World Bank Discussion Papers

17 items available

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13846
Informal documents that present unpolished results of research or country analysis. They are circulated to encourage discussion and comment. Papers for which rapid publication is particularly important were often issued in this series. This series was superseded by the World Bank Working Papers series in 2003 and the World Bank Studies series in 2010.
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    The Indian Pharmaceutical Sector : Issues and Options for Health Sector Reform
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002-09) Govindaraj, Ramesh ; Chellaraj, Gnanaraj
    This report assesses the pharmaceutical sector in India, particularly focusing on four key issues related to the production, procurement, and distribution of drugs in India: a) availability, b) affordability; c) quality, and d) the rational use of drugs. The results of a survey of three states indicate considerable variation across states in the above four areas in both public and private sectors. The report concludes that problems with the availability, affordability, and rational use of good quality, cost-effective, essential drugs have persisted in most parts of India, and that these health-related issues need be addressed as a priority. An overarching recommendation is the need to focus on strengthening the implementation and regulation of the pharmaceutical sector at the state level, rather than on simply introducing new regulations. Adequate pharmaceutical quality assurance needs to be particularly emphasized as, in its absence, other reform measures could be rendered moot. Similarly, the rational use of drugs needs to be emphasized as it is likely to yield significant cost savings to the government and to consumers, in addition to its positive impact on health.
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    Participation in Project Preparation : Lessons from World Bank-assisted Projects in India
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2001-05) Vedeld, Trond
    The study assesses the extent to which the India program, is meeting the Bank's objective of mainstreaming participatory approaches, in project preparation, and design. From a variety of social, and natural resource management sectors, ten projects were selected, appraised during 1990 and 1998, in which participation was an overall project objective. Key findings suggest that beneficiary participation was successful, contributing to participatory designs in many projects. Social assessments were used more often than before, while involvement of primary beneficiaries improved during the 1990s, reflecting a change in the ways of thinking of, both Bank staff, and Government officials. Participatory work improved significantly, showing a move from a focus on social mitigation of potentially adverse impacts, to proactive work, with broader operational frameworks for participation in project planning. Direct beneficiary participation, was less common in strategy, and policy formulation, but more common in formulating local-level project approaches, though the level of primary beneficiary participation, never went beyond information sharing, and consultation. However, there was an increased collaboration with primary stakeholders, and, capacity building, and empowerment did take place. The study stipulates the potential of beneficiaries is underutilized, and challenges participatory management, to improve processes so as to adapt to the social, and institutional context, and, to consider participation within a broader local capacity.
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    Financing of Private Hydropower Projects
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2000-07) Head, Chris
    This study provides an overview of the issues and challenges related to the private financing of hydropower projects in developing countries. From the very limited pool of projects that have already reached or are nearing financial closure, ten have been chosen for the study from five countries with the most active in promoting private hydro development. Collectively the case study projects provide a reasonable cross-section of private hydro schemes that have been or are being developed. The financing of greenfield private infrastructure on a limited-recourse basis in developing countries faces certain common issues irrespective of the type of project. However, hydropower faces additional difficulties caused by the site-specific nature of projects, high construction risk and long construction periods, their capital-intensive nature with a high proportion of local costs, unpredictable output subject to river flows and broader water management constraints, complex concession process to achieve transparency in the award and pricing of output, and environmental sensitivities. The study suggests the need for longer-term financing to better suit hydropower characteristics, a regulatory framework and realistic public-private risk-sharing arrangements responsive to the requirements of hydropower projects, and the careful preparation of projects by the public sector to enable their formulation on an adequate technical and contractual basis for development as a private concession.