Governments in developing countries have been increasingly involved in the support of agricultural (crop and livestock) insurance programs in recent years. In their attempts to design and implement ag
Over the past decade, Egyptian women have made significant progress in improving their economic and social status. The government’s commitment to women’s empowerment is strong at the highest political
This study compares the scope and objectives of the EU's Market in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) with corresponding US securities regulations, including the 1934 Securities Exchange Act, the
Teachers are at the heart of good education, and good teacher policies are essential to ensure adequate supply, deployment and management of teachers. Enrollment in primary education has grown rapidly
New financial and communication technologies offer a great opportunity to improve the lives of people everywhere. For instance, millions of impoverished people now have access to the financial system
Strategic purchasing of health services involves a continuous search for the best ways to maximize health system performance by deciding which interventions should be purchased, from whom these should
'Working in Health' addresses two key questions related to health workforce policy in developing countries:‧ What is the impact of government wage bill policies on the size of the health wage bill and
The purpose of this book is to provide policy insights to decision-makers, academics and researchers on investment flows and patterns in Southeast Europe. The report explores some of the determinants
‘Does Private Sector Participation Improve Performance in Electricity and Water Distribution?’ this question has proven deceptively difficult to answer in the context of utilities in developing econom
The first Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD) Report is one of the main products of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). It constitutes a global reference on dece
Persuasive evidence demonstrates that gender equality in education is central to economic development. Despite more than two decades of accumulated knowledge and evidence of what works in improving ge
Over the past few years, the countries of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union have seen rapid productivity growth that has driven up living standards and reduced poverty. 'Unleashing Prosperity
'Developing Tests and Questionnaires for a National Assessment of Educational Achievement' is the second in the 'National Assessments of Educational Achievement' series. It is designed to help build c
This study is based on research on secondary textbook and school library provision in Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Togo, as well as existing recent co
Increasingly the role of management and governance is recognized as important for providing and delivering effective services at all levels of education. In view of the growing demand for more and bet
Economic and social changes, fast evolution of technology, and the growing importance of Internet services and international communications--all these require secondary education providers to adapt wh
Since 1980, China's economy has been the envy of the world. Is annual growth rate of more than 9 percent during this period makes China today the world's fourth-largest economy. And this sustained gro
In this study, Dahlman (World Bank) et al. bring together seven chapters that describe how Finland has transformed from a natural resources-based economy to a knowledge economy since the 1990s, how it
This title outlines a number of practical initiatives to strengthen the role of development communication in infrastructure projects. The authors aim to facilitate better quality projects and to build
This volume, from the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank, details how governments in developing countries can strengthen their monitoring and evaluation systems and capacities. It sy
'Investor Protection and Corporate Governance' analyzes the impact of corporate governance on firm performance and valuation. Using unique datasets gathered at the firm-level—the first such data in th
'Environmental Priorities and Poverty Reduction: A Country Environmental Analysis for Colombia' proposes cost-effective policy and technical interventions aimed at abating the cost of environmental de
This book analyzes the wide range of issues that should be taken into account in forest-related legislation. It stresses that forest law must be understood in the context of the broader legal framewor
Government guarantees can help persuade private investors to finance valuable new infrastructure. But because their costs are hard to estimate and usually do not show up in the government's accounts,
The limited use of fertilizer by farmers in Africa stands in contrast to the much more extensive use of fertilizer by farmers in other developing regions. This contrast has stimulated considerable dis
These two volumes analyze Japan from the Knowledge Economy perspective, covering a wide range of sectoral issues in development including the macro economic framework, education and skills training, t
'The Transit Regime for Landlocked States' assesses the strengths and limits of existing international law related to the free access of landlocked states to and from the sea. The book analyzes whethe
This is the first comprehensive assessment of pension systems in the Middle East and North Africa. While other regions—Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, in particular—have been actively
This World Bank "Needs Assessment," carried out at the request of the Albanian government, analyzes the socioeconomic, cultural, institutional, and historical multi-dimensionality of poverty and exclu
Over the next two decades, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region faces an unprecedented challenge. In 2000, the labor forces of the region totaled some 104 million workers, a figure expected
Good governance—in which public institutions function responsibly, transparently, and accountably—is essential to reducing poverty and stimulating growth. As numerous studies have shown, weak governan
Rapid and sustained growth, in excess of 5% per annum, is key for sustained poverty reduction in Yemen. However, the achievement of such a target is challenging and necessitates aggressive changes in
The importance of social capital for sustainable development is well understood. However, the impact of social capital is not easily quantified and to overcome this, the Social Capital Initiative at t
The rural populations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region depend, in good part, on forest resources for income generation, fuel-wood for energy, and grazing for livestock, among other us
'China: Air, Land, and Water' is a further chapter in the successful and creative dialogue between the World Bank and the People's Republic of China. It focuses on how to promote both China's economic
Over the past three decades, many countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have recognized health as a human right. Since the early 2000s, 46 million more people in the countries studied are cover
