World Bank Publications

In the wake of the financial crises of the late 1990s, there was a surge of interest in the systematic assessment of financial sectors, with a view to identifying vulnerabilities and evaluating the sector's developmental needs. Consequently, there has been an increased demand from financial sector authorities in many countries for information on key issues and sound practices in the assessment of financial systems and the appropriate design of policy responses. In response, Financial Sector Assessment presents a general analytical framework and broad guidance on approaches, methodologies and key techniques for assessing the stability and development needs of financial systems. It synthesizes current global sound practices in financial sector assessment.

The information revolution, in recent years, has worked as a catalyst to create a globalized yet localized world with local governments playing an ever-increasing role in the domestic and global economy. How these governments will be able to shoulder their responsibilities? especially the delivery of local services? more effectively is the concern of this book. The book, edited by Anwar Shah, provides a comparative perspective on international practices in local governance and draws lessons from these experiences to guide future reform. Case studies include the following countries: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, the Nordic countries, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Contributors to this volume include Jose Afonso, Erika Araujo, Miguel Asensio, Brian Dollery, Chris Heymans, Roy Kelly, David King, Leonardo Letelier, Jorgen Lotz, Mereurt Makhamutova, Melville McMillan, Nobuki Mochida, Remy Prud? homme, Jerzy Regulski, Larry Schroeder, Kaniz Siddique, Jesper Steffensen, and Pawel Swianiewicz. This important new series represents a response to several independent evaluations in recent years that have argued that development practitioners and policy makers dealing with public sector reforms in developing countries and, indeed, anyone with a concern for effective public governance could benefit from a synthesis of newer perspectives on public sector reforms. This series distills current wisdom and presents tools of analysis for improving the efficiency, equity, and efficacy of the public sector. Leading public policy experts and practitioners have contributed to the series.

The striking upsurge in population growth rates in developing countries at the close of World War II gained force during the next decade. From the 1950s to the 1970s, scholars and advocacy groups publicized the trend and drew troubling conclusions about its economic and ecological implications. Private educational and philanthropic organizations, government, and international organizations joined in the struggle to reduce fertility. Three decades later this movement has seen changes beyond anyone's most optimistic dreams, and global demographic stabilization is expected in this century. The Global Family Planning Revolution preserves the remarkable record of this success. Its editors and authors offer more than a historical record. They disccuss important lessons for current and future initiatives of the international community. Some programs succeeded while others initially failed, and the analyses provide valuable guidance for emerging health-related policy objectives and responses to global challenges.

Agricultural trade reform is critical to a favourable development outcome from the Doha Development agenda. But agricultural policies and the policy reforms being contemplated are fiendishly complicated, and the devil is in the details. This study builds up from the essential detail of the tariffs and other protection measures, and uses this information to provide an analysis of the big-picture implications of proposed reforms. The study highlights the risk that the potentially large gains will be lost through excessive flexibilities and exceptions.

Following the 1998 financial crisis, four out of every ten people slipped into poverty, not able to meet basic needs. Luckily, post-crisis economic rebound was impressive and broad-based — albeit uneven — across sectors and regions. This title explores the nature of poverty, both nationally and regionally, to identify the groups with a high poverty risk. It then examines growth-poverty linkages through the labor market, as well as the contribution of growth and inequality to the recent poverty reduction. It also considers the expected impact of WTO accession on overall growth and poverty. Finally, it focuses on the scope for improving social policy in ways that will have a direct impact on the poor.

Contains statistical snapshots for 195 countries and 13 regional and income groups. This book features more than 200 tables, each focused on one country, region, or income group, to explore immigration, emigration and skilled emigration, and inward and outward remittance flows.

