Stand alone books
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Publication
Matching Contributions for Pensions : A Review of International Experience
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013)Establishing robust, equitable, and effective social protection is essential to reducing poverty and boosting prosperity at all levels of development. The demographic transition that has already transformed most high-income societies will exert similar and growing pressures on others, reinforcing the role of pensions and savings for old age as a central pillar of social protection systems. One possible solution that has emerged in recent years that offers the potential to overcome this challenge is the provision of contribution matches to provide an immediate and powerful incentive for participation in pension saving systems. Originating in several high-income settings there are now a number of innovations and substantial experience in low-income countries in using this design to stimulate coverage and savings. This experience now provides a rich opportunity for learning, not just from the longer experience of a few high-income countries but also the more meaningful South-South learning across developing countries.This volume, which reviews the experience with matching pension contributions across the range of countries that have used the design, makes an initial, but critically important investment in this learning process. The description and analysis of this experience which is the product of partnership and collaboration across many public and private institutions provide an invaluable early assessment of the design to inform policy makers and practitioners as well as serve as a model for the kind of cooperation that will be required to address this difficult challenge. At the World Bank, we look forward to being part of this learning process of how to best provide old-age security for all. -
Publication
Cleaner Hearths, Better Homes : New Stoves for India and the Developing World
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press and World Bank, 2012)For people in developed countries, burning fuel wood in an open hearth evokes nostalgia and romance. But in developing countries, the harsh reality is that several billion people, mainly women and children, face long hours collecting fuel wood, which is burned inefficiently in traditional biomass stoves. The smoke emitted into their homes exposes them to pollution levels 10-20 times higher than the maximum standards considered safe in developed countries. And the problem is not out of the ordinary. The majority of people in developing countries at present cannot afford the transition to modern fuels. Today, close to one half of the world's people still depend on biomass energy to meet their cooking and heating needs. This book should be of interest to policymakers and scientists across a broad spectrum of disciplines from health, environment, and economics to sociology, anthropology, and physics. Indeed, the hands of many specialists are required to ensure successful stove programs, which call for social marketing, stove engineering, development of standards, promotion of private and commercial enterprises, and appropriate subsidy schemes. That the book's authors represent diverse disciplines sociology, physics, and forest economics underscores the range of perspectives needed to tackle the issues involved in the commercial promotion of improved stoves. The impetus for writing this book started at the end of a World Bank project on the health implications of indoor air pollution, which coincided with the Government of India's (GoI) cancellation of its 20-year program on improved stoves. The government's decision came as no surprise, given the program's mixed results. -
Publication
India's Investment Climate : Voices of Indian Business
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2009)This book identifies key investment climate bottlenecks that slow down growth and poverty reduction. Based on face-to-face surveys of owners and managers of firms, combined with extensive dataset analysis, backed by secondary sources, the study analyses the critical factors that influence day-to-day decisions by firms on how to invest. As a result, it identifies growth-enabling reforms that cover macroeconomic policies, governance, institutions, and infrastructure. To get an understanding of investment climate constraints for the entire economy, the book focuses on four key sectors. The manufacturing sector, both organized and unorganized, is important in that it not only contributes a significant share of the overall gross domestic product (GDP), but it is also critical for employment generation and to the growth of the 'lagging' states. Similarly, the retail sector is an important part of the overall economy in its contribution to GDP and to employment. Finally, the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector, though a small part of GDP, has been leading India's services success story and serves as a good example from which the authors may learn. The book presents illustrative case studies of the key constraints identified, and the efforts to address them, along with policy recommendations. Furthermore, the book identifies a number of issues that require further analysis; in those instances the book should be viewed as a first step to bringing the issues into the forefront. The World Bank Group stands ready to work with the government, private sector, and other stakeholders in taking forward this work to help generate real impact on the ground. -
Publication
India's Investment Climate : Voices of Indian Business
(World Bank, 2009)This book identifies key investment climate bottlenecks that slow down growth and poverty reduction. Based on face-to-face surveys of owners and managers of firms, combined with extensive dataset analysis, backed by secondary sources, the study analyses the critical factors that influence day-to-day decisions by firms on how to invest. As a result, it identifies growth-enabling reforms that cover macroeconomic policies, governance, institutions, and infrastructure. To get an understanding of investment climate constraints for the entire economy, the book focuses on four key sectors. The manufacturing sector, both organized and unorganized, is important in that it not only contributes a significant share of the overall gross domestic product (GDP), but it is also critical for employment generation and to the growth of the 'lagging' states. Similarly, the retail sector is an important part of the overall economy in its contribution to GDP and to employment. Finally, the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector, though a small part of GDP, has been leading India's services success story and serves as a good example from which the authors may learn. The book presents illustrative case studies of the key constraints identified, and the efforts to address them, along with policy recommendations. Furthermore, the book identifies a number of issues that require further analysis; in those instances the book should be viewed as a first step to bringing the issues into the forefront. The World Bank Group stands ready to work with the government, private sector, and other stakeholders in taking forward this work to help generate real impact on the ground. -
Publication
Financing Energy Efficiency : Lessons from Brazil, China, India, and Beyond
