Stand alone books

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Innovative China: New Drivers of Growth
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2019-09-16) World Bank Group; Development Research Center of the State Council, The People's Republic of China
After more than three decades of average annual growth close to 10 percent, China's economy is transitioning to a 'new normal' of slower but more balanced and sustainable growth. Its old drivers of growth -- a growing labor force, the migration from rural areas to cities, high levels of investments, and expanding exports -- are waning or having less impact. China's policymakers are well aware that the country needs new drivers of growth. This report proposes a reform agenda that emphasizes productivity and innovation to help policymakers promote China's future growth and achieve their vision of a modern and innovative China. The reform agenda is based on the three D's: removing Distortions to strengthen market competition and enhance the efficient allocation of resources in the economy; accelerating Diffusion of advanced technologies and management practices in China's economy, taking advantage of the large remaining potential for catch-up growth; and fostering Discovery and nurturing China's competitive and innovative capacity as China approaches OECD incomes in the decades ahead and extends the global innovation and technology frontier.
One Goal, Two Paths : Achieving Universal Access to Modern Energy in East Asia and the Pacific
(World Bank, 2011-09-14) World Bank
The purpose of the current flagship report is to address energy access and related developmental issues in East Asia Pacific (EAP) that so far have received less attention compared to the macro energy issues of climate change and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. EAP countries have two steep paths to climb to achieve universal access to modern energy: electricity and modern cooking solutions. Approximately 170 million people, or 34 million households, in EAP countries do not have electricity connections in their homes. This number is equivalent to approximately 9 percent of the Region's total population, and 30 percent of the Region's population excluding China. Moreover, approximately 6 times that number, or over 1 billion people, still lack access to modern cooking solutions. In addition, EAP is exceeded by only Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia in the number of people who lack access to electricity. However, access to both electricity and modern cooking solutions is essential to address the enduring impacts of poverty and to move the poor onto a rising development trajectory. The link between access to modern energy and development is most clearly defined by the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The MDGs were formulated to reduce global poverty while increasing education, empowering women, and improving child and maternal health. Although there is no direct reference to energy in the MDGs, the need for access to energy, particularly modern energy, to improve overall welfare is well recognized by the development community.
Two Dragon Heads : Contrasting Development Paths for Beijing and Shanghai
(World Bank, 2010) Yusuf, Shahid; Nabeshima, Kaoru
In broad terms, the sources of economic growth are well understood, but relatively few countries have succeeded in effectively harnessing this knowledge for policy purposes so as to sustain high rates of growth over an extended period of time. Among the ones that have done so, China stands out. Its gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, which averaged almost 10 percent between 1978 and 2008, is unmatched. Even more remarkable is the performance of China's three leading industrial regions: the Bohai region, the Pearl River Delta, and the Yangtze River (Changjiang) delta area. These regions have averaged growth rates well above 11 percent since 1985. Shanghai is the urban axis of the Yangtze River Delta's thriving economy; Beijing is the hinge of the Bohai region. Their performance and that of a handful of other urban regions will determine China's economic fortunes and innovativeness in the coming decades. The balance of this volume is divided into five chapters. Chapter two encapsulates the sources of China's growth and the current and future role of urban regions in China. The case for the continuing substantial presence of manufacturing industry for growth and innovation in the two urban centers is made in chapter three. Chapter four briefly examines the economic transformation of four global cities and distills stylized trends that can inform future development in Beijing and Shanghai. Chapter five describes the industrial structure of the two cities, identifies promising industrial areas, and analyzes the resource base that would underpin growth fueled by innovation. Finally, chapter six suggests how strategy could be reoriented on the basis of the lessons delineated in chapter four and the economic capabilities presented in chapter five.
