World Bank Technical Papers

45 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13860

Informal documents that present knowledge acquired through that Bank's operational experience. They contain material that is practical rather than theoretical and include state-of-the-art reports and how-to-do-it monographs. They can also concern matters that cut across sectoral lines, such as the environment and science and technology. This series was superseded by the World Bank Working Papers series in 2003 and the World Bank Studies series in 2010.

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Poverty and Ethnicity : A Cross-Country Study of ROMA Poverty in Central Europe

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002-11) Revenga, Ana ; Ringold, Dena ; Tracy, William Martin

ROMA are the main poverty risk groups in many of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. However, information on their living conditions, and the characteristics of their poverty is scarce, fragmented, and often anecdotal. This paper analyzes data from a new cross-country household survey, conducted by the Center for Comparative Research, at Yale University. The survey is the first of its kind which addresses the ethnic dimension of poverty across countries, covering Roma in Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania. The paper finds that welfare among Roma households is significantly lower than that of non-Roma, in terms of both material deprivation (consumption and income), and other measures of deprivation, including housing status, education levels, and employment opportunities. Multivariate analysis confirm that, controlling for other household characteristics, there is a strong negative association between Roma ethnicity, and welfare. A large part of this association appears to be due to differences in endowments, and opportunities, but there is also an important component that is "structural". This component may reflect the influence of past, and present discrimination, exclusion, and cultural factors which may affect access to public services, e.g., through language barriers.
Food and Agricultural Policy in Russia : Progress to Date and the Road Forward

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002-07) Csaki, Csaba ; Nash, John ; Matusevich, Vera ; Kray, Holger

The overall finding of this report is that much agricultural policy is made at the regional level, and here the explicit price, and trade policy distortions are significantly worse than at the federal level. The result is patchwork of inconsistent policies, that has fragmented the Russian national market. The most serious policy issues at the federal level, are in the legal framework, the continued state domination of some markets, and, the administration of limited subsidies, in ways that undermine market development. A major problem is that large farms face soft budget constraints, with tolerance of non-payment of debt, resulting in an increasing debt burden, little incentive for true restructuring, and an uneven playing field with respect to the private sector. The government recently addressed the issue of farm insolvency, through the Resolution on Agricultural Debt Restructuring, and, a fundamental approach to this problem is being elaborated in the draft Law on Financial Rehabilitation of Agricultural Enterprises. But the key to giving enterprises an incentive to participate in real restructuring, will be to enforce sanctions - including bankruptcy procedures, and foreclosure - if enterprises fail to comply with the terms, and measures developed by creditors, and investors, as part of the restructuring procedures. A supportive environment of private individual farming, and private market development should be created, by revamping agricultural support policies, that halt public procurement at federal, and regional levels; that administer all subsidies to producers, by some incentive-neutral mechanism, not dependent on input usage, or output; and, where input, or credit subsidies continue, if administered by private channels on a competitive basis, not through state-owned, or monopoly suppliers.
Poverty in Albania : A Qualitative Assessment

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002) De Soto, Hermine ; Gordon, Peter ; Gedeshi, Ilir ; Sinoimeri, Zamira

This qualitative assessment of poverty in Albania seeks to deepen the understanding of poverty in the country, first, by involving poor Albanians in a process of exploring the causes, nature, extent of poverty, and how it affects their livelihoods. Second, it is intended to support the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Third, it supports preparation of the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS), and the Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS) process. Fourth, it supports ongoing research on formal and informal institutions in the country that are relevant to poverty, and it identifies as well, emerging areas of concern. Findings suggest that poverty in the study sites, developed as a result of a weak economic base at the beginning of reform (as of 1990), worsened as the reforms continued and accelerated during the 1997 financial crisis. From household interviews, it is perceived that the causes of poverty are a result of unemployment, insufficient and low quality of land, absence of formal institutions, and marketing mechanisms to support industrial and agricultural development, and the government's inability to respond to infrastructure and basic needs. The study further examines the factors depressing and/or precluding (sector wide) the potential to compete, sustain livelihoods, attain employment, and receive economic and social assistance.
Services Trade in the Balkans

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002) Michalopoulos, Constantine ; Panousopoulos, Vasileios

This study aims at providing an overview of policies affecting services trade in seven countries of the Balkan region, and stresses the growing importance of services trade. The service sectors, particularly tourism and transport, play an important role in the economies of the Balkan countries. The paper finds that, on average, the countries involved, are committed to a liberal trade regime for services, and that they have made more commitments to liberalize services in the World Trade Organization (WTO) than developing countries at comparable levels of development. For the future, the paper encourages further liberalization at the regional level, on a Most Favoured Nation (MFN) basis, as well as policy harmonization with the European Union.
Institutional Reform for Irrigation and Drainage : Proceedings of a World Bank Workshop

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002) Gonzalez, Fernando J. ; Salman, Salman M.A. ; Gonzalez, Fernando J. ; Salman, Salman M.A.

