Miscellaneous Knowledge Notes
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Publication
Economic Mobility Across Generations in the Developing East Asia and Pacific Region
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-09)The pace and success of economic growth in the developing East Asia and Pacific region (EAP) has been described as nothing short of a miracle. Education and its complementarities are often linked and credited significantly for the region's positive story on economic growth. During the early stages of the region's development, education kept pace and complemented labor needs; widespread basic literacy and numeracy met demands in manufacturing and assembling. This led to rapid improvements in educational mobility across generations in absolute terms, where mobility is understood as the rise in education levels from one generation to the next. On the other hand, progress has been slower and uneven in relative mobility, which is more closely linked to inequality in education and income and refers to the extent to which an individual's position in society is influenced by that of his or her parents. -
Publication
China - Can Classroom Observations Measure Improvements in Teaching?
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-02)The results in education for all children (REACH) trust fund at the World Bank has funded a pilot of the classroom assessment scoring system (CLASS) in Guangdong, China to test its usefulness as a tool to assess teaching practices. The pilot was also designed to establish a proof of concept for using classroom observations to measure the impact of teacher training and incentivize training providers within an RBF mechanism. In the pilot, the CLASS tool was used to conduct classroom observations of 36 teachers in Guangdong and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their teaching practices. It sought to test whether this tool could be used to measure teaching practices in the context of China and how to introduce classroom observations into a quality assurance and monitoring and evaluation (QAME) system, as well as exploring how to establish the preconditions for introducing results-based financing (RBF) into China. -
Publication
Integrated Logistic Centers: Experience from North America and Options for China
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-04)China s shift toward accelerated economic growth in central and western provinces and increasing levels of personal income and consumption are all consistent with the need for rail-enabled Integrated Logistics Centers (ILCs). Yet, while hundreds of logistics clusters have been developed in China over the past few years, modern, international standard rail- and multimodal-transport enabled ILCs are less common. Close, long-term collaboration between public sector authorities and private sector specialized firms, such as real estate developers, have proven effective in the development of North America s focused network of ILCs critical to facilitating transcontinental and other freight itineraries. This model can succeed in China as well. The ready availability of multimodal transport connectivity is the most critical component of any cluster of logistics activities. This note will argue that China could substantially benefit from developing a focused network of well-planned, economically justified, financially viable, and carefully implemented ILCs supported by rail intermodal operations. -
Publication
Public Transport Service Optimization and System Integration
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-03)Public transport has the most customer appeal and is most efficient when it is planned and operated as a seamless, integrated system. This is particularly important in urban environments in fast growing economies such as China and India, where public transport must increasingly compete with private vehicles which offer door-to-door, one seat travel irrespective of time of day or day of the week. International experience suggests that public transport planners must recognize two integration dimensions: (a) integration among all modes and routes comprising the multi-modal public transport network, (b) integration of the physical and operational elements or each respective mode and service, e.g., metro or bus. Successful integration in both dimensions will provide a more customer-friendly experience and make public transport more efficient and cost-effective. This will help maximize public transport ridership and revenue, increase customer satisfaction, reduce costs and subsidies and general environmental, social and economic benefits for the investment. -
Publication
High-Speed Railways in China: A Look at Traffic
(World Bank, Beijing, 2014-12)While new transport needs are emerging and existing transport needs are growing, the network of China Railway is one of the most densely used in the world. Between 2000 and 2013, China Railways experienced robust rail traffic growth. The combination of rapidly growing traffic and of high existing traffic density called for major new investments in order for railways to continue playing a substantial role in the Chinese economy. Understanding and addressing passenger needs will be critical to achieve the full impact of the HSR network. HSR remains a major investment that requires high traffic density to be justified economically and financially. It requires careful attention to the overall door-to-door trip experience for travelers. This includes dealing with aspects that sometimes extend beyond the remit of railways, for example by improving the access to and from the station, and, in particular, reducing the current waiting time for taxis at stations or ensuring good frequency for public transport services. It also includes optimizing train frequencies and city pairing based on emerging trip patterns and user surveys, introduction flexible ticket prices reflecting peak/off-peak periods, and introducing convenient e-ticketing services. By focusing on these aspects, and on the efficient and effective operation of the HSR network, HSR in China can be expected to continue to experience substantial growth for many years to come. -
Publication
Private Capital for Railway Development
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-08)China is considering ways to attract additional capital to finance investment in railways. Worldwide, private capital has been attracted to the railway sector through a range of mechanisms including: (i) private sector provision of specific rail services or assets such as rolling stock; (ii) public private partnerships; (iii) leveraging commercial value of rail assets and increased land value around stations; and (iv) debt and equity financing of railway companies. Private sector investors seek to earn a return on investment that is commensurate with the risk of the investment. Therefore one will be attracted to profitable opportunities with manageable risk. Steps China can take to attract private capital for railway development include: (i) creating a policy and legal environment that protects the interests of different types of investors in the railway sector; (ii) identifying and creating profitable railway markets and entities that are suitable for private sector investment; (iii) managing the perception of risk in railway activities and assets; (iv) promoting asset sharing opportunities; and (v) expanding public private partnerships (PPPs) in rail assets and services. -
Publication
High-Speed Railways in China: A Look at Construction Costs
(World Bank, Beijing, 2014-07)By the end of 2013, China railway had built a network of about 10,000 route-km of high-speed railways (HSR). The network has been built rapidly and at a relatively low unit cost compared with similar projects in other countries. This note takes a look at this expansion, its construction unit costs and some of its key cost components. It also outlines reasons that may explain the comparatively low cost of HSR construction in China. -
Publication
High-Speed Rail, Regional Economics, and Urban Development in China
(World Bank, Beijing, 2013-01)Traditional economic evaluations of major transport infrastructure investments focus on the direct costs and benefits arising from travel, including user time savings, operator cost savings, and reductions in externalities including air pollution, noise, and accidents. There is an emerging consensus that major transport investments may have significant impacts that are not well captured by this type of conventional cost-benefit analysis. In China, the World Bank transport team has supported both econometric studies and on-the-ground surveys that begin to identify and quantify these impacts in the context of China's emerging High Speed Rail (HSR) program. Based on this and other research, the Bank team has begun to pilot a methodology to evaluate wider economic development benefits for several HSR projects, and has found them to be significant - of the same order as, but additional to the direct transport benefits that are traditionally measured. Crucially, these benefits of larger and better connected markets accrue to businesses and individuals even when they themselves do not travel. This paper highlights this research and methodology and the policy implications related to maximizing these benefits in practice.