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Uganda Poverty Assessment Overview: Strengthening Resilience to Accelerate Poverty Reduction in Uganda
(Washington, DC, 2023-06-01)The share of Uganda’s population that lives below the poverty line has fluctuated over the last seven years, greatly influenced by shocks that have tested the resilience of the people. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed both urban and rural residents into poverty. Inequality, which reflects the extent to which different population groups benefit from Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, and affects the transmission of growth into poverty reduction, remained largely unchanged over this period and may even have worsened in urban areas. The findings of this report show that previously identified patterns and drivers of Uganda’s poverty changes persisted well into 2020 – shaped by low productivity and high vulnerability. Identified inequality of economic opportunities and unequal accumulation of the human capital could hold back structural change in employment. Accelerating poverty reduction in such a setting requires a two-pronged strategy. While at the macroeconomic level, policies addressing growth fundamentals are important for reducing poverty, from a microeconomic perspective, the report’s analysis shows that two strategies will be crucial. The first strategy is to lift the productivity and incomes of poor households in both rural and urban areas. While tackling agricultural productivity and job creation are at the top of the agenda here, making mobile phone services more widely accessible and affordable is a potential opportunity. The second strategy is to strengthen people’s resilience to shocks, particularly in rural areas. To have an impact, policies in both these areas will have to address the inequality in opportunities analyzed in the report. This document provides an overview of key report findings and identifies priority actions. -
Publication
PPP Project Screening and Analytics Tool (PSAT 2.0) User Guide
(Washington, DC, 2023-06-01)Lack of fiscal space and the quest for better efficiency in projects and programs have led to increasing interest in public-private partnerships (PPPs) globally. PPPs are more complex than similar publicly procured projects and require upfront project development expenses that could be significant. Therefore, public entities seek to understand as much as possible about each project before undertaking expensive studies, project structuring, and procurement, which brings to the fore the need for good upstream project selection techniques and methodologies. A review of early-stage PPP screening practices in various countries indicates that a mix of drivers determines PPP project success, often making it difficult for policy makers and practitioners to understand and select projects for further development as PPPs. Complete reliance on quantitative criteria has not worked well, with the result that in the past few years, countries have been opting to combine these with qualitative aspects. Often, screening methodologies have been created based on a country’s policy drivers and areas of focus. Although countries follow different methodologies for screening projects, there are certain common principles used by all. The PPP Project Screening and Analytics Tool (PSAT, or Tool) 2.0 is a Microsoft Excel Visual Basic–based decision-making tool that can be used by countries for the screening and prioritizing of climate resilient PPP projects. The Tool was developed by the Infrastructure Finance, Public-Private Partnerships and Guarantees global practice (IPG) at the World Bank. In 2023 climate change parameters were integrated into the tool and this user manual was updated accordingly. This document is a detailed guide that provides step-by-step instructions on the use of the PSAT 2.0. The User Guide also delves into the mechanics of the PSAT 2.0 and guides the user to customize the Tool to cater to specific requirements. -
Publication
Electric Mobility and Power Systems: Impacts and Mitigation Strategies in Developing Countries
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-06-01)The transition to electric mobility (E-Mobility) represents a complex and multifaceted challenge for power systems that will require a range of solutions and approaches to address. Much of the literature covering this subject takes the perspective of higher-income countries. This report addresses the technical dimension of the challenge in the context of developing countries, intending to inform E-Mobility practitioners and policymakers about the impacts on power systems and potential mitigation strategies. -
Publication
A Blue Transformation for Pacific Maritime Transport: Overarching Regional Transport
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-05-31)This report has eight chapters. Following the introduction (Pacific Peoples and the Sea), the next six chapters each focus on a separate significant component of Pacific maritime transport, analyzing the major influences and challenges, and, where relevant, key areas for future attention. The topics are: international shipping, gateway ports, domestic maritime transport, four related sectors, cruise ship tourism, tuna fisheries, fossil fuel imports, and bulk shipping, natural disasters and climate resilience, and sector governance and institutions. The final chapter, transforming pacific maritime transport, ways forward, distils the report’s findings into the most significant and far-reaching opportunities to transform maritime transport in the Pacific. These are grouped into three broad themes, infrastructure, services, and governance and capacity building. Ways Forward comes at the end and, for readers unable to view the whole report, is a good place to begin. The rest of this executive summary explains why the Pacific is a special case for investment and provides a summary of the main chapters and findings. But first, it describes which Pacific Island countries contributed to the study. -
Publication
Shaping First Steps: A Comprehensive Review of Preschool Education in Malaysia
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-05-31)The potential benefits from supporting early childhood development range from healthy development to a greater capacity to learn and increased productivity in adulthood. Despite undertaking various preschool education reforms and initiatives, issues of access and quality remain and continue to grow. The Malaysia Education Blueprint (2013-2025) set a target to achieve universal preschool enrollment by 2020, and Malaysia, along with many other developing countries, has yet to achieve this. Findings from the World Bank’s preschool survey and stakeholder interviews carried out for this report point to a range of issues, such as a lack of preschool seat availability in certain areas, low awareness among parents on the benefits of sending their children to preschools, affordability of preschool expenses, low teacher quality, and concerns over the overlapping roles between the multiple ministries and agencies that oversee ECCE in Malaysia. This review is carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MOE) and is a comprehensive assessment of Malaysia’s current preschool education landscape. The review aims to identify the gaps between the targets and aspirations set by MOE and the government under various policy documents and the outcomes to date. It also aims to deep-dive into the underlying reasons for these gaps, and seek solutions to close them and achieve the aspirations. This report synthesizes the findings from research, analysis, and stakeholder engagement activities, and is organized by a framework of targets, pillars, and enablers.