World Bank Studies
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Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Nutrition in Bangladesh
Can Building Toilets Affect Children's Growth?
by Iffat Mahmud
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Can building toilets really affect children's growth in Bangladesh? This study dives deep into the connection between water, sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition in Bangladesh, revealing critical insights for policymakers and practitioners.
Explore the evidence on how WASH interventions impact child undernutrition, and discover why a coordinated, multisectoral approach is essential to tackle this complex issue. Learn about the challenges and opportunities in improving water quality, sanitation coverage, and hygiene practices, and find out how these efforts can contribute to a healthier future for Bangladeshi children. This report is for anyone working to improve public health and nutrition in developing countries.
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Somaliland's Private Sector at a Crossroads
Political Economy And Policy Choices For Prosperity And Job Creation
by The World Bank
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Somaliland's Private Sector at a Crossroads is the World Bank Group's first effort to undertake a consultative in-depth analysis of the private and financial sector in Somaliland in at least a generation. The objective of the report is to take stock of what has been achieved since the 1999 constitution was approved, provide an assessment of the current evolution of the private sector, and identify some priority policy options and related actions that would best enable the private sector to generate the growth and jobs sought under the Somaliland National Development Plan. The report is structured around the three key sector 'actors' of the economy: enterprises, financial institutions, and the government. This approach has been taken to facilitate a 'political economy' lens into the analysis. The report explores trends in, opportunities for, and impediments to effective government regulation of the private and financial sector and private sector-led economic growth in Somaliland, a relatively new democracy with limited institutional capacities. Drawing heavily on feedback received through an extensive consultative process that was undertaken in tandem with the analysis, the study concludes with recommendations for policy choices for the continued robust growth of the private sector and the evolution of a sounder financial sector.
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Lessons Learned From World Bank Education Management Information System Operations
Portfolio Review, 1998-2014
by Husein Abdul-Hamid
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Lessons Learned from World Bank Education Management Information System Operations provides an overview of the World Bank's portfolio in the area of Education Management Information Systems (EMISs) over the course of 17 years, from 1998 to 2014. It seeks to identify overall trends and characteristics of World Bank support in this area, with the intent of informing future project preparation and analytical work. The portfolio review revealed that although several good practices were evident, operational performance of EMIS activities fell short of expectations, with widespread deficiencies that ranged from unclear definitions and understanding of the EMIS to ineffective implementation and utilization. Examples of successful activities include the development of an EMIS to manage teachers and provide access to education (for example, Afghanistan); utilization of an EMIS as a management tool (for example, Bosnia and Herzegovina); creation of an online EMIS to improve access to education data (for example, Honduras); use of an EMIS to strengthen teaching and learning (for example, Guatemala and Lithuania); and use of an EMIS as a management tool for schools (for example, Malaysia). These success stories highlight how a well-implemented EMIS can improve the performance of an education system. The challenges that have been identified as contributing to the shortcomings are related to the following: • Misalignment of activities and unrealistic EMIS goals • Institutionalization of the EMIS • Sustainability challenges resulting from inconsistent leadership • Missed integration opportunities • Private players in education • EMIS at the local level Future projects could benefit from the SABER (Systems Approach for Better Education Results)-EMIS Assessment Framework. The SABER-EMIS Framework focuses on the need for a strong enabling environment, system soundness, quality data, and effective utilization as the key factors essential for the successful implementation of an EMIS. Initial needs assessment of a country's EMIS can play a critical role i n benchmarking countries and provide a valuable foundation for the design of new projects.
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Increasing Professionalism in Public Finance Management
A Case Study Of The United Kingdom
by Sarah Jane Squire
Part of the World Bank Studies series
In countries such as the United Kingdom, the need to manage fi nances in a professional manner has been hampered by the severe fi scal constraints of the 2008 fi nancial crisis. These pressures are likely to persist in the long term as a result of an aging population and rising public expectations of the quality of public services. Whereas much attention has been paid to technical reforms to improve budgeting, expenditure control, accounting, and auditing, less attention has been given to the process of developing skilled financial managers, whose expertise is key to sustained improvement in the management of public finances. Successive governments in the United Kingdom have recognized the need to strengthen professionalism in financial management, but the financial crisis gave an additional impetus for change. This change has been refl ected in policy statements, changes in recruitment and human resource management practices, and the development of professional networks in accounting, audit, procurement, and project management. Increasing Professionalism in Public Finance Management: A Case Study of the United Kingdom describes the journey from a civil service where generalist skills were overwhelmingly preferred toward one where professional technical skills in finance are recognized and valued. This book represents one of a number of country case studies aimed at sharing information about alternative paths and models to help developing countries seeking to strengthen public fi nancial management skills on a long-term sustainable basis. This book will be of importance to public policy makers and public practitioners looking for ways to improve the quality of public sector management and to a range of professional finance/ management bodies looking to strengthen their relevance to the government sector.
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Investing in Early Childhood Development
Review Of The World Bank's Recent Experience
by Rebecca K. Sayre
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Investing in Early Childhood Development: Review of the World Bank's Recent Experience provides an overview of World Bank investments in early childhood development (ECD) from 2000 to 2013 within three of the Bank's Global Practices: Education; Health, Nutrition, & Population; and Social Protection & Labor. The study summarizes trends in operational and analytical investments, including lending and trust-funded operations at the country, regional, and global levels. Findings are presented on both the funding for and the number of ECD investments. Case studies are also provided to highlight lessons learned and inform future Bank support for ECD. Finally, the study discusses recent new approaches to support ECD within the World Bank and in client countries.
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Economics of South African Townships
Special Focus On Diepsloot
by Various Authors
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Unlock the economic potential of South African townships with this in-depth study. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the economic and social dynamics within South African townships, focusing on Diepsloot.
Delve into migration patterns, labor market trends, household income, and access to finance. Discover the challenges and opportunities for economic development, poverty reduction, and financial inclusion. Gain insights into policy interventions and strategies for creating more vibrant and equitable township economies. This study is for policymakers, economists, and anyone seeking to understand and improve the lives of township residents.
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Integrated Landscape Approaches for Africa's Drylands
by Erin Gray
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Integrated Landscape Approaches for Africa's Drylands presents emerging fi ndings on the importance of moving beyond single-sector interventions to embrace integrated landscape management that takes into account the health of the ecosystems that support human livelihoods and contribute to the resilience of rural communities in Sub-Saharan African drylands. Integrated landscape management is particularly important for these drylands because people depend on production systems that are frequently disrupted by exogenous shocks such as drought. The ecological and economic evidence presented in this book shows that integrated landscape management can enhance efforts to invest in tree-based systems and improved livestock management and support productivity increases for rain-fed cropping. Integrated landscape management efforts have helped to coordinate the actions of multiple land users and other stakeholders, reduced confl icts, and improved overall governance of water, land, and other resources. Integrated landscape management is thus a useful approach to enhance the intensifi cation of dryland cropping systems and will, in many locations (but not always), result in multiple wins- including improved farm productivity, water benefi ts at the farm and landscape levels, carbon sequestration, biodiversity and other ecosystem services benefi ts, and higher climate resilience. Various policies and related interventions can be used to trigger and accelerate the scaling up of these benefi ts through integrated landscape management across Sub-Saharan African drylands to restore and increase household and ecological resilience. Policies are needed to develop the framework conditions necessary to both initiate new programs and modify and scale up existing restoration and resilience efforts. The book highlights policy options, covering six broad intervention areas: (1) Clarify land rights and responsibilities; (2) Encourage multistakeholder involvement and collective action; (3) Overcome institutional barriers to integrated landscape management; (4) Create conditions for adaptive planning and management; (5) Create mechanisms and supporting policies for sustainable and long-term fi nancing of integrated landscape management; and (6) Invest in a solid evidence base and knowledge-sharing platforms for integrated landscape management.