The report consists of an introduction, and three separate, but inter-related parts. The introduction provides an overview of the workshop discussions, arguing that the irrigation sector is blamed for many environmental problems, suggesting to set the right incentives, and regulations, including stakeholders involvement, and partnerships to overcome sector obstacles. The first part looks at the institutional diversity in irrigation, and drainage sectors, reviewing institutional changes within components of the Bank's portfolio of irrigation, and drainage projects. It addresses the extent to which the Bank's major policy documents of the 1990s have shaped the portfolio, and suggests recommendations to promote institutional changes, and the introduction of alternative solutions, such as private sector involvement, to increase competition, service contracts, and intergovernmental agreements. The second part reviews the irrigation regulatory framework, arguing that participation of Water Users Associations (WUAs) in the management of irrigation systems, is likely to increase systems efficiency, including improved collection of charges for irrigation infrastructure operation, and maintenance, as well as water charges. Legal instruments are further analyzed, to establish adequately functioning WUAs, including institutional issues for the potential privatization of irrigation management facilities. Also discussed is the legal pluralism, and its effect on water rights, highlighting interactions between multiple legal orders, and the fact that all such orders can provide bases for claiming property rights, suggesting the recognition of multiple bases for claims, regarding property rights as negotiated outcomes. The third part examines the benchmarking system, economic incentives, and pricing, discussing the role of economic incentives in improving water use efficiency, the benefits of benchmarking irrigation systems to sustain agricultural production, emphasizing on institutional, and structural reforms to overcome sector problems.
Forest Concession Policies and Revenue Systems : Country Experience and Policy Changes for Sustainable Tropical Forestry

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002) Gray, John A.

Forest concessions have been an important element of forestry, and forest management in many countries, including many developing countries. More often than not, the concessions experience of these countries has not been successful, and, improving their performance is not likely to be popular. Therefore, if sustainable management if tropical forests is to be achieved, and deforestation brought under control, it may be necessary to strengthen the on-the-ground performance of existing forest concessions, and to control the allocation of new concessions. The forest concessions discussed in this study involve both forest utilization contracts, and forest management services contracts. Part one of the study examines the forest concessions experience on public lands, with a focus on natural forests in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Experiences provide the basis for proposals to strengthen the allocation of forest concessions, and improve their forest, and environmental management. Economic, and procedural incentives for improved forest management performance are introduced, as are proposals to strengthen monitoring, supervision, and compliance with contract terms. Part two evaluates forest revenue systems, and presents proposals for revised forest fees, designed to reflect the values of both the timber, and the concessions. Additional concessions suggest ways to ease the collection of fees, and to structure forest fees to provide economic incentives for concession management, and performance.
Does Eurosclerosis Matter? Institutional Reform and Labor Market Performance in Central and Eastern Europe

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002) Riboud, Michelle ; Sánchez-Páramo, Carolina ; Silva-Jáuregui, Carlos

This paper examines the labor market dynamics of six CEE countries over the last 10 years, paying special attention to the nature of labor market institutions these countries have adopted and their impact on labor market performance. This paper finds that, compared to EU countries, CEE countries fall in the "middle" of the flexibility scale regarding their employment protection legislation. While the effect of labor market institutions is hard to uncover, it should not be disregarded and they are likely to play an important role in the coming years.
Sustainable Amazon : Limitations and Opportunities for Rural Development

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002) Schneider, Robert R. ; Arima, Eugenio ; Verissimo, Adalberto ; Souza, Carlos, Jr. ; Barreto, Paulo

The report contributes to the debate surrounding land use in the Brazilian Amazon. It sets the context by reviewing the evidence concerning the deleterious effect of increasing levels of rainfall on agricultural settlement, and productivity. Next, it compares the economic future of an Amazonian community, under the traditional "predatory logging followed by ranching" model, and under sustainable logging. Last, the authors investigate the potential to create a system of national forests. The authors make four conclusions: 1) they demonstrate that increasing levels of rainfall, seriously undermine agricultural productivity, and sustainability. At the highest extreme, in the 45 percent of the Amazon with annual rainfall of over 2,200 mm, only forestry, and possibly some palm crops, are likely to be economically viable; 2) the authors assert that in this area of the Amazon, and much of the transition area (rainfall between 1,800 mm and 2,200 mm), sustainable forestry would provide more stable communities, and a higher standard of living than agriculture; 3) the authors conclude that regulatory competition, and a short local political time horizon, prevent sustainable forestry from being adapted, despite its better long-run performance; and, 4) some 10 percent of the Amazon could be put into national forests, in a way that would both meet current demand for Brazilian Amazonian timber, and reinforce the Amazon park system, which is expected to fully conserve 10 percent of the Brazilian Amazon.
Coping with the Cold : Heating Strategies for Eastern Europe and Central Asia's Urban Poor

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002) Lampietti, Julian A. ; Meyer, Anke S.

Heating is a critical issue for the livelihoods of Eastern Europe and Central Asia's people. The region's gold climate, the legacy of central planning, and the drop in household incomes over the past 10 years, influence profoundly the design of heating strategies for the urban poor. This paper provides new insights into how much energy people demand for heating, and how much they pay for it. Recommendations are suggested on how to design policies, and investment planning, that would enable all people (poor and non-poor) to access clean, affordable heating.
Urban Air Quality Management : Coordinating Transport, Environment, and Energy Policies in Developing Countries

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2001-09) Kojima, Masami ; Lovei, Magda

Transport-related air pollution is increasingly contributing to environmental health risks in many developing country cities. The social costs of poor urban quality can be significant, making this issue an immediate priority. Long-term measures for dealing with the problem include urban planning, and traffic demand management. This paper however, focuses primarily on cost-effective measures, that are feasible to implement, and that can bring measurable results in the short to medium term. There is a tendency in the environment sector, to focus narrowly on controlling emissions by importing the best available technology. Cost-effective, and sustainable solutions, however, require much broader approaches. In developing countries, improving air quality is not simply a matter of importing advanced technologies, while, choices concerning feasibility, sequencing, and timing of pollution reducing measures, have serious fiscal, and economic consequences. Thus the guiding principle for selection of strategies, should be the balancing of costs, benefits, and technical, and institutional feasibility. Monitoring, and enforcement are essential , but countries need to know the nature, and magnitude of the pollution problem, to determine the speed, and rigor with which policies should be implemented. Furthermore, pollution enforcement measures have implications on petroleum taxation, and on the tariff regime, as well as for traffic management.