Regulations affecting 10 areas of everyday business are measured: starting a business, dealing with licenses, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and closing a business. Doing Business 2008 updates all 10 sets of indicators, ranks countries on their overall ease of doing business, and analyzes reforms to business regulation — identifying which countries are improving their business environment the most and which ones slipped. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. Doing Business 2008 focuses on how complex business regulations dampen investment, growth and job creation in all businesses, and especially opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

This volume provides an analytical framework and operational approaches needed for the implementation of results-based accountability. The volume makes a major contribution to the literature on public management and evaluation. Major subject areas covered in this book include: performance based accountability, e-government, legal and institutional framework to hold government to account; fighting corruption; and external accountability and the role of supreme audit institutions on detecting fraud and corruption.

Poverty reduction is deemed to be a centrepiece of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) currently being negotiated under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Yet there is considerable debate about the poverty impacts of such an agreement. Some are convinced it will increase poverty, while others are equally convinced that it will lead to poverty reduction. This book brings together the best scientific methods to bear on this question, taking into account the specific characteristics embodied in the DDA. Since the trade/poverty field is relatively new, a variety of different methods are utilized to be most appropriate for the varied countries featured. It consistently considers a range of complementary policies that might enhance the poverty outcome of the DDA, permitting poor households to take better advantage of new opportunities that might arise from such multilateral trade reforms. In addition, a fifteen country study, coupled with the global analysis, allows the authors to draw more general conclusions about the poverty impacts of a prospective DDA.

The Czech capital market has not played an important role in the development of the Czech economy thus far. On the other hand... it has been used and often abused as a tool of wealth redistribution in the CR [Czech Republic], and has influenced the outcome of winners and losers of the transformation process to date. Ten countries in Central and Eastern European (CEECs) have applied for membership...

Ukraine's Trade Policy draws attention to the importance of the post-WTO accession agenda. This book identifies the key drivers of Ukraine's recent trade performance, assesses current trade policies, and provides recommendations to strengthen the country's trade integration strategy. It also identifies core bottlenecks in the ongoing integration processes, including global and regional integration. This study concludes that the main obstacles to furthering Ukraine's trade integration are domestic, and relate to deficiencies in the business environment. Problems in customs administration, standardization, and administrative barriers for new entry require immediate attention. The report highlights specific policy issues that hamper WTO accession, such as trade legislation, protection of intellectual property rights, government support for specific industries, and export restrictions. It also recommends improvements in the structure of Ukraine's import tariffs, reform of both the regime of free economic zones and mechanism of VAT refund, and investment in a major upgrade of government capacity for investment and export promotion. In order to take advantage of WTO membership, the Government will need to undertake significant institutional reforms to implement WTO regulatory rules in ways that facilitate integration into the world economy and provide benefits to private sector participants.

International migration, the movement of people across international boundaries to improve economic opportunity, has enormous implications for growth and welfare in both origin and destination countries. An important benefit to developing countries is the receipt of remittances or transfers from income earned by overseas emigrants. Official data show that development countries' remittance receipts totaled $126 billion in 2004, exceeding development aid from all sources by 50 percent. This year's edition of Global Economic Prospects focuses on the flow of international migrant remittances and improving their development impact. It presents available data on migration flows and examines current thinking on issues pertaining to migration and its development impact. The bulk of the book covers remittances, including their size, determinants, development impact, and steps to strengthen financial infrastructure and reduce transaction costs.

An important annual publication from the World Bank, Doing Business provides both qualitative and quantitative information on the business climate in over 130 countries. Doing Business constructs a new set of indicators on the regulatory environment for private sector development and provides a collection of informative case studies of real-life experiences. New topics in this edition will include trading across borders, improving law and order, and paying taxes.

Doing Business 2007: How to Reform is the fourth in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 175 economies-from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe-and over time. Regulations affecting 10 areas of everyday business are measured: starting a business, dealing with licenses, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business. The indicators are used to analyse economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why.

This study represents the most comprehensive review of fiscal federalism in the Russian Federation, presenting a strong case for greater decentralization. Given its vast size, immense diversity including economic, geographic, cultural, ethnic, and historical differences across regions Russia is a prime candidate for decentralization. In this work, De Silva et al make a strong case for greater decentralization in Russia based not only on the traditional economic benefits of fiscal federalism but also on the political benefits from local government competition.