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Reserve Requirements in the Brave New Macroprudential World
by Tito Cordella
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Navigating the New Landscape of Financial Stability in Emerging MarketsIn the wake of the global financial crisis, understanding macroprudential policies has become paramount. This study delves into the use of reserve requirements (RR) as a key tool for emerging markets navigating volatile capital flows. Are you an economist or policymaker grappling with these challenges?
Reserve Requirements in the Brave New Macroprudential World offers critical insights into achieving macroeconomic stabilization. Discover how reserve requirements, alongside interest rates and forex interventions, can be effectively wielded. Learn to balance micro- and macroprudential objectives and cope with the procyclical behavior of exchange rates. This report provides a framework for navigating the complexities of financial stability.
- Understand the role of reserve requirements in managing capital flows
- Achieve macroeconomic stabilization in emerging markets
- Balance micro- and macroprudential policy objectives
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Macroprudential Policy Framework
A Practice Guide
by Damodaran Krishnamurti
Part of the World Bank Studies series
In the wake of the recent global financial crisis and against the backdrop of the ongoing global financial sector reforms, macroprudential policy is being increasingly seen as a "must-do" reform. At the same time, some policy makers are keen on having a better understanding of what it is and how it works before they embark on implementing it. This Guide attempts to meet this need by providing easy-to-comprehend inputs and practical guidance for establishing and operating macroprudential policy framework as appropriate for relevant jurisdictions. While the elements discussed here can be relevant for several jurisdictions, this work is intended to primarily cater to the needs of policy makers in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) with the following characteristics: a simple bank-dominated system where other financial sector segments are small but growing; banks are supervised by the central bank; financial sector regulation and supervision is not fully integrated; and availability of quality data is not assured. The Guide begins with an introduction to the concept of macroprudential approach to policy and supervision, discusses the available options for institutional framework, including appropriate mandate, powers, structures, and governance arrangements. Next, it explains the components and objectives of early warning systems, how they can be designed and what makes them effective. The Guide also analyses the available range of macroprudential policy instruments, the risks or stresses that they can address and how these can be deployed. All through, the Guide also flags the challenges that the authorities are likely to encounter while establishing and operating macroprudential policy framework and components. Unique combinations of institutional, policy, and legal frameworks in each jurisdiction make it difficult to apply across-the-board and formulaic macroprudential policy solutions. Therefore, any guidance will need appropriate customization and nuancing to achieve best results in each jurisdiction. Accordingly, while offering practical advice, the Guide encourages the authorities to ask the right questions rather than trying to answer all questions that might be raised. Macroprudential policy can promote financial system stability, but it is not meant to replace other public policies, least of all a jurisdiction's monetary and microprudential policies.
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Tree-Based Production Systems for Africa's Drylands
by Frank Place
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Tree-based production systems have enormous potential to reduce vulnerability and increase the resilience of households living in dryland regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. Trees are key providers of biomass, which is critical for many livelihood needs. Wood from trees is the leading source of energy in many dryland countries and is an important construction material. Foliage and pods from trees and shrubs are the most important source of feed for camels and goats, which are the dominant livestock species in the more arid parts of the drylands. Trees and shrubs offer enhanced sources of the organic matter needed to improve the structure and raise the fertility of soils used for agriculture. Many parts of trees provide different medicinal products for people. And fruits and vegetable foliage harvested from trees are important seasonal food sources for people living in drylands, and for sale. The benefits from trees take on added value when one considers that they are relatively impervious to many of the shocks that affect other production systems, especially livestock keeping and agriculture. Trees, with their deep rooting systems, maintain their standing value and offer some production even in drought years. They are therefore a good buffer against climatic risk and are a critical element in a diversification strategy designed to maintain levels of consumption and income in good times and bad. In addition, their value can be tapped when it is most needed: wood from trees can be harvested throughout the year, and many annual tree products are harvested at times different from the times when annual crops are harvested. 'Tree-Based Production Systems for Africa's Drylands' identifies some of the most promising investment opportunities at the level of tree-based systems, species (products), and well-defined management practices for accelerating rural economic growth in the drylands.
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Area C and the Future of the Palestinian Economy
by Orhan Niksic
Part of the World Bank Studies series
This is the first report to systematically evaluate and quantify the economic potential of Area C, which constitutes approximately 61 percent of the West Bank. The report reveals that lifting the restrictions on economic activity in Area C could have a large positive impact on Palestinian GDP, public finances, and employment prospects. Among other things, access to economic activity in Area C is expected to be a key prerequisite for building a sustainable Palestinian economy. However, full potential of the Area C could be materialized only if other restrictions on free movement of goods, labor and capital are removed and the overall business environment in Palestinian territories has become more attractive. The economic significance of Area C lies in that it is the only contiguous territory in the West Bank, which renders it indispensable to connective infrastructure development across the West Bank, and a relative abundance of natural resources situated therein. Area C offers large potential for the development of several sectors of the Palestinian economy: agriculture, stone and mineral processing, cosmetics, construction, tourism, and telecommunications. The report shows that access to economic activity in Area C could increase the Palestinian GDP by as much as 35 percent, the majority of this impact would stem from agriculture and Dead Sea minerals processing industries, as well as the multiplier effect, which has been estimated at 1.5. Although the importance of building connective infrastructure through Area C is discussed in the report, the quantification of this impact is beyond the scope of this report. An increase in GDP of 35 percent, although thought to be a conservative estimate, would be expected to result in at least $800 million increase in tax revenues for the Palestinian authority, which would drastically reduce its dependence on donor aid for financing chronic budget deficits.
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International Practices to Promote Budget Literacy
Key Findings And Lessons Learned
by Harika Masud
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Budget literacy is defined as 'the ability to read, decipher, and understand public budgets to enable and enhance meaningful citizen participation in the budget process'. It is comprised of two main parts - (i) a technical understanding of public budgets, including familiarity with government spending, tax rates and public debt and; (ii) the ability to engage in the budget process, comprising of practical knowledge on day-to-day issues, as well as an elementary understanding of the economic, social and political implications of budget policies, the stakeholders involved and when and how to provide inputs during the annual budget cycle. Given that no international standards or guidelines have been established for budget literacy education to date, this book seeks to address this gap by taking stock of illustrative initiatives promoting budget literacy for youth in selected countries. The underlying presumption is that when supply-side actors in the budget process -- governments -- simplify and disseminate budget information for demand-side actors -- citizens -- this information will then be used by citizens to provide feedback on the budget. However, since citizens are often insufficiently informed about public budgets to constructively participate in budget processes one way to empower them and to remedy the problem of "budget illiteracy" is to provide budget-literacy education in schools to youth, helping them evolve into civic-minded adults with the essential knowledge needed for analyzing their government's fiscal policy objectives and measures, and the confidence and sense of social responsibility to participate in the oversight of public resources. This book elaborates on approaches, learning outcomes, pedagogical strategies and assessment approaches for budget literacy education, and presents lessons that are relevant for the development, improvement, or scaling up of budget literacy initiatives.
