Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation in Focus

26 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10986/24198
The series captures the experience, innovative approaches and solutions for development of the World Bank Group covering financial sector topics of relevance to both the public and private sectors. The series is comprised of short knowledge notes, policy notes, case studies, lessons learned or a combination therein. This series was formerly known as Finance in Focus.

Filters

2019 - 20202
Browse document type tree
Reset filters

Settings

Statistics
Citations
Start date: 2019 × Supported Language: en × Topic: Law and Development ×

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Corporate Tax Incentives: Methodological Approaches and Policy Considerations
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020) Kronfol, Hania; Steenbergen, Victor
    Developing countries are increasingly offering tax breaks to attract investors and pursue various policy objectives such as encouraging investments in research and development (R and D) and increasing exports. Such incentives, however, can be very costly to governments. Too often, developing countries - already struggling with revenue mobilization - adopt investment incentives in an ad hoc manner, without analyzing the value for money of these instruments. Cost-benefit analysis can help policy makers demonstrate the direct cost (tax revenue foregone) incurred by governments against the economic benefits being pursued. Global evidence on investment location decisions suggests that while tax incentives can help attract investment, other factors, such as the wider investment climate and market opportunities, matter most. Tax incentives should therefore be conceived as part of a country’s broader investment policy framework and governments should be realistic about the potential impact any measure may have. In this light, cost-benefit analysis can serve as a powerful tool to inform incentives policy reform and offer important inputs into a country’s investment policy strategy.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    How Countries Can Fully Implement the New York Convention: A Critical Tool for Enforcement of International Arbitration Decisions
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-30) Forneris, Xavier; Mocheva, Nina
    The year 2018 marked the 60th anniversary of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, the most important international convention in the area of international commercial arbitration. The Convention is also said to be the most successful international treaty in the area of private international law. This note primarily targets policy makers and their legal advisors in countries looking at ways to improve their business environment, to become more attractive locations for trade and investment, through better dispute resolution options for international transactions. First, the note explains that international commercial arbitration, as part of countries' legally recognized dispute resolution options, is critical to cross-border contract enforcement. As countries strengthen their international arbitration regimes, they improve their competitiveness in international markets and increase investment and trade by reducing transaction risks and the cost of new infrastructure projects. Countries can improve their international commercial arbitration systems by passing modern legislation consistent with international best practice, ratifying international arbitration conventions, strengthening judicial capacity to enforce arbitral awards, and investing in local arbitration centers.