Other Public Sector Study

335 items available

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https://hdl.handle.net/10986/2206

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Citizen Engagement in Operations: A Stock-Take of Citizen Engagement in Development Policy Financing
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06) Kumagai, Saki
Guided by the 2014 Strategic Framework for Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement in World Bank Group Operations, the World Bank supports policies, programs, projects, and advisory services and analytics where citizen engagement (CE) can improve development results. While the corporate commitment to mainstream CE targets investment operations, the World Bank teams continue to explore CE in other instruments. Engaging Citizens for Better Development Results, a report by the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG), assessed the Bank Group’s efforts to mainstream CE. It recommends the World Bank “encourage and support efforts of its regional, country, and Global Practices teams to establish, where appropriate, thick CE that is regular and continuous, uses multiple tools, and is embedded in country systems.” It also suggests this objective could be achieved by more systematically using existing channels of dialogue and stakeholder engagement, including that of Development Policy Financing (DPF), and applying tools at the various levels. Given this context, this Governance Note aims to take stock of existing CE practice in DPF by shedding light on the prior action usage.
Republic of Azerbaijan: Corporate Governance and Ownership of State Owned Enterprises
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-11) World Bank
This Technical Note assesses the corporate governance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Azerbaijan with a view to supporting the government’s efforts to bolster economic development. Mutually reinforcing recommendations are closely linked and aim to increase accountability across the whole ownership structure of SOEs, from their ultimate owners, the citizens, to their employees. The Note outlines international good practice, summarizes current practices in Azerbaijan, and indicates areas for consideration to improve SOE corporate governance in Azerbaijan. The Note was prepared by a World Bank Group team, based on research and consultations during January - October 2017, to (i) analyze current SOE governance frameworks and practices in Azerbaijan and identify main deviations from international good practices; and (ii) develop a series of policy recommendations for further reforms in strengthening SOEs governance and improving their effectiveness. This work may serve as a basis for further collaboration between the World Bank and the Government of Azerbaijan towards SOE reform and related policy considerations. Given the significance of SOEs and a range of important socio-economic and political-economy related factors, improving SOEs governance in Azerbaijan is a significant challenge. Implementation of any of the recommendations contained in this Note should form part of a broader strategy for SOEs linked to economic and sector strategies in Azerbaijan. This Note aims to build on the priorities outlined by the Strategic Roadmaps for the national economy and main economic sectors of Azerbaijan for 2016-2020, signed by the President of Azerbaijan on December 6, 2016. The Roadmaps re-affirm Azerbaijan’s priorities in diversification of its oil-dominant economy, reduce the State’s participation in the existing state-owned enterprises, and enable more private sector led growth.
West Bank and Gaza: High Level Technical Assessment on e-Government
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-01) World Bank Group
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is in the early phase of its e‐government journey and aims to utilize ICT to deliver services to its citizens and businesses to improve social well‐being and facilitate economic development. The PA aims to serve 12.1 million Palestinians in the West Bank (2.7 million), the Gaza Strip (1.7 million), and the remaining 7.7 million Palestinians who are dispersed among 28 different countries. Many Palestinians are refugees, including more than one million in the Gaza Strip, 750,000 in the West Bank, and about 250,000 in Israel. Of the Palestinian population residing abroad, otherwise known as the Palestinian diaspora, more than half are considered stateless, lacking citizenship in any country. The combination of the ongoing Israeli‐Palestinian conflict as well as the diaspora situation makes implementation of e‐government projects in the West Bank and Gaza (WBG) unique and complex. A review of e‐government documentation and stakeholder interviews reveals that the PA has made reasonable progress on e‐government amidst a challenging environment, but it is still in the nascent phase in terms of delivering benefits to its constituents. There are numerous challenges for the successful implementation of e‐government, including geopolitical conflict, insufficient legislation to facilitate electronic transactions, limited budget to support e‐government projects, inadequate policies and standards, and limited capacity within the e‐government unit under the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology (MTIT). The PA is at a key moment in its e‐government journey. It is an opportunistic time to drive modernization of its public administration and public service delivery through use of ICT, offer better services to citizens, and promote economic growth.
Doing Business in Poland 2015: Comparing Business Regulations for Domestic Firms in 18 Cities with 188 Other Economies
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06) World Bank Group
Poland’s economic growth over the last 25 years has been spectacular. In that period, Poland has more than doubled its income per capita and became a European growth champion. It was the only EU country to avoid a recession in 2009. Its current GDP growth rate is strong. Poland seems to be on the brink of its new ‘golden age.’ Doing Business in Poland 2015 is the first subnational report of the Doing Business series in Poland. It measures business regulations and their enforcement from the perspective of a small to medium-size domestic firm. The idea is a simple one: if entrepreneurs spend fewer resources on regulatory burdens, they will have more time to devote to productive activities. If laws and regulations are clear, accessible, and transparent and, at the same time, enforceable before the courts, entrepreneurs will feel more confident to do business with people they don’t know, and expand their client and supplier network. The gap between the 18 cities benchmarked is significant. By adopting existing good practices found across the country in the four areas measured by this report, Poland would rank 24th out of 189 economies globally, eight positions higher than Poland’s current ranking according to Doing Business 2015, placing the country ahead of France and the Netherlands. Promoting convergence among regions and cities towards the top performers and thus improving the ease of doing business in the whole country is a challenge worth taking.