Other Public Sector Study

328 items available

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Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises in Europe and Central Asia: A Survey
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-12-01) World Bank
The Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises in Europe and Central Asia Survey analyzes the transparency and control environment governing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in selected countries of the Europe and Central Asia Region (ECA), with an emphasis on financial reporting, auditing, and transparency requirements. The survey builds on and complements several studies on SOE governance that World Bank teams have carried out around the ECA Region. The purpose of this survey is to provide the countries with an easy-to-follow benchmarking comparison of SOE practices in accountability requirements across the ECA Region. The survey will also inform ongoing and future World Bank assistance to partner countries in the areas of SOE financial accountability, controls, and transparency. The survey aims to assist governments and SOE ownership entities in carrying out reforms and implementing effective SOE monitoring mechanisms and corporate governance practices.
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.
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.
Republic of Serbia Municipal Public Finance Review : Options for Efficiency Gains
(Washington, DC, 2014-06-05) World Bank
Since the global financial crisis, Serbia's public debt has more than doubled. Local Governments (LGs) need to find ways to perform more efficiently, not only to contribute to national fiscal consolidation efforts, but also because they may have fewer resources available in the future. This report represents a continuation of the World Bank effort to explore LGs finances. The first phase of this report focused on options for increases in local revenues; impact of further decentralization; options for reduction of subsidies in selected sectors; and how to control the public debt. The report is organized as follows. Chapter 2 examines LG hiring and pay policies. In addition to offering recommendations on how to achieve efficiency and savings, it sheds light on employment wage policies within LG enterprises. Chapter 3 deepens the analysis of local public utility companies (PUCs), which not only have significant responsibilities for delivering local services, but also often pose a significant pressure on LG budgets. On average, financial support to PUCs accounts for a quarter of local budgets. This chapter looks at the main issues and makes recommendations for efficiency gains. Chapter 4 discusses the most important public financial management issues for LGs, asking where better management and accountability could increase value-for-money and help extract additional benefits from current and capital expenditures. It examines budget preparation, execution, and reporting issues as a basis for recommending policies to increase transparency and accountability as well as more efficient use of resources. Chapter 5 summarizes the main conclusions and policy recommendations of the report.
South East Europe Municipal Finance Review : Local Government Finance in the Western Balkans
(Washington, DC, 2013-09) World Bank
This report addresses the limited access to local governments of data and knowledge of municipal finance issues in South East Europe (SEE). The objective of the analytical work under the SEE Municipal Finance Review (MFR) aims to (i) contribute to improved understanding of local government management and finance in the SEE Region; and (ii) contribute to improving the quality and consistency of key municipal finance data for improved evidence based policy making. The analysis presented in this report comprises the first attempt to review and analyze a regional set of disaggregated sub-national finance data in the SEE Region. Main findings of the MFR are presented in this report. Following an introductory chapter, chapter 2 provides an overview of the decentralization framework in the SEE Region, including on the administrative and political structure of sub-national governments, their population size and distribution, and the service functions assigned to local governments. Chapter 3 explains in more detail the local government finance framework. This includes an overview of the structure and composition of sub-national finances, in particular (i) revenue and expenditure assignments; (ii) transfers and intergovernmental fiscal relations; and (iii) the evolving framework and realities of sub-national borrowing and debt. Chapter 4 provides a summary of the key trends and findings from the cross-country, regional analysis, complemented by detailed analysis of the disaggregated datasets, where available. Finally, Chapter 5 summarizes conclusions and provides some recommendations for a possible way forward. In the medium to long term, access to municipal finance information would contribute to increasing transparency and accountability of local governments, improving revenue collection and expenditure performance, optimizing budget allocation procedures, and strengthen local authorities' role and position in intergovernmental fiscal considerations and negotiations in the SEE countries.
