PREM Notes
176 items available
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This note series is intended to summarize good practices and key policy findings on poverty reduction and economic management (PREM) topics.
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Publication
The Changing Politics of Tax Policy Reform in Developing Countries
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-02)Who shapes tax policy reform in developing countries? A wider range of political actors are beginning to exercise influence. A brief history in this report will explain who they are and how they operate. -
Publication
Chile's Monitoring and Evaluation System, 1994-2010
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-08)The Chilean Management Control and Evaluation System (Sistema de Evaluacion y Control de Gestion) is internationally regarded as a successful example of how to put into place a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system. Chilean M&E tools are the product of both cross-national lesson-drawing, and national policy learning experiences. The main M&E tools are centrally coordinated by the Ministry of Finance's Budget Office (Direccion de Presupuestos, or DIPRES) and promote the use of M&E information in government decision-making processes, particularly those related to the budget. These M&E tools have been, however, subject to a number of criticisms. As a result, the experience described in this note does not necessarily offer a model that can, or should, be easily transferred to other countries with different institutional contexts. Furthermore, this note does not reflect the latest changes, nor does it try to offer guidance for the future. However, the Chilean experience summarized here, covering the period of 1994-2010, provides interesting examples and highly relevant lessons about the benefits and limitations of M&E design and implementation. -
Publication
Institutionalizing M&E systems in Latin American and Caribbean Countries
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-09)Countries are driving the efforts to institutionalize monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems. Through the promotion of knowledge-sharing, and by taking stock of current M&E systems, fostering South-South collaboration, raising awareness through presentations, and, by launching an informal regional network, the note reviews the cases of Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. It became evident from country experiences, that there is no single "destination" for countries. Some stress a system of performance indicators, while others focus on conducting evaluations (program reviews or rigorous impact evaluation (IE). And while some countries have created a whole of government approach driven by finance, or planning ministries, others are more focused on sector M&E systems. One key characteristic of most of the systems that are now at different stages of implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is that they are country-led efforts to institutionalize M&E, rather than donor-driven. -
Publication
Reforming the Courts : The Role of Empirical Research
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002-03)Working with local researchers, World Bank staff recently analyzed a random sample of cases filed in the first instance courts of Argentina and Mexico. (First instance or trial courts make the initial rulings on cases based on both facts and law. Higher instance or appeals courts are often restricted to questions of law and so may not reconsider the facts of a case.) The Mexico study was conducted in the Federal District, the largest of Mexico's 32 local and state jurisdictions, and reviewed 464 debt collection cases brought under a special procedure that provides for rapid dispute resolution. In Argentina a stratified sample of criminal, civil, and labor cases was drawn from trial courts in the national capital, Buenos Aires (600 cases), and in the province of Santa Fe (450 cases). In both countries the identities of the parties, the nature of the cases, the amounts at issue, the times to disposition, and other data from the case files were coded and analyzed. Aggregate statistics kept by the judiciary and information from interviews and focus groups were used to help interpret the case file findings. Both studies revealed that when it comes to the operation of Latin American justice systems, much of what experts "know" is incorrect. Because this conventional wisdom often informs judicial reform projects, it can encourage changes aimed at solving nonexistent problems-while ignoring real ones. -
Publication
Strengthening Peru's Tax Agency
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2001-11)The reforms were remarkably successful: by 1997 internal tax revenue had recovered to 13 percent of GDP-despite an extremely difficult political and economic environment-and 90 percent of large corporate taxpayers surveyed believed that taxpayer services had improved. The reforms had several key elements: granting the National Tax Administration Superintendency (SUNAT) meaningful administrative and financial autonomy, implementing radical personnel reform, investing in infrastructure and information technology, and generating public support. The reforms also forged a new relationship between taxpayers and the tax agency and committed to improving services. At the same time, the agency made clear its intention to enforce compliance with the tax code. SUNAT's experience offers several lessons for tax administration reform in other countries. First, the immediate efficacy of SUNAT as a semiautonomous revenue authority was due to a combination of several factors, perhaps the most important of which was a coupling of political leadership with managerial expertise. But Peru's experience also highlights pitfalls to avoid for other countries engaging in tax administration reform. -
Publication
Promoting Good Governance with Social Funds and Decentralization
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2001-01)Bad governance undermines development. Two important types of World Bank support for local governance are social funds and broadly based support for governments committed to decentralizing responsibility and power to local governments and other local institutions. But there are concerns that these two approaches, which address different elements of governance, sometimes work at cross-purposes. A study was therefore commissioned to examine the interaction between social funds and decentralization in Bolivia and Honduras (advanced decentralization), Peru and Zimbabwe (some decentralization), and Cambodia, Malawi, and Zambia (little or no decentralization). This Note is based on the findings of the study. -
Publication
Reducing Corruption : Lessons from Venezuela
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2000-05)Providing information to the public is an essential but insufficient step in making local government more transparent. A participatory process is also needed, both to ensure accountability and to reinforce healthy relationships between people and government. Empirical data linked to a participatory program for institutional reform are key for eliciting broad interest in administrative organization--enabling citizens to improve municipal management. A recent World Bank program in Campo Elias, Venezuela, used an innovative and effective approach to build participatory institutional frameworks and to apply best practices in public policymaking. As a result corruption has fallen and services are delivered more efficiently. The program, which ran from April 1998 to December 1999, involved the World Bank Institute, the municipal government, and civil society. The experience shows the powerful benefits that come when local political will, technical capacity to execute reforms, and strong partnership with civil society are mixed to enhance efficiency, equity, and transparency.