Other ESW Reports

241 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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Digitalizing SMEs to Boost Competitiveness

(Washington, DC, 2022-10) World Bank

While Malaysia’s digital economy had already been growing rapidly over the past decade, the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has further accelerated this trend. In particular, increased access to digital platforms has enabled businesses of all sizes to mitigate the crisis’ adverse impacts. At the same time, the depth and breadth of small and medium enterprise (SME) digitalization has remained limited, suggesting a growing risk of digital divide in the country. This report analyzes opportunities and challenges for Malaysian SMEs to better leverage digital tools and platforms to increase their productivity and competitiveness. It is structured around three complementary analytical pillars: (i) a digital business landscape diagnostic presenting the extent of digitalization and use of digital platforms among SMEs in traditional sectors, and the constraints that SMEs still face to digitalize; (ii) an institutional and policy mapping reviewing the government of Malaysia’s efforts to foster SME digitalization; and (iii) a digital market regulations assessment evaluating the adequacy of Malaysia’s digital regulatory environment, to identify shortcomings that may undermine SMEs’ capacity to access and benefit from the use of digital platforms. The analysis has been undertaken with a view to inform the implementation of the Malaysia Digital Blueprint (MyDIGITAL).
COVID-19 in Solomon Islands - Economic and Social Impacts: Insights from the January-February 2022 Round of High Frequency Phone Surveys

(Washington, DC, 2022-07) World Bank

This report focuses on the socio-economic impacts of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Solomon Islands. The fourth round of the high frequency phone survey (HFPS) interviewed 2,671 households in January-February 2022 on the socio-economic impacts of Coronavirus (COVID-19), including employment and income, community trust and security and COVID-19 vaccination. The January-February 2022 round occurred at the onset of the first wave of COVID-19.
Diálogos Territoriales de Futuro

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-06-14) World Bank

Este documento busca informar el proceso de descentralización de las políticas de fomento productivo en Chile, para ayudar a crear consensos y generar una hoja de ruta. Para ello, se llevaron a cabo los Diálogos Territoriales del Futuro en las 16 regiones de noviembre 2021 a enero 2022. Estos talleres convocaron a más de 200 representantes del Ministerio de Economía, Fomento y Turismo, servicios públicos, y los principales actores del desarrollo económico regional para discutir los desafíos de la descentralización de las políticas de fomento productivo y proponer soluciones, con el fin de desarrollar una hoja de ruta que cree consenso e impulse la descentralización en Chile. Los Diálogos Territoriales del Futuro, que constituyen el primer paso de un largo camino, fueron muy bien recibidos por todos los participantes, especialmente en las regiones, ayudando a generar confianzas entre los diferentes stakeholders y planteando los desafíos y dudas sobre el proceso.
Testing the Resilience of the Turkish Cypriot Economy: A Macroeconomic Monitoring Note - Special Issue : Enhancing Competitiveness and Promoting Economic Integration

(World Bank, Washington DC, 2022-03) World Bank

The Turkish Cypriot economy (TCe) has struggled to recover since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. With a contraction of 16.2 percent in GDP in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic first took hold, the TCe experienced the most severe recession in its history, and the most severe recession among the economies of Europe. Moreover, just as other economies were beginning to recover, in 2021 the TCe underwent a phase of exceptional political uncertainty and numerous exogenous shocks, testing its resilience. With the emergence of new variants of the virus, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to adversely impact the TCe throughout 2021, with cases reaching a new peak at the end of 2021 despite the Turkish Cypriot (TC) administration’s efforts to prevent the spread of the virus, together with its support for the health system, households, and companies. Furthermore, a new record low in average precipitation in 2021, a series of earthquakes at the beginning of 2022, and weak energy security, with a recent series of power outages experienced across the island, have all revealed the intrinsic vulnerabilities of the island to climate change and natural disasters. Building a competitive private sector would require reforming business regulations and procedures that are under the mandate of the TC administration, and that should be aligned with international best practices and the EU Acquis, irrespective of the broader context of the political economy. Special attention should be devoted to the regulation concerning imports and GL trade. Pre-permits and licenses imposed by the TC administration on imports, on top of regulatory uncertainty and other cumbersome procedures, contribute to increasing prices, penalizing consumers, and eroding domestic competitiveness. A dialogue framework between GC and TC private sectors could be established to support solutions to the long-standing constraints that have been impeding business cooperation across the GL, for the benefit of all Cypriots.
Ecological Compensation in China: Trends and Opportunities for Incentive-Based Policies Towards a Greener China