Public Sector-operated Price-comparison Websites : Case Studies and Good Practices
(Washington, DC, 2013-06) World Bank
This technical note is intended to provide regulators with concrete, practical information on operating price-comparison websites and the strategic considerations necessary to take into account when designing such sites. The technical note examines price-comparison websites operated by public sector entities in Canada, Hungary, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The technical note describes the price-comparison tools in these case study countries, comparing differing approaches and highlighting good practices found across countries. Institutional and structural arrangements were found to vary across case study countries. Price-comparison websites are operated by either a financial regulator (Hungary, Malaysia) or more commonly by a financial consumer agency set up by the government but operating as an independent agency (Canada, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, United Kingdom). Typically, less sophisticated price-comparison websites provide basic price-comparison tools, while more sophisticated sites provide interactive product-selection tools and complementary educational materials in an intuitive, easy-to-use format.
Romania - Functional Review : Regional Development and Tourism
(Washington, DC, 2011-06) World Bank
The Functional Review of the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism (MRDT FR) assesses the key functional strengths and weakness of MRDT with respect to its mandate and recommends actions that can help strengthen its efficiency and effectiveness. The review covers the main general directorates (DGs) and departments of MRDT, as well as related institutions such as URBAN-INCERC and the National Housing Agency. The report has six main chapters in addition to the executive summary: Introduction, Overview of MRDT, Policy Management, Operational Management, Budget and Financial Management, and Public Procurement.
Who Governs Rural Russia?: Preliminary Outcomes of the 2006 Decentralization Reform
(World Bank, Moscow, 2011-03) World Bank
The objectives of the study are to: a) increase understanding of the effects and effectiveness of the implementation of the local government reform launched in 2006; and b) assess the impact of a World Bank-supported intervention that aimed to enhance effectiveness of the reforms by increasing local capacity and local participation. In line with these objectives, the study assessed the perceived effects and effectiveness of the implementation of the local government reform in selected provinces. The study also constitutes a baseline to allow for on-going assessment of progress and to inform corrective policy actions. The instruments and methods created during the study may be used in future assessments of the dynamics of local governance reform. These effects are reviewed in section two. The study also carried out a rigorous evaluation of the impact of an operational intervention carried out with World Bank support in the three regions of the study. This grant-funded project was aimed at increasing the effectiveness of participation of rural citizens in public life and increasing the capacity of local administrations to operate in the new legal and fiscal environment created by the decentralization reform. The summary of the impact evaluation can be found in section three.
Romania - Functional Review : Center of government
(Washington, DC, 2010-10) Evans, Gord; Evans, Anne; Giosan, Victor; Myers, Bernard; Dinu, Dragos
The medium-term objective of this review of the Center of Government (CoG) is to improve the Government's policy performance by strengthening Romania's policy process and policy institutions. The objective of the review will be accomplished by identifying short- and medium-term measures to strengthen central capacity to deliver high quality policy management to the Prime Minister and government and effectively coordinate policy with other central institutions and line ministries. Four critical success factors will signal effective implementation: 1. Decision makers will focus increasingly on strategic rather than legal or administrative issues; 2. Sound policy formulation will precede and guide legal drafting; 3. GSG will be empowered by the Prime Minister to enforce the rules and assure the quality of ministry proposals; and 4. The central institutions responsible for public policy and public finance management will work collaboratively to provide coherent, high quality support to the GoR. 2. The CoG review seeks to engage Romania's decision makers in these deliberations and, ultimately, in a concerted effort to improve Romania's policy performance.
Czech Republic Report on an Integrated Revenue Administration, Volume 1: Evaluation of the Government Plan to Merge Tax and Customs Administrations
(Washington, DC, 2008-06) World Bank
The Czech authorities invited the World Bank to provide an independent evaluation of the Government's draft plan for the merger of the Tax and Customs Administrations, and with an eye on the eventual integration of the collection of social contributions into a newly created revenue authority. In Volume I of this report, we present a preliminary examination of the Government's draft plan for tax and customs merger. Volume II does a preliminary assessment of the issues relating to integrating collection of social contributions within the tax administration.The assessment of the Government's plan in this report is intended to assist the Government in taking a more informed decision on this issue based on lessons learned from international experience. Integration and fundamental reforms are complex processes and require adequate time, financial resources and careful management of the change process itself in order to be successful. In the report, we have pointed out the key challenges and risks and how these can be overcome. We have flagged the major issues that the Government must consider, and highlighted the challenges that the Government must be aware of when designing the establishment of a modern, unified revenue administration. We have recommended a medium term strategy that will take into consideration the key issues and concerns.