Stand alone books
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Publication
Economic Implications of Chronic Illness and Disability : In Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)This report aims to fill in the knowledge gap in this field by analyzing cross-country data on basic indicators, and by carrying out more detailed empirical analysis on causal relationships of interest, including the impact of disability on employment, wages, poverty, and children's school enrollments-focusing on four transition countries with household survey data sets that allow more elaborate econometric analyses. This report argues that it is timely to bring the economic costs of disability to the forefront of development policy because of the large impact poor health status and disabilities have on employment, poverty, children's schooling, and time spent in caring for disabled individuals, especially by adult females (which in turn inhibits higher female labor force participation prospectus). In recent years, there has been some recognition of the need to discuss disability issues in strategy documents such as poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs) and country assistance strategies (CASs). But in the absence of basic empirical evidence on the living conditions and behavior of disabled individuals, it is a challenge to formulate concrete steps to tackle this particular economic development problem. -
Publication
Deeper Integration and Trade in Services in the Euro-Mediterranean Region : Southern Dimensions of the European Neighborhood Policy
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2005)Deeper economic integration with the enlarged European Union - which accounts for a quarter of global GDP and foreign direct investment - could become a main driver for economic development in the southern Mediterranean countries. The planned Euro-Mediterranean free trade area for goods is a first step into that direction, but additional measures are needed. Especially the liberalization of services trade and the comprehensive domestic reforms this entails would strengthen the linkages with global and European markets. This study analyzes the adjustment needs and policy options associated with deeper integration between the two sides of the Mediterranean Sea. It puts specific emphasis on the dynamics of deeper integration at the company level and their respective policy implications. Besides a general discussion of deeper integration and trade in services liberalization, the study contains detailed assessments of individual sectors - especially the backbone services (e.g. transport, telecommunications, financial markets, electricity) and other sectors of relevance for deeper integration (tourism, IT-enabled services, distribution services). Even though the focus is on regional integration, multilateral liberalization issues are factored into the analysis (e.g. the GATS, the WTO Doha Round) and options for the pursuit of an "open regionalism" are explore. -
Publication
Slovenia : From Yugoslavia to the European Union
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2004)The main objective of the book is to analyze Slovenia's threefold transition in the context of a broader transition process in Central and Eastern Europe and to contribute toward filling the obvious gap in the literature on this subject. The book provides an overview of the most important developments faced by Slovenia during its transition-the achievements, the problems, and the challenges-and discusses the lessons that have been learned and the main challenges that Slovenia can expect to face. Interdisciplinary in character, the book focuses on socioeconomic and political aspects and integrates them into the existing pool of knowledge about the transition process. -
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Toward Country-led Development : A Multi-Partner Evaluation of the Comprehensive Development Framework--Findings from Six Country Case Studies
(Washington, DC, 2003)Collectively, the six country case studies provide an unusually rich source of material on the local dynamics of the aid business and the realities that countries face when they try to adopt CDF principles in earnest. In order to make this material more accessible (full case studies are over 70 pages), OED has summarized each study to about 15 pages and gathered all six summaries into this volume, which is intended to complement the main synthesis report for the CDF evaluation, Toward Country-Led Development: A Multi-Partner Evaluation of the Comprehensive Development Framework. This volume can also be used alone, to enrich the discussion of development assistance in a particular case study country or as a basis for comparing country experiences. Since the main purpose of the CDF evaluation was to look at what had happened since the CDF was launched, priority was given to interested countries where pilot implementation of the CDF was the most advanced (on the grounds that these countries would offer the greatest potential for learning). Consideration was also given to Regional balance. One non-CDF pilot country (Burkina Faso) was chosen as a control. -
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Averting AIDS Crises in Eastern Europe and Central Asia : A Regional Support Strategy
(Washington, DC, 2003)The Regional Support Strategy is in recognition of the threats that unchecked epidemics of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis pose to many of the World Bank's client countries. It is an instrument to guide the World Bank's role in the global development agenda, which includes the Declaration of Commitment at a Special Session of the U.N. General Assembly in June 2001. That declaration reaffirmed a pledge made by world leaders to have halted and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. The document provides a unifying framework for the World Bank's work on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It identifies the potential costs of inaction, the constraints on an effective response, priority actions to resolve such constraints, and the Bank's plans for helping countries do so as part of a multi-institutional effort. HIV/AIDS is fast becoming a threat to health and economic development in parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Despite the dangers, country responses to the epidemic have been patchy and limited by widespread denial. Where actions have been taken to contain the epidemic, they have tended to be pilot efforts on a scale that is too small to make a dent in the overall course of the epidemic. Governments and civil society have started to address the problem, but they need to do much more to avert HIV/AIDS crises in the region. -
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The Russian Labor Market : Moving from Crisis to Recovery
(Moscow: Izdatelstvo Ves Mir and the World Bank, 2003)This report suggests measures to help Russia develop a formal, competitive labor market over the medium term. The study addresses four major questions: (1) How well has Russia been able to redress the misallocation of labor inherited from its socialist past? (2) Do wages increasingly reflect market forces? (3) Are labor market institutions consistent with those required in a market economy? (4) How well has Russia been able to reduce explicit protection offered by firms and create an effective safety net? The report addresses each question in a separate chapter and also highlights key issues and policy options in each area. The development of a well functioning labor market will contribute to Russia's ability to integrate with the global economy, particularly as it faces the opportunity and challenges that will come with World Trade Organization accession. -
Publication
World Bank Economists' Forum : Volume 1
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2001-03-31)The first World Bank Economists' Forum was held on May 3-4, 1999. The forum attempts to answer these questions: How do you recognize a hidden fiscal crisis? When capital flows are volatile, what types of policy announcements can help fend off currency crises? Do government training programs for unemployed workers have an effect? What infrastructure investments reduce infant mortality? This book collects nine outstanding papers presented at the forum. The main theme surveyed in this book include fiscal policy, capital flows, trade, decentralization, labor markets, infrastructure, health, and worker training. The second volume collects eight more papers, concerned with household behavior and health, communities and welfare, local governments and basic services, and firms and governments under uncertainty.