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Improving Higher Education in Malawi for Competitiveness in the Global Economy
by Michael Mambo
Part of the World Bank Studies series
As the Government of Malawi investigates options to expand access to higher education and improve the quality of higher education provision, the objective of this report is to contribute to an improved understanding of the challenges confronted by the higher education sub-sector in Malawi. The report summarizes the key findings of an in-depth study of factors affecting access and equity in the Malawian higher education sub-sector, the quality and relevance of educational outputs, the financing of the sector, and the frameworks structuring governance of the sector and its management. The study was initiated in response to a request from the Government of Malawi, to the World Bank, to support the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) in its pursuit of financially sustainable policy options to increase equitable access to higher education, and to improve the quality of higher education provision in alignment with the needs of the labor market.
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Integration of Revenue Administration
A Comparative Study Of International Experience
by World Bank
Part of the World Bank Studies series
In order to minimize the need for taxpayers to respond to multiple revenue agencies, some countries have integrated their revenue administrations, either by merging tax and customs administration, or unifying collection of tax and social contributions. This book examines the experience of 11 countries in doing so. Their experiences indicate that integrating collection entails modernizing the revenue administration and reducing contact between the tax office and taxpayers, thanks to the extensive use of ICT.
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Inside Inequality in the Arab Republic of Egypt
Facts And Perceptions Across People, Time, And Space
by Paolo Verme
Part of the World Bank Studies series
This book joins four papers prepared in the framework of the Egypt inequality study financed by the World Bank. The first paper prepared by Sherine Al-Shawarby reviews the studies on inequality in Egypt since the 1950s with the double objective of illustrating the importance attributed to inequality through time and of presenting and compare the main published statistics on inequality. To our knowledge, this is the first time that such a comprehensive review is carried. The second paper prepared by Branko Milanovic turns to the global and spatial dimensions of inequality. The objective here is to put Egypt inequality in the global context and better understand the origin and size of spatial inequalities within Egypt using different forms of measurement across regions and urban and rural areas. The Egyptian society remains deeply divided across space and in terms of welfare and this study unveils some of the hidden features of this inequality. The third paper prepared by Paolo Verme studies facts and perceptions of inequality during the period 2000-2009, the period that preceded the Egyptian revolution. The objective of this part is to provide some initial elements that could explain the apparent mismatch between inequality measured with household surveys and inequality aversion measured by values surveys. No such study has been carried out before in the Middle-East and North-Africa (MENA) region and this seemed a particular important and timely topic to address in the light of the unfolding developments in the Arab region. The fourth paper prepared by Sahar El Tawila, May Gadallah and Enas Ali A. El-Majeed assesses the state of poverty and inequality among the poorest villages of Egypt. The paper attempts to explain the level of inequality in an effort to disentangle those factors that derive from household abilities from those factors that derive from local opportunities. This is the first time that such study is conducted in Egypt. The book should be of interest to any observer of the political and economic evolution of the Arab region in the past few years and to poverty and inequality specialists that wish to have a deeper understanding of the distribution of incomes in Egypt and other countries in the MENA region.
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Sub-Saharan African Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Research
A Decade Of Development
by Andreas Blom
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Unlocking STEM Potential in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Decade of DevelopmentHow can Sub-Saharan Africa leverage science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to drive economic growth and improve prosperity? This study analyzes the region's progress in STEM research over a decade, offering insights for policymakers, researchers, and development practitioners.
Sub-Saharan African Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Research: A Decade of Development examines research output, citation impact, and international collaboration. Discover key trends, challenges, and policy recommendations to enhance STEM education, foster innovation, and build human capital. This book is for those seeking to understand and contribute to Africa's STEM revolution.
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Building Integrated Markets within the East African Community
Eac Opportunities In Public-private Partnership Approaches To The Region's Infrastructure Needs
by World Bank
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Unlocking East Africa's Economic Potential Through Strategic Infrastructure PartnershipsBuilding Integrated Markets within the East African Community offers a roadmap for policymakers, investors, and developers seeking to transform East Africa's infrastructure landscape. This study, commissioned by the East African Community Secretariat, dives deep into the opportunities and challenges of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the region.
Discover how the EAC is working to harmonize legal frameworks, attract private sector investment, and foster regional collaboration. Learn from detailed case studies, explore innovative financing mechanisms, and gain insights into overcoming key obstacles. This report provides actionable recommendations for building a more interconnected and prosperous East Africa. For anyone committed to driving sustainable growth and development in the region, this is an essential resource.
- Understand the current state of PPPs in the EAC
- Identify key areas for policy reform
- Explore options for regional resource centers and financing instruments
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The Path to Universal Health Coverage in Bangladesh
Bridging The Gap Of Human Resources For Health
by Sameh El-Saharty
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Bangladesh is committed to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) by 2032; to this end, the government of Bangladesh is exploring policy options to increase fiscal space for health and expand coverage while improving service quality and availability. Despite Bangladesh's impressive strides in improving its economic and social development outcomes, the government still confronts health financing and service delivery challenges. In its review of the health system, this study highlights the limited fiscal space for implementing UHC in Bangladesh, particularly given low public spending for health and high out-of-pocket expenditure. The crisis in the country's human resources for health (HRH) compounds public health service delivery inefficiencies. As the government explores options to finance its UHC plan, it must recognize that reform of its service delivery system with particular focus on HRH has to be the centerpiece of any policy initiative.
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Social Protection Programs for Africa's Drylands
by Carlo Del Ninno
Part of the World Bank Studies series
This paper argues that social protection policies and programs, including safety nets programs designed to deliver short-term relief, have an important role in promoting the resilience of the people residing in dryland regions.
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Sustainable Urban Transport Financing From the Sidewalk to the Subway
Capital, Operations, And Maintenance Financing
by Arturo Ardila-Gomez
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Urban transport systems are essential for economic development and improving citizens' quality of life. To establish high-quality and affordable transport systems, cities must ensure their financial sustainability to fund new investments in infrastructure while also funding maintenance and operation of existing facilities and services. However, many cities in developing countries are stuck in an "underfunding trap" for urban transport, in which large up-front investments are needed for new transport infrastructure that will improve the still small-scale, and perhaps, poor-quality systems, but revenue is insufficient to cover maintenance and operation expenses, let alone new investment projects. The urban transport financing gap in these cities is further widened by the implicit subsidies for the use of private cars, which represent a minority of trips but contribute huge costs in terms of congestion, sprawl, accidents, and pollution. Using an analytical framework based on the concept of "Who Benefits Pays," 24 types of financing instruments are assessed in terms of their social, economic and environmental impacts and their ability to fund urban transport capital investments, operational expenses, and maintenance. Urban transport financing needs to be based on an appropriate mix of complementary financing instruments. In particular for capital investments, a combination of grants –from multiple levels of government– and loans together with investments through public private partnerships could finance large projects that benefit society. Moreover, the property tax emerges as a key financing instrument for capital, operation, and maintenance expenses. By choosing the most appropriate mix of financing instruments and focusing on wise investments, cities can design comprehensive financing for all types of urban transport projects, using multi-level innovative revenue sources that promote efficient pricing schemes, increase overall revenue, strengthen sustainable transport, and cover capital investments, operation, and maintenance for all parts of a public transport system, "from the sidewalk to the subway."
