The Production Transformation Policy Reviews (PTPRs) are an OECD policy assessment and guidance tool that supports policy makers in the creation and implementation of better strategies for transforming their economies. They benefit from international peer dialogue and discussions under the aegis of the OECD Initiative for Policy Dialogue on Global Value Chains, Production Transformation and Development.

No unique pathway to development exists. Each country’s experience sheds light on what key factors explain success in different contexts and historical moments, including what role institutions and policies might have played.

The Dominican Republic is a unitary country. It includes 31 provinces and the National District where the national capital, Santo Domingo, is located (). The 31 provinces are divided into 158 municipalities. The president appoints the governors of the provinces with the exception of the National District, in which the citizens elect the governor. The country has a population of 10.8 million in 2018, an increase of 2.4 million since 2000. The most populous city in the country is the capital, Santo Domingo, with 1.4 million inhabitants.

The Dominican Republic, though the fastest-growing economy in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2010, cannot afford complacency. The country has made notable strides over the past two decades in diversifying its trade and investment structure. However, it still lacks a production base that is diverse and innovative enough to create resiliency to external shocks. From 98 trading partners in 2000, the Dominican Republic expanded up to 147 by 2017. The United States remains the principal economic partner, but went from accounting up 75% of Dominican exports to slightly more than 50% between 2000 and 2019. The Dominican Republic has expanded its investment network by receiving investments from new countries and in new industries, such as medical devices. Tourism has come to play a vital role in the economy. From 2000 to 2018, the number of tourists more than doubled from 3.3 to 7.2 million. The country is now the main destination for tourism in the Caribbean, attracting 24.1% of the total number of visitors in 2018, and the fourth most popular destination in the Latin America, after Argentina, Brazil and Chile. The industry poses challenges about energy, water use and waste management, and the COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need to cushion the short and medium-term impact on the sector.

The Dominican Republic, though the fastest-growing economy in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2010, cannot afford complacency. The COVID-19 crisis may accelerate existing global trends that created the need for reforms addressing structural weaknesses that lurked beneath the surface well before the pandemic. The current situation demands an unprecedented policy effort to ensure a prompt and effective health response, and to guarantee short-term support for workers and firms. The enduring challenge will be updating the country’s development model through targeted reforms. Specifically, the Dominican Republic needs to pursue three goals: 1) Strengthening its governance capacity to anticipate and adapt to change; 2) Diversifying its trade and investment base and increasing regional economic ties; and 3) Boosting innovation by filling institutional gaps and mobilising long-term financing.

The Dominican Republic has been the fastest-growing economy in Latin America since 2010. The next priority for the country is to translate this economic growth into shared gains. That goal demands that the Dominican Republic address its persistent structural challenges by fostering local development and innovation. This chapter reviews the structural economic characteristics of the Dominican Republic in the last three decades and identifies opportunities for the future.

The Dominican Republic has developed a national development strategy to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth by 2030. The national development model based on special economic regimes that has been driving growth since the 1960s, requires an update, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter assesses current policies to transform the economy and identifies avenues for reforms based on the PTPR peer review process.

Agro-food is an important activity in the Dominican Republic. The industry was already undergoing major changes and now faces unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Improving extension services, effective branding, and broad-based innovation will be key to sustaining competitiveness. This chapter analyses the characteristics and performance of agro-food in the country and identifies opportunities for the future.

The United States has been for decades the principal economic partner of the Dominican Republic. Identifying mechanisms to make the most of traditional economic ties and diversifying those ties are the two key elements of a forward-looking strategy. The world economy now faces an unprecedented health and economic crisis that is augmenting the already high uncertainty on the future geography of production, trade, and investment. This chapter analyses the evolution of offshoring in the Dominican Republic, identifies risks and opportunities, and proposes policy approaches amid a highly uncertain future.