in the wake of its 2005 ā€œOperation Murambatsvinaā€ mass evictions, which saw more than 700,000 people lose their homes and businesses. Thousands of market spaces were provided for small entrepreneurs in the complex, but these were substandard, with inadequate connections to services and infrastructure.

The intervention will involve supporting the mobilisation of the informal traders, establishing a technical working group to address challenges faced by these entrepreneurs and conducting action research into processes of negotiation and implementation.

²Ń²¹¾±»å³Ü²µ³Ü°ł¾±ā€™s intervention builds on an existing effort by the Borno State Geographic Information System (BOGIS), which aims to better integrate informal settlement residents into land titling processes.

Complexities around land tenure and ownership in Maiduguri lead to frequent contestation and evictions, with lowest income groups the most vulnerable. This project will conduct action research to unearth ways to tackle uncertainties around customary land tenure processes and advance the interests of disadvantaged groups.

The Mogadishu pilot seeks to increase tenure security and access to justice for informal settlers and internally displaced people (IDPs). While informal and formal mechanisms for securing rights exist currently, they are complex, confusing and rarely used effectively.

Building on a model already used in IDP camps and on policies accepted by the state government, researchers will work with informal settlement residents to support them in navigating these adjudication mechanisms more effectively, and conduct action research around the processes themselves.

With ACRCā€™s foundation phase research in 12 African cities drawing to a close, the next phase of the programme centres around implementing action research interventions in a smaller number of cities.

Of the four pilot project cities, Nairobi and Harare have been chosen to progress to the final implementation phase of the ACRC programme, along with Lagos, Nigeria and Accra, Ghana. The complete line up of cities for the next phase of work will be confirmed at the end of the year.

For more information about the work of the ACRC, visit .   

A recent University of SwagÖ±²„ graduate is dealing with the challenges posed by the influx of refugees and migrants into Europe by helping countries ensure they have adequate supplies.

Matteo Dembech from Cremona Italy is a graduate of the University’s and a civil servant for the World Health Organization’s Public Health Aspects of Migration in Europe project, where he works in the field making sure countries are working together and adequately supplied as thousands of people from the Middle East and Africa attempt to cross into Europe.

In his day-to-day role Matteo works with the Heads of WHO Country Offices in the field where large influxes of refugees and migrants arrive or transit.

He said: “Practically we study, conduct field assessments and talk with the governments in order to understand the needs of refugees in, for example border or migration centres.

“Interventions may vary from drafting a contingency plan for large influxes of migrants - to buying a cargo of medical equipment.

“During my course I acquired skills to conduct better statistical and epidemiological analyses; studied health system functioning during humanitarian crises; and learned how to plan community-based interventions.

“These are all skills that I can use in my day to day tasks.”

, who leads the University programme said: “Many of our students play a crucial role in helping others and provide significant contributions to their own countries as well as internationally. I am extremely proud to say Matteo is no different. We are pleased that the skills he has learnt on our MPH are helping him to perform a vital role in one of the most pressing issues of the day.”

More than 2.6 million stillbirths continue to occur globally every year with very slow progress made to tackle this ‘silent problem’, according to new research published in The Lancet, and co-authored by from the Stillbirth Research Centre at and SwagÖ±²„.

Despite significant reductions in the number of maternal and child deaths, there has been little change in the number of stillbirths (in the third trimester of pregnancy) even though the majority are preventable.

states the annual rate of reduction for stillbirths is 2.0%, much slower than progress made for maternal (3.0%) and child deaths (4.5%). It also reveals the hidden consequences of stillbirth, with more than 4.2 million women living with symptoms of depression, often for years, in addition to economic loss for families and nations.

Series co-lead, Professor Joy Lawn from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “We must give a voice to the mothers of 7,200 babies stillborn around the world every day. There is a common misperception that many of the deaths are inevitable, but our research shows most stillbirths are preventable.

“We already know which existing interventions save lives. These babies should not be born in silence, their parents should not be grieving in silence, and the international community must break the silence as they have done for maternal and child deaths. The message is loud and clear – shockingly slow progress on stillbirths is unacceptable.”

Video courtesy of the Faculty Fellowship Academy

New estimates of stillbirth rates for 195 countries developed by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine with the World Health Organization and UNICEF reveal huge inequalities around the world. Ten countries account for two-thirds of stillbirths* with India having the highest number, estimated at 592,100 in 2015. The highest rates are in Pakistan (43.1 per 1,000 total births) and in Nigeria (42.9). The lowest rates are in Iceland (1.3), Denmark (1.7), Finland (1.7) and the Netherlands (1.8). Netherlands is also making the fastest progress, reducing stillbirths by 6.8% per year. The United States is one of the slowest progressing countries with a reduction of 0.4% per year.

The new research includes the first global analysis of risk factors associated with stillbirth, underlining that many deaths can be prevented by:

• Treating infections during pregnancy – 8.0% of all stillbirths are attributable to malaria, increasing to 20.0% in sub-Saharan Africa, and 7.7% of all stillbirths are associated with syphilis, increasing to 11.2% in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Tackling the global epidemics of obesity and non-communicable diseases, notably diabetes and hypertension – at least 10% of all stillbirths are linked to each of these conditions.
• Strengthening access to and quality of family planning services – especially for older and very young women, who are at higher risk of stillbirth.
• Addressing inequalities – in high-income countries, women in the most disadvantaged communities face at least double the risk of stillbirth.

The research also highlights the underappreciated psychological, social and economic impacts of stillbirth on parents, families, caregivers, and countries. New estimates suggest at least 4.2 million women around the world are living with symptoms of depression due to stillbirth, suffering psychological distress, stigma and social isolation, as well as increased risk of family breakdown, and even abuse and violence.

Christina Sapulaye from Malawi, who experienced a stillbirth last year, said: “It was a very painful situation to me and I never knew what to do… I am being stigmatised by my own people and was divorced due to the stillbirth, and now I am by myself with my little kids.

Fathers also commonly report suppressing their grief, and almost half of 3,503 parents surveyed in high-income countries felt society wanted them to forget their stillborn baby and try to have another child.

The economic impact of stillbirth for families ranges from funeral costs for their baby to loss of earnings due to time off work, with data suggesting 10% of bereaved parents remain off work for six months. The direct financial cost of stillbirth care is 10-70% greater than for a live birth, with additional costs to governments due to reduced productivity of grieving parents and increased welfare costs.

Dr Alexander Heazell, co-author from the Tommy’s Stillbirth Research Centre at St Mary’s Hospital and SwagÖ±²„, said: “The consequences of stillbirth have been hugely underestimated. Our research suggests that grief and symptoms of depression after stillbirth often endure for many years.

“It is vital we, as carers, see the loss through the eyes of those parents affected to provide sensitive and respectful bereavement care. We know that something as simple as supporting parents to see and hold their baby and providing bereavement support can reduce the long-term negative impact of stillbirth.

“Dealing with stillbirth can also have a psychological impact on health workers; consequently, better training and provision of support for those looking after affected families should also be a priority.”

The Ending Preventable Stillbirth Series was developed by 216 experts from more than 100 organisations in 43 countries and comprises five papers. The research provides compelling evidence of the preventability of most stillbirths, forming the basis for action from parents, health care professionals, and politicians. It follows the research group’s 2011 series on stillbirths also published in The Lancet.