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Prospects for Livestock-Based Livelihoods in Africa's Drylands
by Various Authors
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Prospects for Livestock-Based Livelihoods in Africa's Drylands examines the challenges and opportunities facing the livestock sector and the people who depend on livestock in the dryland regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. It presents a novel way of thinking about pastoral development, grounded in a conceptual framework that focuses on the multiple shocks that drylands livestock keepers face and how those shocks can be addressed, drawing on a state-of-the-art literature review carried out by scientists of leading research institutes and development organizations, and integrating the results of an innovative approach to modeling development options for the drylands livestock sector. Looking to the future, the picture is mixed. On the positive side, demand for red meat is expected to strengthen in domestic and regional markets, suggesting that livestock keepers will have good market opportunities. On the negative side, a large majority of livestock keepers are classifi ed as poor, and the natural (feed) resource base is likely to be suffi cient to enable improved meat and milk production for the growing human population. Prospects for the livestock sector through 2030 vary by aridity zone. In arid and semi-arid zones, a reasonable goal for 2030 is to have land use, training, and microfi nance systems established that promote an appropriate balance between human and livestock carrying capacities, featuring mainly grassland/pastoral systems that reliably and sustainably satisfy the minimum income needs of herder households, produce at least a signifi cant part of the demand in local markets for animal source food, and provide environmental services for which livestock keepers receive compensation. The goal includes signifi cant employment generation outside the sector. In the higher rainfall zones of the semi-arid areas, and in the subhumid zones, a reasonable goal for 2030 is to have intensifi ed production systems established, featuring mainly mixed livestock/arable farming or agro-pastoral systems that are closely linked to nearby grassland/pastoral systems and that consistently generate marketable surpluses of differentiated red meat and livestock products that can compete not only in the expanding domestic market but also in selected regional markets.
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Water and Sanitation in Uganda
by Various Authors
Part of the World Bank Studies series
This World Bank Study provides a basic diagnostic of access to safe water and sanitation in Uganda and their relationship with poverty. The analysis relies on a series of nationally representative household surveys for the period 2002–13, as well as on qualitative data collection. The study first relies on household surveys to analyze trends in access to safe water and some of the constraints faced by households for access. The issue of the cost of water for households without a connection to the piped water network is discussed. This includes a discussion of public stand pipes. Next, qualitative data are presented on the obstacles faced by households in accessing safe water. The next two chapters are devoted to sanitation. The focus is again first on analyzing household survey data about sanitation, including with respect to toilets, bathrooms, waste disposal, and hand washing, and next on an analysis of qualitative data from focus groups and key informants. Finally, the study reviews some of the policies and programs that have been implemented in order to improve access to safe water and sanitation for the poor as well as options going forward.
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The Economics of Health Professional Education and Careers
Insights From A Literature Review
by Barbara McPake
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Optimize health professional education for universal health coverage. This World Bank study explores the economic forces shaping health workforce development, offering insights for policymakers and administrators.
The Economics of Health Professional Education and Careers examines the influence of market dynamics on training, career choices, and workforce imbalances. It addresses critical questions:
- What are the global trends in health professions?
- How do these trends affect career decisions?
- What is the value of different types of health professional education?
For healthcare policymakers, health economists, and researchers, this study provides recommendations to align market forces with universal health coverage goals. Authors Barbara McPake, Allison Squires, Agya Mahat, and Edson C. Araujo offer a comprehensive literature review to support evidence-based policy design.
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Demand and Supply of Skills in Ghana
How Can Training Programs Improve Employment And Productivity?
by Peter Darvas
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Skills development in Ghana encompasses foundational skills, transferable/soft-skills, and technical and vocational skills. This report focuses on one segment of this skills development system: formal and informal technical and vocational education and training (TVET) at the pre-tertiary level. TVET represents a major intersection between education, youth and the labor market. The government has long promised to the population that increasing technical and vocational skills training opportunities will help solve youth unemployment. However, market distortions and inefficiencies have led to an adverse cycle of high costs, inadequate quality of supply and low demand, leading to further pressures on the effectiveness and efficiency of TVET services. This adverse cycle means that the political and policy promise of skills development helping to ease the unemployment problem is at risk of remaining unfulfilled. The report focuses on social and economic demand for (pre-tertiary) technical and vocational skills and maps out the supply of these skills from formal and informal, private and public sectors. The dual purpose has been to both carry out an institutional and policy analysis and also to establish a platform for monitoring sector performance and assisting policy and Development Partner harmonization. The report analyzes the economic and social demand for technical and vocational skills and the suitability of the current supply as well as the effectiveness of policy, coordination and financing of technical and vocational skills development. The report annex provides the summary of economic demand analyses from the key sectors reviewed and provides a full mapping of all technical and vocational programs in Ghana. The study offers a comprehensive set of policy recommendations for improving Ghana's pre-tertiary technical and vocational skills development sector, which will be of interest to policy makers and development partners in Ghana.
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The Market for Remittance Services in the Czech Republic
Outcomes Of A Survey Among Migrants
by Marco Nicoli
Part of the World Bank Studies series
This publication presents the outcomes of a survey conducted by the World Bank Payment System Development Group, at the request of the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic, as a follow up to the World Bank-led mission that visited the country in 2008 to assess the market for remittances. The survey aimed at analyzing the main characteristics of the market for remittances in the Czech Republic and should serve as a guide for both public authorities and private sector in identifying possible actions to improve the efficiency of the market. 880 migrants from eight different nationalities were interviewed during the summer 2009 in Prague. The nationalities selected represent the largest and most important migrant communities in the country: China, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
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Belarus Heat Tariff Reform and Social Impact Mitigation
by Fan Zhang
Part of the World Bank Studies series
The Government of the Republic of Belarus (GoB) plans to increase district heating tariffs to cost-recovery levels and gradually phase out subsidies, replacing them with social assistance programs. Residential DH tariffs in Belarus are currently at roughly 10–21 percent of cost-recovery levels. DH subsidies are highly regressive, add costs to business, and create significant fiscal risks and macroeconomic vulnerabilities. The study analyzes the social, sectoral, and fiscal impacts of the proposed tariff reform, and identifies and recommends measures to mitigate adverse impacts of district heating tariff increases on the households. The analysis shows that a negative social impact is manageable if a tariff increase is accompanied by countervailing measures to compensate for the loss of purchasing power, in particular of the poor, through targeted social assistance and energy efficiency programs. The reform is more likely to be successful if communication campaigns to address consumer concerns are carried out before significant price increases, and consumer engagement and monitoring systems are established. When tariff reform and mitigation measures are properly sequenced and coordinated, the reform will become more socially acceptable, consumers will benefit from better quality of services, the government will achieve positive fiscal savings, and the DH sector will become sustainable in the long term. The study analyzes the social, sectoral, and fiscal impacts of the proposed district heating tariff reform in Belarus, and identifies and recommends measures to mitigate adverse impacts of district heating tariff increases on the households.