Tiger Economies Under Threat : A Comparative Analysis of Malaysia's Industrial Prospects and Policy Options
(World Bank, 2009) Yusuf, Shahid; Nabeshima, Kaoru
The Southeast Asian Tigers feel threatened. Even though their growth rates have remained above the average for the world and also above the average for developing countries, their economic performance falls short of that in the first half of the 1990s. The underlying worry is that it presages the beginning of a downward trend, the harbingers of which are lower rates of investment, persistently low rates of total factor productivity, and low levels of innovativeness. The Southeast Asian Tigers' worries motivate three questions, which this book attempts to answer. First, are the Tigers rightly threatened by a creeping economic sclerosis or what some observers are calling the middle-income trap? Second, if the threat is real, what are the underlying causes? Third, are there ways of neutralizing the problems and at least maintaining if not raising the growth rates of the recent past? This book will respond to these questions by means of a comparative analysis of the Tiger economies that is centered on Malaysia. This analysis draws on a comprehensive set of techniques and indicators to assess competitive pressures, to gauge industrial and technological capabilities, and to indicate some of the directions industrial change in Southeast Asia could take. Thus, the book seeks not only to view industrial evolution in the region from a comparative perspective taking account also of what is happening and has happened in other parts of East Asia but also to illuminate this ongoing and uncertain process using some of the latest empirical techniques devised for this purpose. The balance of this chapter provides the developmental and international contexts with reference to which these questions will be addressed. It explains the book's preferred angles to tackling them. The chapter also outlines the contents of the volume and foreshadows the principal findings and conclusions.
Innovation for Development and the Role of Government : A Perspective from the East Asia and Pacific Region
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2009) Fan, Qimiao; Li, Kouqing; Zeng, Douglas Zhihua; Dong, Yang; Peng, Runzhong
This book is the result of a joint forum on 'innovation for development' held by the World Bank and the China-based Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Center (AFDC) in Shanghai in September 2006. The book examines the relationship between innovation, competitiveness, and economic growth; the role of innovation in financial sector development; and specific government policies for innovation in China. Development is one of the major themes of today's world. In the context of global economic development practices, the development patterns of various countries fall primarily into three categories. The first is the resources-based pattern, which is supported by natural resource endowments. The second category is the dependency pattern, which is determined by a country's adjacency to economically developed countries with which it has close economic ties. The third is the innovation-based pattern, which is driven by innovation. Measured by levels of economic development, the current top 20 most developed countries in the world have opted primarily for an innovation-driven pattern. In addition, from three perspectives, namely, the creation of an innovation regime, innovation-oriented fiscal and financial policies, and regional cooperation on innovation, and in two dimensions, namely, theory and practice, the book discusses and explores problems facing us all now and challenges in the future. The viewpoints in this book both reflect the research on the issues of innovation by its authors and, to a certain extent, mirror the views expressed by nonspeaker experts in the course of discussions at the 2006 forum. Economic globalization is an inevitable trend. It is extremely necessary and valuable to conduct research on, and exchange views about, innovation and development against the backdrop of constantly deepening economic globalization. First and foremost, this helps us to see through the vast and complex economic surface to examine and discover the laws that drive sustainable economic development. Second, through sharing experiences of innovation among different countries, it can help us to establish a cooperative mechanism for innovation that can transcend social systems and cultural differences and promote the harmonious economic development for the region.
Reshaping Economic Geography in East Asia
(World Bank, 2009) Huang, Yukon; Magnoli Bocchi, Alessandro
Reshaping economic geography in East Asia illustrates how extensively spatial factors have influenced and informed by growth and development in the region. This study was conceived as a companion volume to and informed by the World Development Report (WDR) 2009: reshaping economic geography. By providing case studies and illustrative examples and by deepening the understanding of the forces of economic geography in the East Asia region, this work helped to substantiate some of the key concepts in the WDR 2009. There is full consistency in terms of the analytical framework used and broad agreement on how economic geography has influenced growth trends across a diverse range of countries. Reshaping economic geography in East Asia also highlights the dramatic urbanization process under way in the region, evidenced by the number of globally recognized 'mega cities'. Seven of the world's 21 mega cities are in East Asia. Cities in East Asia generate about three-quarters of annual output and between a half and two-thirds of exports. Often, much of this is concentrated in one major city: Bangkok. Bangkok accounts for 40 percent of Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) and Manila for 30 percent. Other major centers such as Guangzhou, Jakarta, Seoul, Shanghai, and Tokyo are seen as driving their economies. East Asian cities have been able to deliver the agglomeration benefits required for growth and are now exceptionally well connected to the global economy. The region, excluding Japan, is home to 16 of the largest 25 seaports in the world and 14 of the largest 25 container ports. Without this improved connectivity, the region's rapid expansion in trade volumes will not have been possible. This collection of studies is organized in four sections. The first section comprises chapters dealing with the 'context and concepts' for this volume. The second deals with Southeast Asia, specifically, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The third deals with Northeast Asia: China and the Republic of Korea, and the fourth section provide an overview of lessons learned. The time perspective for most of the studies spans several decades; in many cases, outcomes and policies can be traced back half a century or more.