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)Energy for heating, cooling, lighting, mechanical power, and various chemical processes is a fundamental requirement for both daily life and economic development. The negative impact on the environment of current energy systems is increasingly alarming, especially the global warming consequences of burning fossil fuels. The future requires change through the development and adoption of new supply technologies, through a successful search for new, less resource-intensive paths of economic development, and through adoption of energy. Greater energy efficiency is key for shifting country development paths toward lower-carbon economic growth. Especially in developing countries and transition economies, vast potential for energy savings opportunities remain unrealized even though current financial returns are strong. Activities included specialized technical assistance, training, and applied research covering the four primary areas of country interest: (a) development of commercial banking windows for energy efficiency; (b) support for developing energy service companies (ESCOs); (c) guarantee funds for energy efficiency investment financing; and (d) equity funding for ESCOs or energy efficiency projects. One clear message from the experience of the three country Energy Efficiency Project is the importance of establishing and maintaining practical, operationally focused dialogue between the banking community and the energy efficiency practitioner community. -
Publication
Dancing with the Giants: China, India, and the Global Economy
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2007)This report takes a dispassionate and critical look at the rise of China and India, and asks questions about this growth: Where is it occurring? Who is benefiting most? Is it sustainable? And what are the implications for the rest of the world? The book considers whether the giants' growth will be seriously constrained by weaknesses in governance, growing inequality, and environmental stresses, and it concludes that this need not occur. However, it does suggest that the Chinese and Indian authorities face important challenges in keeping their investment climates favorable, their inequalities at levels that do not undermine growth, and their air and water quality at acceptable levels. The authors also consider China's and India's interactions with the global trading and financial systems and their impact on the global commons, particularly with regard to climate. The book finds that the giants' growth and trade offer most countries opportunities to gain economically. However, many countries will face strong adjustment pressure in manufacturing, particularly those with competing exports and especially if the giants' technical progress is strongly export- enhancing. For a few countries, mainly in Asia, these pressures could outweigh the economic benefits of larger markets in, and cheaper imports from, the giants; and the growth of those countries over the next fifteen years will be slightly lower as a result. The giants will contribute to the increase in world commodity and energy prices but they are not the principal cause of higher oil prices. The giants' emissions of CO2 will grow strongly, especially if economic growth is not accompanied by steps to enhance energy efficiency. At present, a one-time window of opportunity exists for achieving substantial efficiency improvements if ambitious current and future investment plans embody appropriate standards. Moreover, doing so will not be too costly or curtail growth significantly. From their relatively small positions at present, the giants will emerge as significant players in the world financial system as they grow and liberalize. Rates of reserve asset accumulation likely will slow, and emerging pressures will encourage China to reduce its current account surplus. -
Publication
Delivering on the Promise of Pro-Poor Growth : Insights and Lessons from Country Experiences
(Washington, DC: World Bank and Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)Delivering on the Promise of Pro-Poor Growth contributes to the debate on how to accelerate poverty reduction by providing insights from eight countries that have been relatively successful in delivering pro-poor growth: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Tunisia, Uganda, and Vietnam. It integrates growth analytics with the microanalysis of household data to determine how country policies and conditions interact to reduce poverty and to spread the benefits of growth across different income groups. This title is a useful resource for policy makers, donor agencies, academics, think tanks, and government officials seeking a practical framework to improve country level diagnostics of growth-poverty linkages. -
Publication
Unleashing India's Innovation : Toward Sustainable and Inclusive Growth
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007)India's recent growth has been impressive, with real GDP rising by over eight percent a year since 2004 -- accompanied by a jump in innovative activities. Growth has been driven by rapid expansion in export-oriented, skill-intensive manufacturing and, especially, skill-intensive services. The book is structured as follows: Chapter 1 reviews the Indian context and enabling environment. Chapter 2 analyzes knowledge creation and commercialization. Chapter 3 discusses knowledge diffusion and absorption. Chapter 4 encourages inclusive, pro-poor innovation. Chapter 5 addresses the need for stronger skills and education for innovation. Chapter 6 examines ways of improving information infrastructure. Chapter 7 suggests approaches to enhance innovation finance. -
Publication
Corporate Responses to HIV/AIDS : Case Studies from India
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2007-01-01)This collection of case studies aims to contribute to the growing evidence on private sector engagement in the fight against HIV and AIDS and the challenges businesses are overcoming in this fight. By capturing the experiences of the local private sector, it seeks to foster a more active response from the business community and to encourage new partnership approaches from government, civil society, and development organizations to leverage the goodwill and competencies of the private sector. In a country as large as India, more active engagement of the private sector is critical to achieve the scale of intervention needed to get ahead of HIV and AIDS. The case studies illustrate the importance of integrating multiple stakeholders in the fight against HIV and AIDS. They also highlight the growing investment of businesses in that fight-an investment that recognizes their vulnerability to the economic and social impact of the epidemic. And they show what businesses can achieve by tackling HIV and AIDS through the workforce. By showcasing their achievements and illuminating the lessons of their experience, these case studies seek to convince other businesses that taking part in the fight against HIV and AIDS is both within their reach and in their interest. -
Publication
India's Water Economy : Bracing for a Turbulent Future
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006)India faces a turbulent water future and the current water development and management system is not sustainable.Unless dramatic changes are made and made soon in the way in which government manages water, India will have neither the cash to maintain and build new infrastructure, nor the water required for the economy and for people. This Report examines the evolution of the management of India's waters, describes the achievements of the past, and the looming set of challenges. The Report suggests what changes should be considered and how to manage the transition from the ways of the past to the ways of the future in a principled but pragmatic manner. This report focuses on two basic issues-the major water-related challenges facing India, and the critical measures required to address them. It calls for a reinvigorated set of public water institutions to sustain water development and management in India. The study examines the evolution of water management in India, describes the achievements of the past, analyses the challenges ahead, and suggests ways of evolving a sustainable water management system.