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Reducing the Vulnerability of Armenia's Agricultural Systems to Climate Change
Impact Assessment And Adaptation Options
by Nicolas Ahouissoussi
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Agriculture is one of the most climate-sensitive of all economic sectors. Armenia is one of the many countries where the majority of the rural population depends on agriculture-directly or indirectly-for their livelihood. Further, changes in climate and their impacts on agricultural systems and rural economies are already evident throughout Europe and Central Asia. The risks associated with climate change therefore pose an immediate and fundamental problem in the country. Adaptation measures now in use in Armenia, largely piecemeal efforts, will be insufficient to prevent impacts on agricultural production over the coming decades. As a result, there is growing interest at country and development partner levels to have a better understanding of the exposure, sensitivities, and impacts of climate change at the farm level, and to develop and prioritize adaptation measures to mitigate the adverse consequences. Beginning in 2009, the World Bank embarked on a program for selected Eastern Europe and Central Asian (ECA) client countries to enhance their ability to mainstream climate change adaptation into agricultural policies, programs, and investments. This multi-stage effort has included activities to raise awareness of the threat, analyze potential impacts and adaptation responses, and build capacity among client country stakeholders and ECA Bank staff with respect to climate change and the agricultural sector. This study, Reducing the Vulnerability of Armenia's Agricultural Systems to Climate Change, is the culmination of efforts by the Armenian institutions and researchers, the World Bank, and a team of international experts to jointly undertake an analytical study to address potential impacts climate change may have on Armenia's agricultural sector, but, more importantly, to develop a list of prioritized measures to adapt to those impacts. Specifically, this study provides a menu of options for climate change adaptation in the agricultural and water resources sectors, along with specific recommended actions that are tailored to distinct agricultural regions within Armenia. These recommendations reflect the results of three inter-related activities, conducted jointly by the expert team and local partners: 1) quantitative economic modeling of baseline conditions and the effects of certain adaptation options; 2) qualitative analysis conducted by the expert team of agronomists, crop modelers, and water resource experts; and 3) input from a series of participatory workshops for farmers in each of the agricultural regions.
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Getting the Right Teachers Into the Right Schools
Managing India's Teacher Workforce
by Vimala Ramachandran
Part of the World Bank Studies series
India's landmark Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009) guarantees education to all children aged 6-14 years. The Act mandates specific student-teacher ratios and emphasizes teacher quality. Writing this into legislation took seven years, but the seven years since has proven that ensuring effective teachers are recruited and placed in all schools in a time-bound manner is considerably more challenging. This report takes a detailed look at the complexity of the teacher management landscape in elementary and secondary schools in nine Indian states. On a daily basis, the administrative machinery of these states has to manage between 19,000 to nearly a million teachers in different types of schools and employment contracts, and cope with recruiting thousands more and distributing them equitably across schools. This report examines the following issues: official requirements for becoming a schoolteacher in India; policies and processes for teacher recruitment, deployment and transfers; salaries and benefits of teachers; professional growth of teachers; and grievance redressal mechanisms for teachers. For the first time in India, this report compares and contrasts stated policy with actual practice in teacher management in the country, using a combination of primary and secondary data. In so doing, the report reveals the hidden challenges and the nature of problems faced by administrators in attempting to build an effective teacher workforce which serves the needs of all of India's 200 million school children. The report examines states with varying characteristics, thus generating knowledge and evidence likely to be of interest to policy makers and practitioners in a wide range of contexts.
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The Other Side of the Coin
The Comparative Evidence Of Cash And In-kind Transfers In Humanitarian Situations?
by Ugo Gentilini
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Over 60 million people are currently displaced due to conflict or violence, and about 140 million are exposed to natural disasters. As part of humanitarian responses to those affected populations, growing attention is paid to cash transfers as a form of assistance. Cash is being strongly advocated by several actors, and for good reasons: they have the potential to provide choice, empower people, and spark economic multipliers. But what is their comparative performance relative to in-kind transfers? Are there objectives for which there are particular evidence gaps? And what should be considered when choosing between those forms of assistance? This paper is one of the first reviews examining those questions across humanitarian sectors and in relation to multiple forms of assistance, including cash, vouchers, and in-kind assistance (food and non-food). These were assessed based on solid impact evaluations and through the lens of food security, nutrition, livelihoods, health, education, and shelter objectives. The paper finds that there is large variance in the availability of comparative evidence across sectors. This ranges from areas where evidence is substantial (i.e., food security) to realms where it is limited (i.e., nutrition) or where not a single comparative evaluation was available (i.e., health, education, and shelter). Where evidence is substantial, data shows that the effectiveness of cash and in-kind transfers is similar on average. In terms of costs, cash is generally more efficient to delivery. However, overall costs would hinge on the scale of interventions, crisis context, procurement practices, and a range of 'hidden costs'. In other words, the appropriateness of transfers cannot be predetermined and should emerge from response analysis that considers program objectives, the level of market functionality, predicted cost-effectiveness, implementation capacity, the management of key risks such as on protection and gender, political economy, beneficiary preferences, and resource availability. Finally, it seems possible (and necessary) to reconcile humanitarian imperatives with solid research to inform decision-making, especially on dimensions beyond food security.
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Fiscal Management in Resource-Rich Countries
Essentials For Economists, Public Finance Professionals, And Policy Makers
by Rolando Ossowski
Part of the World Bank Studies series
The extractive industries (EI) sector occupies an outsize space in the economies of many developing countries. Policy makers, economists, and public finance professionals working in such countries are frequently confronted with issues that require an in-depth understanding of the sector, its economics, governance, and policy challenges, as well as the implications of natural resource wealth for fiscal and public financial management. The objective of the two-volume Essentials for Economists, Public Finance Professionals, and Policy Makers, published in the World Bank Studies series, is to provide a concise overview of the EI-related topics these professionals are likely to encounter. This second volume, Fiscal Management in Resource-Rich Countries, addresses critical fiscal challenges typically associated with large revenue flows from the EI sector. The volume discusses fiscal policy across four related dimensions: short-run stabilization, the management of fiscal risks and vulnerabilities, the promotion of long-term sustainability, and the importance of good public financial management and public investment management systems. The volume subsequently examines several institutional mechanisms used to aid fiscal management, including medium-term expenditure frameworks, resource funds, fiscal rules, and fiscal councils. The volume also discusses the earmarking of revenue, resource revenue projections as applied to the government budget, and fiscal transparency, and outlines several fiscal indicators used to assess the fiscal stance of resource-rich countries. The authors hope that economists, public finance professionals, and policy makers working in resource-rich countries-including decision makers in ministries of finance, international organizations, and other relevant entities-will find the volume useful to their understanding and analysis of fiscal management in resource-rich countries.
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Reducing the Vulnerability of Azerbaijan's Agricultural Systems to Climate Change
Impact Assessment And Adaptation Options
by Nicolas Ahouissoussi
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Adapting Azerbaijan's Agriculture to a Changing ClimateIs Azerbaijan's agricultural sector prepared for the challenges of climate change? This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the vulnerabilities facing Azerbaijan's agricultural systems and offers practical adaptation options to ensure food security and sustainable rural development.
Reducing the Vulnerability of Azerbaijan's Agricultural Systems to Climate Change identifies key priorities for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners. Discover strategies for:
- Improving irrigation and water management
- Promoting climate-resilient crop varieties
- Enhancing livestock production practices
- Strengthening institutional capacity
This insightful resource is essential for anyone working to build climate resilience in agriculture and support rural communities in Azerbaijan and similar regions.
