Other ESW Reports

253 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2209

This includes miscellaneous ESW types and pre-2003 ESW type reports that are subsequently completed and released.

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How Capital Projects are Allocated in Papua New Guinean Villages : The Influence of Local Collective Action, Local-level Institutions, and Electoral Politics

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-08) Hasnain, Zahid ; Keefer, Philip ; Menzies, Nicholas

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has implemented numerous institutional changes over the past fifteen years with the avowed aim of bringing government closer to the people, improving accountability and, by extension, local infrastructure development and service delivery. To date however, there has been little empirical evidence to establish whether these changes have impacted the provision of local infrastructure. Similarly, there is little empirical evidence revealing the main political economy factors that influence the way that resources are actually planned, spent, and impact communities at the sub-national level. This report investigates the determinants of local infrastructure projects at the ward level, the lowest level of government in PNG, to assess the impact of these institutional changes and to identify the importance of other factors, in particular local collective action. It does this through a survey covering more than 1000 households across 49 yards in nine PNG districts. It also presents descriptive statistics on the basic characteristics of the households that were surveyed, their knowledge of local level institutions, their participation in groups, and their voting behavior. The report explores especially the determinants of variation within districts in terms of the presence of new projects. Common wisdom in PNG suggests that the home wards of Members of Parliament (MPs) should be especially favored with projects. In six districts, the data includes this ward; these six home wards are no different from other wards in their district with respect to the presence of new projects. The survey asked questions about electoral behavior, the provision of cash and other gifts in exchange for votes and electoral violence. The survey found significant inter-district variation, with vote-buying dramatically higher in the three Highlands districts, where 42 percent of respondents report receiving cash, compared to 9 percent in the other districts. Within districts, vote-buying and the provision of local public works projects are inversely related. Vote-buying is also far more common in the three districts that exhibit the most electoral violence.
Bulgaria - Reforming the regime of states fees

(World Bank, 2009-06-01) World Bank

The Government of Bulgaria requested the World Bank to analyze the legal, institutional and administrative framework for setting state fees and provide recommendations based on good international practice. How big is the problem compared to the many other issues the government wants to reform in order to improve the business climate in Bulgaria? So far there are no comprehensive studies of the level of administrative fees in the European Union (EU) area. Such studies would be of great value to assess the magnitude of the problem. There are, however, several arguments in support of reforming the regime of state fees in Bulgaria now. Firstly, business associations in Bulgaria agree also confirmed by a recent unpublished government report - that state fees at the central level became an uncontrolled area in which authorities apply their own judgment and interests without considering the impact on businesses often to the disadvantage of the private sector. Secondly, if the Government of Bulgaria (GoB) does not curb the current regime system, then the trend of increasing state fees will continue or might even gain speed. Again, this will have a negative impact on the cost of doing business. Thirdly, a number of identified state fees are so high that they seriously harm competition by functioning as a barrier to firm entry. Fourthly, the EU requires Member States to implement a specific regime for administrative fees in the services sector by the end of 2009 and Bulgaria does not comply with that yet. A recent World Bank report for Bulgaria Investment Climate Assessment (2008) called for overall reduction of the administrative cost for businesses because Bulgaria is not competitive in this area compared to other Central and Eastern European countries. The report recommended that a strategic policy document is prepared to embrace the administration practice and provide an instrument for classification of the tariffs for the central administration service fees targeting universal reduction of the administrative cost. It also proposed that a special methodology for the classification of the tariffs for the central administrative service fees is developed. The present report is intended to support reform of the regime of state fees.
Romania - Poverty Monitoring Analytical and Advisory Assistance Program : Are the Most Vulnerable Protected?