Financing Energy Efficiency : Lessons from Brazil, China, India, and Beyond
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008) Taylor, Robert P.; Govindarajalu, Chandrasekar; Levin, Jeremy; Meyer, Anke S.; Ward, William A.
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.
Public Finance in China : Reform and Growth for a Harmonious Society
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008) Lou, Jiwei; Wang, Shuilin
This publication focuses on public finance, development economics, and the Chinese economy. The government will focus on the public good aspects of education and training-compulsory education and some aspects of higher education and training. The publication encourages seven reforms including raising government expenditure on education to four percent of gross domestic product (GDP), and ensuring that all children actually receive nine years of basic education. Improving and widening access to medical care, especially for the rural population. The target is to extend the cooperative medical scheme to 80 percent of the rural population from the current coverage rate of just over 20 percent. China has sufficient fiscal resources to afford the level and type of spending commensurate with a harmonious society. This reallocation of resources can be done only gradually. It must go hand in hand with a better specification of roles and functions of the various levels of China and stronger mechanisms for accountability, to ensure that poorer local governments use the resources given to them.
An East Asian Renaissance : Ideas for Economic Growth
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007) Kharas, Homi; Gill, Indermit; Bhattasali, Deepak; Brahmbhatt, Milan; Datt, Gaurav; Haddad, Mona; Mountfield, Edward; Tatucu, Radu; Vostroknutova, Ekaterina
The region has been transformed by these developments, changing from a set of countries that rapidly integrated with the world to one that is also aggressively exploiting the sources of dynamism that lie within Asia. But countries in East Asia now face the domestic side-effects of rapid growth driven by international integration: congestion, conflict, and corruption. The challenge now is to complement global and regional integration with domestic integration. This requires ensuring vibrant cities that are not only linked to the outside world but also well-integrated domestically, strengthening social cohesion and reducing inequality, and providing clean governments which efficiently reinvest the economic returns that accompany fast growth.
East Asian Visions : Perspectives on Economic Development
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2007) Huang, Yukon; Gill, Indermit; Kharas, Homi
East Asian Visions: Perspectives on Economic Development is a collection of essays by 17 eminent East Asians who represent a broad spectrum of backgrounds and experiences. All are senior policy makers, statesmen, or scholars who have either had to deal with or think through some of the most critical financial and developmental issues confronting their countries and the region. Collectively, 10 of them have, at some point in their careers, been at the head of key ministries and central banks; nearly a dozen have been academics and scholars of distinction; several have served as ambassadors to the West and bring a more global strategic perspective; and many have been influential policy advisers and decision makers in governments and international financial agencies. Their essays reflect individual experiences at critical economic junctures and are occasionally quite personal, not surprising since each author selected a topic of his or her own choosing. Given their backgrounds, they have chosen to write about the highly diverse country experiences of East Asia, covering rich, middle income, and poor countries, and they speculate on how their countries fit into a rapidly changing region and globalizing world. Four themes permeate these essays: explaining East Asia's growth and developmental success; the powerful forces of regional integration and building efficiency versus vulnerability; avoiding domestic disintegration given growing public intolerance of increasing inequities, pollution, and corruption; and where will East Asia find its next generation of leaders.