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Working toward Better Pay
Earnings Dynamics In Ghana And Tanzania
by Paolo Falco
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Improving the returns to labor for low-paid workers is a key policy challenge, especially in low-income countries (LICs) where earnings increases are the single most important source of poverty reduction and an important engine of shared prosperity. Yet, the understanding of individual earnings dynamics remains limited. The small-but growing-body of empirical literature on the factors leading to larger and faster pay increases points to strong persistence in earnings over time. However, it remains unclear to what extent this is due to differences in individual endowments rather than to the fact that being in low-paying jobs itself undermines future earnings prospects, and to what extent determinants of earnings vary across types of activities and sectors. The knowledge gap is particularly large for LICs due to the limited availability of reliable panel data. This study uses unusually rich longitudinal data from Ghana and Tanzania to identify engines of, and barriers to, earnings and earnings mobility. It examines the relative role of individual endowments-such as gender, age, and skills-and characteristics of the job, but also focuses on the role of job switches-for example, moves into and out of self-employment. The analysis also zooms in on the drivers of transitions between low-paying and high-paying jobs and addresses questions such as whether being low paid is a transitory or permanent phenomenon, and whether it has a scarring effect on an individual's employment prospects. The extent to which earnings dynamics differ for women and young adults is also discussed in detail. Tanzania and Ghana provide a particularly relevant context in which to examine these issues and the cross-country comparison helps shed light on the institutional factors that promote labor market mobility and entrepreneurship. The audience for this report is broad: it is an important read for policy makers, academics, and development practitioners interested in reducing poverty and promoting shared prosperity in Ghana and Tanzania. However, its relevance spans well beyond the two countries analyzed to include all developing countries where self-employment in small-scale activities accounts for a very large proportion of all employment.
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Pirate Trails
Tracking The Illicit Financial Flows From Pirate Activities Off The Horn Of Africa
by The World Bank Group
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Traditionally piracy has produced sentimental notions of adventure, freedom, and independence. However, piracy is a criminal act and often involves high levels of violence that can have a devastating impact on the victims. 21st Century piracy has evolved into a highly complex system involving a cast of characters, each motivated by a mix of economic and social reasons. While the focus of the international community has been on dealing with piracy through counter piracy operations that include naval, air, and military operations, this book attempts to understand the illicit financial flows from the proceeds of piracy and to espouse the cause for the detection, disruption, and confiscation of proceeds from acts of piracy.
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Practical Guidance for Defining a Smart Grid Modernization Strategy
The Case Of Distribution
by Various Authors
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Practical Guidance for Defining a Smart Grid Modernization Strategy: The Case of Distribution guides stakeholders on how utilities can define their own smart grid vision, identify priorities, and structure investment plans. While most of these strategic aspects apply to any area of the electricity grid, the book focuses on distribution. The guidance includes key building blocks for modernizing the distribution grid and provides examples of grid modernization projects. The concept of the smart grid is relevant to all grids. What varies are the magnitude and type of the incremental steps toward modernization for achieving a specific smart grid vision. A utility that is at a relatively low level of grid modernization may leapfrog one or more levels of modernization to achieve some of the benefits of the highest levels of grid modernization. Smart grids impact electric distribution systems significantly. In developing countries, modernizing the distribution grid promises to benefit the operation of electric distribution utilities in many and various ways. These benefits include improved operational efficiency (such as reduced losses and lower energy consumption), reduced peak demand, improved service reliability, and ability to accommodate distributed generating resources without adversely impacting overall power quality. Practical Guidance for Defining a Smart Grid Modernization Strategy concludes by describing funding and regulatory issues that may need to be taken into account when developing smart grid plans.
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Financial Management Information Systems and Open Budget Data
Do Governments Report On Where The Money Goes?
by Cem Dener
Part of the World Bank Studies series
'Financial Management Information Systems and Open Budget Data: Do governments report on where the money goes?' is a World Bank Study, initiated in 2012 after an extended stocktaking exercise, to explore the effects of Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS) on publishing reliable open budget data, as well as the potential improvements in budget transparency. A rich data set was created by visiting the government public finance web sites in 198 economies, and collecting evidence on the use of 176 FMIS in publishing open budget data. This study is not intended to develop another index or ranking on budget transparency. The scope is limited to the budget data disclosed by the governments on the web for the details of budget revenues and expenditures, as well as the results achieved. This is a tour around the world in search of reliable open budget data, in order to share some of the good practices and possible answers to a key question: 'Where does the money go?'. The primary audience for this study includes World Bank teams, government officials, oversight agencies, civil society groups, and other specialists involved in FMIS and Opend Budget Data projects. The study shows that, as of today, only a small group of governments provide opportunities to the citizens, civil society groups or oversight agencies for access to reliable, accurate, and meaningful open budget data from underlying FMIS solutions. However, there is an increase in demand from citizens and civil society for improved and complete open budget data about all financial activities, and many governments around the world are trying to respond to this democratic pressure. Several cases demonstrate that the innovative solutions to improve budget transparency can be developed rapidly with a modest investment even in difficult settings, if there is a political will and commitment. In order to further help governments within their endeavor and to encourage those who are showing little or no visibility of public finance information on the web, the report concludes with several achievable recommendations and guidelines on publishing open budget data benefiting from existing FMIS solutions.
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Practical Guidance for Defining a Smart Grid Modernization Strategy
The Case Of Distribution
by Marcelino Madrigal
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Practical Guidance for Defi ning a Smart Grid Modernization Strategy: The Case of Distribution guides stakeholders on how utilities can defi ne their own smart grid vision, identify priorities, and structure investment plans. While most of these strategic aspects apply to any area of the electricity grid, the book focuses on distribution. The guidance includes key building blocks for modernizing the distribution grid and provides examples of grid modernization projects. This revised edition also includes key communication system requirements to support a well-functioning grid. The concept of the smart grid is relevant to all grids. What varies are the magnitude and type of the incremental steps toward modernization for achieving a specifi c smart grid vision. A utility that is at a relatively low level of grid modernization may leapfrog one or more levels of modernization to achieve some of the benefi ts of the highest levels of grid modernization. Smart grids impact electric distribution systems signifi cantly. In developing countries, modernizing the distribution grid promises to benefi t the operation of electric distribution utilities in many and various ways. These benefi ts include improved operational effi ciency (such as reduced losses and lower energy consumption), reduced peak demand, improved service reliability, and ability to accommodate distributed generating resources without adversely impacting overall power quality. Practical Guidance for Defi ning a Smart Grid Modernization Strategy concludes by describing funding and regulatory issues that may need to be taken into account when developing smart grid plans. The World Bank Studies series is available for free download online through the Open Knowledge Repository (https://openknowledge.worldbank.org).
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Resource Financed Infrastructure
A Discussion On A New Form Of Infrastructure Financing
by Håvard Halland
Part of the World Bank Studies series
In recent decades, resource-rich developing countries have been using their natural resources as collateral to access sources of finance for investment, countervailing the barriers they face when accessing conventional bank lending and capital markets. One of the financing models that have emerged as a result is the Resource Financed Infrastructure (RFI) model, a derivation of previous oil-backed lending models pioneered by several Western banks in Africa. Under a Resource Financed Infrastructure (RFI) arrangement, a loan for current infrastructure construction is securitized against the net present value of a future revenue stream from oil or mineral extraction. The model has been applied in several African countries, for a cumulative contract value of approximately $30 billion, according to publically available sources. This report, consisting of a study prepared by global project finance specialists Hunton & Williams LLP and comments from six internationally reputed economists and policy makers, provides an analytical discussion of resource-financed infrastructure (RFI) contracting from a project finance perspective. The report is meant as a forum for in-depth discussion and as a basis for further research into RFI's role, risks, and potential, without any intention to present a World Bank–supported view on RFI contracting. It is motivated by the conviction that if countries are to continue to either seek RFI or receive unsolicited RFI proposals, there is an onus on public officials to discern bad deals from good, to judge unavoidable trade-offs, and to act accordingly. The report aims to provide a basis for developing insights on how RFI deals can be made subject to the same degree of public policy scrutiny as any other instrument through which a government of a low- or lower-middle-income country might seek to mobilize development finance.