(Washington, DC, 2008-06) World Bank

The rapid economic growth since 2000 has been the main driver of poverty reduction in Romania. However, even under the current positive growth scenario, there are still people who live in poverty, and some who are unlikely to benefit from future growth and thus may continue to be left behind. For these people an effective redistributive social policy and targeted interventions are needed. The purpose of this note is to assist the Ministry of Labor, Family and Equal Opportunities (MLFEO) to analyze and monitor the effectiveness of the main social safety net benefits to fight social exclusion and reduce poverty. To determine the extent to which social transfers offer protection to the poorest groups of the population, the paper uses the last available (2004-2006) rounds of the household budget survey data. The analysis presented here uses the consumption aggregate and the absolute poverty definition presented in the 2003 and 2007 poverty assessments. Three main indicators are used to assess the effectiveness of social protection (SP) programs: coverage (share of population covered by the programs), targeting (share of funds directed to each welfare group of population), and adequacy of benefit (share of the benefit in the consumption of beneficiaries). The paper begins with a review of the main findings, followed by an overview of the social protection system and its overall effectiveness. Then it assesses the main social assistance programs, and concludes with a review of key issues.
Yemen Poverty Assessment : Volume 2. Annexes

(Washington, DC, 2007-11) World Bank

From what was historically known as 'Arabia Felix', a land of prosperity and happiness, Yemen has become the most impoverished among the Arab countries. The government of the united Yemen, formed in 1990, has launched so far three five-year economic reform plans with the goal of restoring Yemen's prosperity. Have these efforts succeeded? What policies are needed to further reduce poverty? The poverty assessment report aims to answer these questions. This report measures poverty in Yemen in 2005-06, and evaluates the change in poverty compared to 1998, the two years for which comparable household budget surveys are available. The period between the two survey years (1998 and 2005-06), more or less overlaps the first two five-year economic plans and captures the effect of the economic reform programs launched since 1995. In addition to measuring poverty, this report has three objectives: evaluating the role of growth and past reforms on poverty, identifying better ways to target the vulnerable poor through public action, and an assessment of the poverty monitoring system. By examining the effect of the key policies on poverty, such as the petroleum price reform and the government's social protection mechanisms between 1998 and 2005-06, the study aims to equip policy makers and development partners with the knowledge needed to improve the effectiveness of their efforts to reduce poverty in Yemen.
Development of Construction Industry : A Literature Review

( 2007-11-01) Mir, Aized H. ; Durrani, Amer Z. ; Tanvir, Mehreen

The construction industry in Pakistan is well aware of the challenges it faces and its issues, constraints, and recommendations are also well documented in reports published from time to time. This study shows that business environment (demand-side), Human Resources (HR), equipment and materials are key factors restraining growth therefore showing that there are no short-term fixes for these problems. A sustained long-term committed approach to developing the construction industry (contractors, consultants, and, clients) is of paramount importance. Considering the Government of Pakistan's (GoP) ambitious development plans for the coming years, innovative and out of the box solutions will be required to deliver the proposed infrastructure projects.
Brazil - Minas Gerais - World Bank Partnership : Building on a Strong Foundation and Leading to Next Steps

( 2007-06-06) World Bank

This document, Minas Gerais World Bank partnership: building on a strong foundation and leading to next steps, points the direction for next steps and emphasizes the elements and principles of a possible follow-up operation to the Development Policy Loan (DPL) that completed disbursement in April 2007, recognizing that it was premature to discuss the specifics of such an operation during this exercise. These elements and principles would provide the incentives and motivations for the choice of focus sectors under a possible Bank operation with Minas Gerais. Lead actively by the Governor and Deputy Governor, the Minas authorities have clearly identified enhancing the living conditions of citizens in the state as the overall priority. Nevertheless, the Minas Gerais targets are ambitious and by international standards there is ample room for additional progress. The report points out that fiscal policies and public sector reforms in Minas Gerais could be expected to yield continued stronger than national average economic growth and progress in creating jobs. The focus of this Partnership document is mainly on the Plano Mineiro de Desenvolvimento Integrado (PMDI) 2007-2023 long-term development strategy with an emphasis on broadening reforms. In short, the sectoral assessments are at the heart of the Partnership dialogue and could be used as the foundation for future development of the relationship, especially in areas of technical assistance or future Bank operations with Minas Gerais.
Financial Sector Assessment : Guatemala

