World Bank Technical Papers

45 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

https://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 This series was superseded by the World Bank Working Papers series in 2003 and the World Bank Studies series in 2010.

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Expenditure Policies Toward EU Accession
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003) Funck, Bernard; Funck, Bernard
The report discusses the set of public expenditure policies that might be conducive to rapid growth, and convergence among Central and Eastern European countries. It was left to others' complementary contributions, to discuss two other key dimensions of expenditure reforms: the overall macroeconomic framework in which they take place, and to which they contribute, and, the institutional and political economy conditions under which successful reform strategies can be designed, find political support, and be implemented. In this report, the authors seek to take stock of the countries' own public expenditure policy objectives, and to distill the best practices and lessons learned in the design of expenditure reforms within those countries. And, the authors conclude that the general thrust of the expenditure strategies candidate countries have put forward, in their (European Union) pre-accession economic programs, appears both appropriate, and at least theoretically feasible. The report highlights ways in which key expenditure programs could be redirected to be more fully supportive of growth objectives, as well as the factors related to a country's political economy, and to the institutional framework of public resource management, which will undoubtedly play a determining role in framing what actual policy choices will eventually be made.
Institutional Elements of Tax Design and Reform
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003-01) McLaren, John; McLaren, John
This is a collection of papers that study the constraints on fiscal systems, imposed by problems of institutions, administration, and incentives in developing, and post-Socialist economies. Chapter two focuses on the administration of indirect taxation, and provides a case study of indirect taxation in Tanzania. This shows how evasion can be documented, and quantified, through a case study that looks at a particular type of reform, aimed at curbing evasion: franchising, or privatizing the right to tax, which has been tried in several Tanzanian towns as a way of collecting vendor fees, for access to a public market. Chapter three is a theoretical study of evasion under a value-added tax (VAT), and the inefficiencies it can create. Chapter four studies the fiscal constraints within the federal politics of Russia, while Chapters five and six examine case studies (India) in fiscal federalism, in which the determination of fiscal outcomes is - to a considerable degree - a matter of bargaining between political entities in the center, and in the periphery. In both cases, it appears that large-scale distortions, away from an ideal tax system, emerge as a result, suggesting corruption can be fought by increasing functional specialization within a tax bureaucracy. The last chapter looks at the problem of opportunistic taxation, particularly regarding the African context, and studies various ways in which the problem can be alleviated.
Structural Reforms in Southeastern Europe since the Kosovo Conflict
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002) Gressani, Daniela; Mitra, Saumya
This paper attempts to describe and assess the achievements of the countries of South Eastern Europe - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Romania, and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia - in pursuing structural economic reforms in the period since the end of the Kosovo conflict. The paper concentrates on four key areas of structural reforms: a) public management and anti-corruption; b) creating a liberal environment for trade in goods and services; c) attracting foreign investments; and d) encouraging the growth of a private market based economy. Since the Kosovo conflict, the countries of Southeastern Europe have made encouraging progress in advancing structural reforms and preparing their economies for greater integration with Europe and the rest of the world with the aim of raising the rate of sustainable economic growth. But progress has been uneven across sectors and across countries. The gap in economic performance with respect to central Europe remains large and can be bridged only with determined reforms in creating the conditions for the formation and growth of private enterprises. Attention must also shift towards strengthening governance and fighting corruption.
Structural Adjustment in the Transition : Case Studies from Albania, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyz Republic, and Moldova
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002-01) Siegelbaum, Paul J.; Sherif, Khaled; Borish, Michael; Clarke, George
The study reviews the performance of four transition countries - Albania, Azerbaijan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Moldova - in the areas of private, and financial sector development, identifying both their achievements, and challenges, to extract beneficial reform efforts, and alternative approaches, setting the pace for sustainable growth. These countries were selected because they are among the poorest in the region, whose problems are seemingly intractable, and have been largely detached from the international marketplace until the transition began. Thus, in terms of history, resource endowment, and proximity to markets they are viewed as "late reformers" in economic development, and competitiveness, despite policy reforms. Enterprise arrears, and soft budget constraints have been a significant problem in many transition economies, more often than not, manifested as some fiscal tightening occurred to offset budget constraints. Hence, a core challenge of the transition is to reduce the role of government from all encompassing presence, towards a professionally managed model, and one which provides high service delivery, strengthens civil institutions, and plays an effective regulatory role in a market economy. This requires improved financial discipline, reasonable fiscal policy, and structural adjustment, while privatization that promotes concentrated outsider ownership, and foreign participation, should be favored.
Czech Republic : Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in the Transition
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2001-11) do Carmo Oliveira, Joao; Martinez-Vasquez, Jorge
The study overviews the most relevant, current intergovernmental fiscal issues in the Czech Republic, centered on the options available to prod policy planning. Fragmentation at the lowest tier of government is the most striking feature of the administrative structure. This suggests a strategic direction for further administrative reforms to sustain fiscal decentralization, which includes empowering territorial self-governing units; establishing a multilevel government coordinating body to define autonomous functions on expenditures, and revenues; and by creating financial and legal incentives to facilitate an asymmetric assignment of revenue and expenditure. Specific policy actions should include institutional inter-governmental cooperation and dialogue through a broad based commission to recommend regional expenditures, and the Budget Rules Law should be amended to preempt unfounded mandates to local governments. Revenue autonomy should be boosted by increasing predictability of local budgets, restoring tax-effort incentives, and reviewing the adopted adjustment coefficient for tax-sharing distribution; while a rationalized transfer system should focus on decreasing the number of specific subsidies, and prioritizing programs to stabilize transfers within a medium-term expenditure framework. Institutional framework and prudential rules would ensure fiscally responsible borrowing, and encourage a competitive financial market.
The Current Regulatory Framework Governing Business in Bulgaria
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2001-07) O'Brien, Thomas; Filipov, Christian
The paper identifies the key elements of the regulatory environment for business in Bulgaria, to serve as a research guide, while recognizing that the rapid development of new legislative, and regulatory procedures, are greatly needed, largely to meet the European Union's (EU) legal, and regulatory standards. It describes business creation, with the Commercial Code providing much of the central, comprehensive regulation. Also, another route for business creation in the private sector has been offered through the privatization process of state-owned assets, and, the use of concessions can also be viewed as another route to the creation of private business. However, and although concession legislation sets an overall framework of reasonable adequacy, reports from practitioners in the marketplace reveal much remains to be done to forward this agenda. In regulating corporate operations, the stake of shareholders in the formation of corporate policy, reflects shared participation in the corporate capital base; thus to engender confidence in corporate management standards, and underpin the broadening of share ownership, priority actions should take place. Bulgarian competition law, follows EU doctrine, which penalizes companies for discriminatory behavior, monitored by the Commission on the Protection of Competition, with defined discretionary powers. The study further highlights accounting standards, investment channels, and the tax regime, suggesting priority actions for company transformation such as enhanced training for judges, and court administration procedures to rationalize the case load. Overall, recommendations include accurate drafting of primary legislation; quality improvement of secondary legislation, setting the pace for a timely implementation, as well as a more effective judicial system for corporate affairs, and services delivered by the public administration to businesses.