Stand alone books
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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
Explaining South Asia's Development Success : The Role of Good Policies
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2006)South Asia has performed well over the past 25 years in reducing poverty, improving human development and increasing growth, but faster progress with poverty reduction will require a higher rate of growth. This book shows that the development performance is not a puzzle but largely explained by good policies. Countries in the region have maintained good macroeconomic environments, opened up their economies to greater domestic and international competition, and reduced the role of corrupt and inefficient public enterprises.