This country assessment is part of a set of studies planned in order to provide a better understanding of how to improve the business environment in which the private sector operates in Congo and othe
Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Africa: An Empirical Analysis sheds light on the characteristics of formal and informal manufacturing firms in Africa by comparing these firms with firms in other
Over the past century, the world has seen a sustained decline in the proportion of people living in poverty, but climate change could challenge poverty reduction efforts. On the Poverty and Welfare Im
Renewable energy plays an important role in contributing to the transition toward low-carbon development growth, in enhancing technology diversification and hedging against fuel price volatility, in s
The unprecedented rise in world oil prices over the past decade has created greater economic uncertainty and higher risk introduced by oil price volatility. Countries with a high proportion of oil in
In their efforts to increase the share of renewable in electricity grids to reducing emissions or increasing energy diversity, developed and developing countries are finding that a considerable scale-
Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Comparative Analysis takes stock of education in Sub-Saharan Africa by drawing on the collective knowledge gained through the preparation of Country Status Reports f
This book presents a framework, the Urban Risk Assessment, for assessing disaster and climate risk in cities which is intended to assist in decision-making, urban planning, and designing risk manageme
Nonfinancial Defined Contribution (NDC) schemes are now in their teens. The new pension concept was born in the early 1990s, implemented from the mid-1990s in Italy, Latvia, Poland and Sweden, legisl
In China, despite the introduction of economic reforms that have lifted millions out of poverty, the income gap between rural and urban areas remains wide. There is a growing realization in policy cir
The informal sector in West Africa has some distinctive characteristics. Informality usually connotes small and unorganized producers operating on the fringes of the formal economy. In West African
In the past fifteen years, Brazil has made great strides in increasing its population’s access to early child education, with both preschool and creche enrollment increasing by over fifty percent. Edu
Trade that straddles borders in Central Asia plays a vital role in the livelihoods of border communities and buttresses prosperity in often poor regions. By strengthening commercial ties, cultural un
During the 2008 financial crisis, the possible changes in remittance-sending behavior and potential avenues to alleviate a probable decline in remittance flows became concerns. This book brings togeth
The public debt crisis in Europe has shaken the confidence not just in the Euro, but in the European model. Aging and uneconomical Europeans are being squeezed between innovative Americans and effici
The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2006 and Constituent Assembly elections in 2008 have paved the way for political and economic reform in Nepal. Indeed, the 2009 Investment Climate A
Since the Rose Revolution at the end of 2003, Georgia has had singular success in fighting corruption in a variety of public services. This book is an attempt to chronicle these efforts and to distil
Millions of migrants worldwide send billions of dollars in remittances each year to their families or communities of origin. In many developing countries, remittances are an important source of family
The Government of Sudan has made great efforts in increasing access to education for children in northern Sudan across education sub-sectors over the past decade. In particular, educational access fo
This Workbook offers a step-by-step guide for city officials in proactively planning for natural disasters and climate change impacts. It is based on learning from three cities in Vietnam - Ha Noi, Ca
Health indicators particularly on child health and malaria in Ethiopia have improved significantly in recent years, with the next challenge now focused on improving maternal health indicators. Improv
Despite recent progress, malnutrition remains a severe problem in Ethiopia, especially among young children. Many of them suffer lifelong consequences in terms of higher risk of mortality and future i
Trusting Trade and the Private Sector for Food Security in Southeast Asia challenges policymakers who oversee the rice sector in Southeast Asia and reexamines deep-rooted preceptsabout their responsib
Traditionally, air transport infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) was exclusively under government ownership and management. Starting in the late 1990s, several Latin American count
In many low and middle income countries, dismal failures in the quality of public service delivery such as absenteeism among teachers and doctors and leakages of public funds have driven the agenda fo
HIV/AIDS continues to take a tremendous toll on the populations of many countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries with high HIV prevalence rates, life expectancy has declined by m
The Cash Dividend: The Rise of Cash Transfer Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa assimilates results of a thorough review of the recent use of cash transfer programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing from sou
Much of the content in this third volume of The World Bank Legal Review came from contributing speakers at the November 2010 World Bank-coordinated Law, Justice and Development Week. Topics in this co
Ninth in a series of annual reports comparing businessregulations in 183 economies, Doing Business 2012 measuresregulations affecting 11 areas of everyday business activity:‧ starting a business‧ deal
Billions in corrupt assets, complex money trails, strings of shell companies and other spuriouslegal structures. These form the complex web of subterfuge in corruption cases, behind whichhides the ben
Brazil is in the middle of a profound socioeconomic transformation driven by demographic change. Because of profound changes in mortality and, especially, fertility over the past four decades the popu
Building on global interest in migration development, the volume draws attention to one of the most important migration systems in sub-Saharan Africa. It reviews South Africa’s approach to internation
Financing Africa takes stock of Africa’s financial systems in light of recent changes in the global financial system –including the greater risk aversion of international investors, a shift in economi
While some health indicators in Madagascar are on par with international and regional standards, the country is lagging behind in others. This is largely explained by the vulnerability of two groups:
Porta et al., who work in education and economics at the World Bank and elsewhere, show policy makers, planners, and researchers how to analyze and monitor inequality in education using the World Bank
This book reviews the experience with one specific though widely introduced approach to funding general education, namely per capita financing (PCF), in six countries in the Europe and Central Asia (E
Economists have repeatedly warned against them, NGOs have fought them, and somegovernments have begrudgingly (at least in appearance) signed them. Yet, in the last twentyyears the growth in number of
This report identifies challenges in the migration process from Nepal to Qatar (related to high migration costs and their financing) and constraints in the remittance transfer process from Qatar to Ne
Under its Health in Africa Initiative, IFC intended to conduct a country assessment of the private health sector in Mali, working in close collaboration with the World Bank and the Government of Mali.
India has 150GW of renewable energy potential, about half in the form of small hydropower, biomass, and wind and half in solar, cogeneration, and waste-to-energy. Developing renewable energy can help