(Washington, DC, 2007-03) World Bank

This Financial Sector Assessment (FSA) summarizes the findings of a joint World Bank -International Monetary Fund Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) team which visited Guatemala from October 27 to November 10, 2005 to update the 2001 FSAP report. It contains information as of late 2005. In spite of major progress since 2001, the update found the Guatemalan financial system still faces four main stability and development challenges: (i) to improve the transparency and quality of information of the financial and economic systems; (ii)to strengthen the regulatory framework of the financial system and its implementation; (iii) to move supervision towards a risk-based approach; and (iv) to complete financial markets to diversify the system and enhance intermediation and access. Each of these challenges is discussed in depth in the report.
Croatia - Living Standards Assessment : Volume 1, Promoting Social Inclusion and Regional Equity

(Washington, DC, 2006-11) World Bank

The Croatian economy has performed moderately well in the past decade, enabling a gradual narrowing of the income gap with the European Union (EU). Using a cost-of-basic-needs poverty line, poverty in Croatia is found to be low, with only a small proportion of the poor facing hard-core deprivation. Looking ahead, the task of faster external income convergence with the EU will be challenging, and will require both faster job creation as well as flexibility in the allocation of jobs and workers in the economy. These will also help with more rapid improvement in living conditions in lagging regions. To these ends, the report highlights three sets of interrelated policy challenges and priorities: (1) sustaining high rates of growth to permit continued income convergence with Europe; (2) promoting greater labor mobility, including measures aimed at building human capital to improve workers' opportunities; and (3) improving the adequacy and effectiveness of social safety nets within a responsible fiscal framework. In examining regional disparities, several development indicators show that regional disparities in living conditions are significant (though on average no higher than in EU countries), and only partially explained by human capital and other such individual attributes. Building on local comparative advantages offers the best way forward to improve living conditions in lagging regions.
Pakistan - North West Frontier Province Economic Report : Accelerating Growth and Improving Public Service Delivery in the NWFP : The Way Forward

(Washington, DC, 2005-12) World Bank

This report contends that the key to unleashing the North West Frontier Province's possibilities and to improving the lives of its citizens is strengthening the governance and policy environment in the province for both the private and the public sectors, and investing in the provinces' most valuable resource - its people. Reforms and efforts in the past few years have already started to translate into higher growth, improved incomes, and better living conditions for the citizens of the NWFP. This report outlines a strategy that builds on these successes and recommends policies to accelerate development in the province. The report recommends a comprehensive set of reforms and particularly advocates economic, fiscal, and institutional reform to improve outcomes for income growth, job creation, poverty reduction, and human development.
CDD (Community Driven Development) and Social Capital Impact : Designing a Baseline Survey in the Philippines

(Washington, DC, 2005-05) World Bank

The baseline survey of the KALAHI-CIDSS project in the Philippines is an attempt to generate such insights and strengthen learning about CDD programs through rigorous evaluations. This evaluation follows the "good practices" prescribed by experts in that it collects quality baseline data in a representative sample of both intervention groups and matched comparison groups. This baseline survey not only provides valuable information about the KALAHI-CIDSS project, but also offers some guidance on developing technically sound evaluations for CDD programs. The survey finds that poverty is widespread in KALAHI-CIDSS municipalities. In all dimensions of poverty, means (income/expenditure, quality of labor supply), outcomes (education, health, housing and amenities), and perception (self-rated poverty), the incidence of poverty is estimated to be very high. The baseline survey also gets villagers' pre-intervention status on access to neighboring villages, local markets, schools, and other public facilities; travel time and transport costs; water and sanitation; health conditions; and education outcomes. In general, access conditions are very limited, indicating the poverty in KALAHI-CIDSS municipalities. Road conditions and access to water are especially poor when compared to other facilities such as education and health.