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Entrepreneurship Education and Training
Insights From Ghana, Kenya, And Mozambique
by Various Authors
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Empirical research has found that entrepreneurial activity correlates positively with innovation and job creation, and governments around the world have shown a growing interest in interventions that promote entrepreneurial success. However, research on whether entrepreneurial success can be taught has reached mixed conclusions, and even the landscape of what is being taught is poorly known. This study looks closely at entrepreneurial education and training (EET) programs in three case study countries in Africa-Kenya, Ghana, and Mozambique-which are all experiencing sustained economic growth and diversification in their private sectors. It draws on both global and country-specific research and on the experience of stakeholders in the case countries. The study identifies practical insights relevant to various target groups, intended outcomes, and social and economic contexts. Overall, it paints a comprehensive picture of both the context for entrepreneurship and the landscape of programs in the case countries. Among its key findings are these: (i) Key macroeconomic trends give reason for optimism about the trajectory of private sector development, but serious barriers to entrepreneurship remain in each country. Corruption, prohibitively high taxes, and burdensome regulatory regimes remain impediments, along with crime. Stakeholders interviewed (potential and practicing entrepreneurs) also cite cultural disincentives and lack of access to finance. (ii) The EET program landscape is highly varied. The programs often emerge as responses to urgent challenges, such as urban youth unemployment, but in the aggregate they target a wide range of learners, from secondary students to university business majors to rural women, and their focus ranges from poverty reduction to attitudinal change. (iii) Too many programs are insufficiently tailored to their participants' backgrounds and needs, attempting to use a single curriculum with participants of varying ages, educational backgrounds, and expectations. (iv) Whereas stakeholders believe business acumen and an entrepreneurial mindset are key to business success, few programs address this. (v) Finally, stakeholders express a strong desire for more business community mentorship and for better access to finance; these are areas that some programs do address, and with positive results, but much more is needed. The findings in this report can inform EET policy and program dialogue at multiple levels, guiding the investment decisions that policymakers and government institutions must make and more clearly indicating where further research in the EET realm is most needed.
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Republic of Iraq Public Expenditure Review
Toward More Efficient Spending For Better Service Delivery
by The World
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Republic of Iraq Public Expenditure Review: Toward More Efficient Spending for Better Service Delivery provides an integrated perspective on how Iraq needs to provide better public service delivery while maintaining macroeconomic stability and fiscal discipline. These goals exist amid a challenging context of revenue volatility, the need to diversify the economy, weak accountability mechanisms, and residual conflict. Reflecting these challenges, key socioeconomic developmental indicators are stalled or are even declining despite rapid growth in public spending. Growth in spending has not been matched by absorptive capacity, let alone improved outcomes. The difficult task of encouraging fiscal institutions to embed practices of good economic management remains a work in progress. The task for Iraqi authorities will be to turn oil revenues into sustained welfare improvements. Macroeconomic stability alone is not enough to address social and economic development issues and to avoid a 'resource curse'. Economic diversification is imperative for the goals of creating jobs and promoting income-generating opportunities for the Iraqi population. In the years ahead, Iraqi government authorities will have the following key challenges: • to remove constraints to nonhydrocarbon economic activities, • to ensure the effi cient use of oil revenue, and • to restrain the growth of current spending to free up resources for public investment, while maintaining essential safety nets and social support for the poor and disadvantaged. Senior policymakers at the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning, and line ministries have the opportunity to take concrete steps now. As economic growth prospects are favorable in the medium term, the Iraqi government needs to lay the foundations of a broadly diversified economy and to provide decent public services and security while facilitating adequate economic freedom.
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Wind Energy in Colombia
A Framework For Market Entry
by Walter Vergara
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Unlock Colombia's Wind Energy Potential: A Guide for PolicymakersWind Energy in Colombia offers a comprehensive framework for expanding wind power in Colombia and other similar regions. Targeted toward analysts, planners, and policymakers, this study provides a detailed analysis of the Colombian market, identifying key barriers and offering practical solutions for market entry.
Discover how to leverage Colombia's abundant wind resources to complement its existing hydropower capacity, promote sustainable development, and mitigate climate change. This report explores policy instruments, economic incentives, and regulatory adjustments to create a favorable environment for wind energy investment. Learn about the importance of reliability payments, the role of CERE, and strategies for fostering a low-carbon energy future.
- Understand the economic and technical viability of wind power in Colombia.
- Explore policy options to address barriers to market entry.
- Discover the complementarity of wind and hydro energy resources.
- Gain insights into attracting investment and promoting sustainable development.
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Carbon Footprints and Food Systems
Do Current Accounting Methodologies Disadvantage Developing Countries?
by Paul Brenton
Part of the World Bank Studies series
This report addresses carbon labeling schemes, a high-profile issue and one that has important economic implications for developing countries. Carbon accounting and labeling instruments are designed to present information on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from supply chains. These instruments have become an important awareness-raising channel for governments, producers, retailers and consumers to bring about the reduction of GHGs. At the same time, they have emerged as a crucial element of supply chain management, trade logistics and, potentially, trade regulations between countries. But the underlying science of GHG emissions is only partially developed. Many of these schemes are based on rudimentary knowledge of GHG emissions and have mainly been designed by industrialized countries. There is a concern that these systems do not accurately reflect production processes in developing countries, and that they may even shift consumer preferences away from developing country exports. The report includes an analysis of current and emerging carbon labeling schemes and an assessment of available data, emissions factors and knowledge gaps of carbon footprinting methodologies. The report also analyzes carbon accounting methodologies for sugar and pineapple products from Zambia and Mauritius according to PAS 2050 guidelines, to illustrate whether these schemes accurately represent the production systems in developing countries. The report concludes with a series of recommendations on how carbon footprint labeling can be made more development-friendly
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Dealing With the Challenges of Macro Financial Linkages in Emerging Markets
by Various Authors
Part of the World Bank Studies series
The 2008 financial crisis has highlighted the challenges associated with global financial integration and emphasized the importance of macro financial linkages. Specifi cally it has shown how the real sector (business cycles) can interact with and be amplifi ed by the fi nancial sector, resulting in high procyclicality and a buildup of systemic risk in the fi nancial sector that manifests itself during economic downturns. Although boom-bust cycles in asset prices and credit were observed prior to the recent global crisis, they did not seriously challenge the prevailing paradigm. In the macro arena, the general view was that keeping monetary policy focused on price and output stability would deliver the best feasible outcome, although some proponents argued in favor of 'leaning against the wind.' In the financial sector, prudential policies in most economies focused narrowly on the soundness of individual financial institutions. The policy debate is currently taking place largely, if not exclusively, in the context of the advanced industrial countries. However, emerging markets face different conditions and have key structural features that can have a bearing on the relevance and effi cacy of the measures being discussed. Also important, because they suffered earlier fi nancial crises, many emerging markets have had greater experiences with macro prudential and other policies aimed at ensuring financial stability. As such, emerging markets can offer valuable lessons. The chapters in this volume discuss the challenges of dealing with macro fi nancial linkages and explore the policy toolkit available for dealing with systemic risks with particular reference to emerging markets.
