World Bank Discussion Papers

17 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

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 This series was superseded by the World Bank Working Papers series in 2003 and the World Bank Studies series in 2010.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.
The Environmental Implications of Privatization : Lessons for Developing Countries

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002-04) Lovei, Magda ; Gentry, Bradford S.

Governments worldwide have increasingly recognized the economic potential and fiscal advantages of privatization. What is less well recognized is that, under the right conditions, privatization can also yield environmental benefits and contribute to sustainable development. This report reviews a number of case studies to draw lessons about the environmental implications of privatization. It emphasizes that privatization offers an opportunity for making strategic decisions with longer-term impacts; streses that integrating environmental and social considerations into the privatization process leads to better, more sustainable outcomes; and recommends approaches to building on the positive linkages between privatization and environmental protection.
Electronic Finance : A New Approach to Financial Sector Development ?

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002-03) Claessens, Stijn ; Glaessner, Thomas ; Klingebiel, Daniela

In recent years, electronic finance, especially online banking, and brokerage services, has reshaped the financial landscape. This paper reviews these developments, and analyzes their implications for consumers, governments, and financial service providers. First, it reviews the e-finance (r)evolution in emerging, and other markets, and projects its future growth. It then analyzes e-finance impact on the structure of, and competition in the financial services industry. After that, it assesses how e-finance, and globalization more generally, affects financial sector policies in emerging markets, including the need for changes in the approach to financial sector development. The paper then examines governments' changing role in the financial sector, and identifies opportunities that e-finance offers countries to leapfrog. Finally, the paper includes for policymakers, and others involved in financial sector reform in emerging markets, detailed information, and Web links on public policy activities related to e-finance.
Unleashing Russia's Business Potential : Lessons from the Regions for Building Market Institutions

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002-03) Broadman, Harry G. ; Broadman, Harry G.

This analyzes, based on more than seventy company case studies across 13 Russian regions during the spring, summer, and fall of 2000, and the summer of 2001, examines four key issues that Russian firms face in carrying out business transactions in Russia's regional markets: 1) the state of enterprise competition; 2) the regulatory regime governing the delivery of infrastructure services (with a focus on the telecom, and Internet sector); 3) the sources, and use of corporate finance; and, 4) the efficacy of the court system in fostering the settlement of commercial disputes. The study formulates policy recommendations for each of the areas analyzed. In so doing, it sheds light on salient inter-regional differences in existing policy frameworks, and in the structure, and nature of the country's enterprise sector, as well as on how regional governments, and firms both respond to, and shape these differences. The study also highlights the evolution of inter-regional policy, and economic changes over time, assessing the extent to which, two years after the 1998 crisis, enterprise restructuring at the local level, has been affected by the devaluation of the ruble.
Closing the Gap in Access to Rural Communications : Chile 1995-2002

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002-02) Wellenius, Bjorn

The study documents, and reviews the Chilean experience in rural telecommunications, by focusing on the principles, practical organization, basic design, and outstanding issues for extension of a more advanced form of approach to communication, and access to information. It examines in depth the results, and success factors of the Telecommunications Development Fund, established in 1994, a success largely due to the extensive reliance on market forces to determine, and allocate subsidies, to minimal regulatory intervention, and relatively simple processing. The design of the Fund proved robust, and remains the leading example of a cost-effective solution to reduce access gaps in basic communication in emerging economies. However, questions remain on the sustainability of services for the long run, on how to support the small, but still excluded rural population, and on potential, further needs in urban areas.
Trade and Transport Facilitation : A Toolkit for Audit, Analysis, and Remedial Action

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2001-12) Raven, John

This document is an expanded version of the paper published in 2000 under the title "Trade and Transport Facilitation: An Audit Methodology." It seeks to improve the effectiveness of diagnosis and corrective activities in the field of trade and transport facilitation by providing beyond guidelines on how to carry out the preliminary audit, insights on how to go over analysis, and preparation of appropriate remedial action.
Farm Debt in the CIS : A Multi-Country Study of the Major Causes and Proposed Solutions

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2001-05) Csaki, Csaba ; Lerman, Zvi ; Sotnikov, Sergey

The objective of this study is to support the farm privatization and restructuring process in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) by presenting a wide range of strategic and tactical options that could be applied to eliminate, or at least reduce, the main factors responsible for the destructive accumulation of debt in large farm enterprises. This objective has accomplished by documenting and analyzing the indebtedness of large-scale farms in five countries of CIS (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine) developing appropriate proposals, and initiating a dialogue with the government on the subject of farm debt resolution. The study presents a region-wide analysis of the farm debt problem based on data collected from selected countries in CIS, and develops proposals for the respective countries as well as for the region as a whole.
Fostering Competition in China's Power Markets

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2001-03) Berrah, Noureddine ; Lamech, Ranjit ; Zhao, Zhao

This report proposes a strategy for developing competitive pool markets in China's power sector and for increasing energy trade between competitive pool markets areas. A three-stage approach is offered for developing the competitive pool markets. During stage 1, a mandatory competitive pool will be created with a single buyer. During stage 2, wholesale competition will be permitted. During stage 3, retail competition will be allowed, making the market fully competitive. The staged approach allows competitive market principles to be introduced immediately within existing institutions. This will allow needed skills and parallel economic reforms to be developed gradually and so facilitate increased competition in the later stages. The report also discusses key elemetns of competitive market development, including the organization of transmission services and transition issues such as dealing with stranded costs and mitigating market power among generators.
Free Trade Area Membership as a Stepping Stone to Development : The Case of ASEAN

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2001-02) Fukase, Emiko ; Martin, Will

This study investigates the economic impacts of accession to the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) by the new member countries of Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam. The trade policies of these countries are examined, and a series of quantitative analyses were undertaken to evaluate the impacts of accession. The results showed that the static impacts of reducing tariffs against ASEAN members are beneficial, although the magnitude of the net gains is diminished by the trade diversion resulting from the discriminatory nature of the reforms. The binding commitments on protection rates under the AFTA plan provide an important initial step to more broader and more beneficial trade reforms. The study focuses on some of the key country-specific policy challenges associated with trade liberalization--such as declining tariff revenues in Cambodia, and the negative impacts on sensitive domestic industries in Vietnam. The study recommends that accession to AFTA be viewed as an important transitional step in the broader process of trade reform and institutional development needed for successful development and poverty alleviation.
Measuring and Apportioning Rents from Hydroelectric Power Developments

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2000-07) Rothman, Mitchell

This paper deals with economic rents arising from the development of hydroelectric generation on international watercourses. The paper briefly defines the concept of economic rent and its application to hydroelectric developments. It explores two areas of precedents that shows how the concept could be applied in developments on international watercourses. First, it looks at international law on the ownership and rights of use of such watercourses. Then it looks at past instances of international watercourse development that have used the idea of rent, or rent-like concepts, to determine how to share the benefits from the development. The paper notes that international convention and practice on this topic expect that riparian countries will negotiate the sharing of benefits from international developments. What the paper then seeks is a guide to such negotiations. The paper also devotes some attention to methods for quantifying the rents generated by projects in various situations: where a competitive market exists for the project's output; where no market exists; or where the hydroelectric development is part of a multipurpose project. In general, the total benefit from a cooperative development of an international watercourse is greater than the benefits from separate independent developments. Each participant should get from the cooperative development at least as much rent as it could have obtained from an independent development.