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Residential Piped Water in Uganda
by Various Authors
Part of the World Bank Studies series
This World Bank Study provides a basic diagnostic of residential piped water coverage and affordability in Uganda and its relationship with poverty using a series of nationally representative household surveys for the period 2002–13. The study fi rst analyzes trends in piped water coverage using both administrative and survey data. Demand-side and supply-side factors reducing the take-up of piped water service by households in areas where the service is available are estimated. The study also documents the extent to which piped water coverage enables households to shift time use away from domestic tasks toward market work, and the benefi cial effect that this may have on poverty. The targeting performance to the poor of water subsidies is estimated and results obtained for Uganda are compared with estimates for other countries. Finally, the study analyzes issues related to affordability-including the impact of the tariff increase of 2012 on household consumption, poverty, and piped water affordability-as well as the cost for households to connect to the piped water network.
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Logistics Competencies, Skills, and Training
A Global Overview
by Alan Mckinnon
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Despite the spread of automation and new supply chain management paradigms, logistics remains dependent on a rather specific set of skills and competencies, whether for managerial, administrative, or blue-collar jobs, such as trucking or warehousing. This dependence implies that the logistical performance of businesses, industries, and nation states is strongly influenced by the quantity and quality of the workforce. Insufficient resources of a competent and properly trained workforce in logistics adversely affect the quality of service, reduce productivity in sectors dependent on logistics, and ultimately reduce trade competitiveness. While other interventions that affect logistics performance-such as international infrastructures, trade corridors, regulations, and services-have already been reviewed extensively, this report is the first to cover the contributions of human resources and explore how to develop skills and improve competencies, especially in developing countries. The study proposes a framework for the skills needed according to the logistics activity (such as transportation or warehousing) or the type and level of responsibility. Based on several sources, including recent surveys carried out by the World Bank and the Kühne Logistics University, the report uncovers where the skills constraints are according to the type of job or countries. Findings include that logistics is an industry struggling to hire skilled workers, although with differences between developed countries (where trucker shortages are more acute) and developing economies (where managerial shortages are more widespread). Typically, blue-collar logistics jobs have lower status and lower pay than blue-collar jobs in other industries; they are thus less attractive for skilled workers. In developing countries with a potentially available workforce, lack of vocational preparation for careers in logistics means that less-skilled workers are not easily re-skilled. Logistics tasks at the upper end of the occupational hierarchy and those with high information technology content often require an upskilling of employees to keep pace with new technology. Yet the problem is not confined to recruitment. The surveys point to limited resources, money, and staff time allocated to training, especially in developing countries. Realizing the promise of quality jobs from the growth of logistics worldwide requires a coordinated effort by logistics companies, professional associations, training providers, and policy makers. Through a combination of facilitation, regulation, advice, financial instruments, and land use planning, governments can exert significant influence.
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Ethiopia Health Extension Program
An Institutionalized Community Approach For Universal Health Coverage
by Huihui Wang
Part of the World Bank Studies series
As a low-income country, Ethiopia has made impressive progress in improving health outcomes. This report examines how Ethiopia's Health Extension Program (HEP) has contributed to the country's move toward Univeral Health Coverage (UHC), and to shed light on how other countries may learn from Ethiopia's experiences of HEP when designing their own path to UHC. HEP is one of the government's UHC strategies introduced in a context of limited resources and low coverage of essential health services. The key aspects of the program include the capacity building and mobilization of more than 30, 000 Health Extension Workers (HEWs) targeting more than 12 million model families, and the mobilization of "health development army" to support the community-based health system. Using the HEP-UHC conceptual model and data from Demographic and Health Surveys, the study examines how the HEP has contributed to the country's move toward UHC. During the period that the HEP has been implemented, the country has experienced significant improvements in many dimensions: in terms of socioeconomic, psychological, behavioral, and biological dimensions of the beneficiaries; and in terms of the coverage of health care services. The study finds an accelerated rate of improvements among the rural, less-educated, and the poor population, which is leading to an overall reduction in equity gaps and improvements in the equity indicators – including the concentration indices - that suggest a more equitable distribution of resources and health outcomes. The HEP in Ethiopia has demonstrated that an institutionalized community approach is effective in helping a country make progress toward UHC. The elements of success in the HEP include the emphasis on community mobilization which identifies community priorities, engages and empowers community members, and supports their ability to solve local problems. The other aspect of HEP is the emphasis on institutionalization of the activities, which addresses the sustainability of community programs through high level of political commitment, and effective coordination of national policies and leveraging of support from partners. These findings may offer useful lessons for other low income countries facing similar challenges in developing and implementing a sustainable UHC strategy.
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Elite Capture
Residential Tariff Subsidies In India
by Kristy Mayer
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Unlocking Energy Access: Reforming India's Electricity SubsidiesIndia faces the challenge of providing affordable electricity to all its citizens while ensuring the financial viability of its power sector. This World Bank study, Elite Capture: Residential Tariff Subsidies in India, analyzes the complex issue of residential electricity subsidies through a poverty lens.
Discover how inefficient tariff policies lead to subsidy leakage, with 87% of payments benefiting non-poor households. Explore the impact of tariff design, cross-subsidies, and consumption patterns on subsidy incidence. Learn about state-level variations and best practices for better targeting. This study offers valuable insights and policy recommendations for:
- Improving energy access for the poor
- Reducing fiscal burdens on state governments
- Promoting financial sustainability of distribution utilities
This insightful analysis is essential for policymakers, energy professionals, and researchers seeking to create a more equitable and efficient energy future for India.
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Reducing the Vulnerability of Albania's Agricultural Systems to Climate Change
Impact Assessment And Adaptation Options
by William R. Sutton
Part of the World Bank Studies series
Adapting Albanian Agriculture to a Changing Climate: A Path to Resilience and SustainabilityThis study provides a clear and comprehensive plan for aligning agricultural policies with climate change in Albania. It details developing the capabilities of key agricultural institutions and making needed investments in infrastructure, support services, and on-farm improvements.
- Understand the economic impacts of climate change on Albanian agriculture.
- Discover sustainable adaptation strategies for agricultural systems.
- Implement policy recommendations to support climate change adaptation.
For policymakers, agricultural experts, researchers, and donor communities interested in climate change adaptation in Albania and similar regions. This study offers insights and practical guidance for building climate-resilient agricultural systems.
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Reducing the Vulnerability of Moldova's Agricultural Systems to Climate Change
Impact Assessment And Adaptation Options
by William R. Sutton
Part of the World Bank Studies series
A practical guide to building climate resilience in agricultural systems. This study examines the vulnerability of Moldova's agricultural sector to climate change and provides a clear plan for adaptation. It's for policymakers, researchers, and agricultural experts seeking to develop effective strategies.
Discover how to align agricultural policies with climate change, strengthen institutions, and make smart investments. Learn from Moldova's experience and apply a comprehensive, empirically driven, and consultative approach. This volume emphasizes "win-win" solutions that boost productivity, increase resilience, and limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Inside, find:
- Detailed climate risk assessments
- Adaptation options tailored to specific agro-ecological zones
- Economic impact analyses
- Stakeholder consultation results
Enhance your understanding and implement effective climate change adaptation in agriculture.