(Washington, DC, 2022-02-11) World Bank

China is a global leader in the use of ecological compensation (“eco-compensation”)—fiscal transfers for environmental and natural resources management. China is one of the most fiscally decentralized countries in the world, with 85 percent of government spending occurring at subnational levels. In this context, fiscal transfers are one of the national government’s most important tools for motivating and aligning environmental actions across levels of government and jurisdictional boundaries. The government has signaled a strong interest in expanding eco-compensation as part of reforms towards a higher quality greener growth model. Drawing on a unique dataset built from records across government, academia, and news media, this report traces the rise of eco-compensation, explores its current use, provides recommendations to strengthen impacts, and distills broad lessons from China for similar policies globally.
Accelerating Paraguay’s International Integration through Enhanced Trade, Investment and Competition Policies

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-02) World Bank

This report seeks to inform the policy dialogue on how to accelerate Paraguay’s international economic integration and in turn its medium- and long-term growth prospects. It benchmarks Paraguay’s global integration; analyzes trade, investment and competition policies and the quality of related institutions; and provides recommendations for strengthening them and accelerating the country’s global connection. Chapter 2 benchmarks Paraguay’s trade outcomes along several dimensions, including export diversification, quality upgrading and export survival, and Chapter 3 follows with an analysis of how trade policies and the quality of the institutional framework are affecting trade performance and identifies opportunities for improvements. It also estimates the impact of the MERCOSUR-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement on Paraguay. Chapter 4 focuses on FDI patterns and the strengths and shortcomings of the supporting FDI policy framework to help integrate in regional and global value chains. Chapter 5 examines competition challenges in Paraguay’s markets that could be affecting trade and FDI attraction and provides recommendations for strengthening competition policies and institutions. The preparation of this report has benefitted from the analysis of multiple data sources as well as extensive consultations with stakeholders from the private and public sectors.
Inclusive Approaches to Disaster Risk Management: A Qualitative Review

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-02) World Bank

This report presents a qualitative review of inclusive approaches to disaster risk management (DRM)—a part of the first stocktaking exercise that the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) conducts to assess lessons learned and generate knowledge to help mainstream inclusive approaches and strategies across GFDRR activities. The findings are based on a literature review, analysis of portfolio data, and internal consultations with World Bank task team leaders of GFDRR-funded activities. The reviewed literature includes GFDRR project documentation and knowledge products, World Bank operational documents and research findings, and relevant publications from other scholars and organizations. The stocktaking exercise emphasizes gender, disability-inclusive DRM, citizen engagement, and community participation. It will help create a framework for GFDRR engagement on inclusive DRM and inform development of an inclusive DRM work plan for implementation beginning in fiscal year 2022. As such, GFDRR’s work in these areas reflects its commitment to the World Bank Group’s Gender Strategy 2016–2023 (World Bank Group 2015), the Disability Inclusion and Accountability Framework (World Bank 2018), and the Strategic Framework for Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement in World Bank Group Operations.
Drivers of Productivity Growth in Poland: A Firm-Level Perspective on Technology Adoption and Firm Capabilities

(Washington, DC, 2022) World Bank

This report provides detailed knowledge on firm-level technology sophistication in Poland, and, by identifying the main barriers and drivers to adoption, it delivers evidence-based policy recommendations to foster technology adoption across different firms and sectors. The analysis based on the TAS is divided into two parts. The main report first describes the new approach to measuring technology sophistication, the structure of the Technology Adoption Survey, and its implementation in Poland. Second, chapter 2 provides key insights from the results by linking technology adoption with productivity, managerial skills, and firms’ capabilities. It also investigates heterogeneity in technology sophistication across firms with different characteristics and the main drivers and barriers to adoption. The analysis is enriched by providing an in-depth comparison of technology sophistication between Poland and Korea. Chapter 3 briefly explains the heterogeneity of technology sophistication across sectors in Poland. This report concludes with a policy recommendation chapter that is based on the results of the TAS and the assessment of current policies supporting technology adoption (chapter 4). The second separate report entitled Sectoral approach to the drivers of productivity growth in Polish sectors. A firm-level perspective on technology adoption and firm capabilities complements this report and focuses on the sectoral differences in technology adoption. Each sector, agriculture, food processing, wearing apparel, automotive, pharmaceuticals, trade, financial services, and land transport, is analyzed in detail, not only through the lens of the TAS but also from the perspective of the general economic situation in the sector. Moreover, the series also includes a policy note Do usług (At your service) The promise of services-led development in Poland that describes the role that the service sector can play in spurring productivity growth.
Sectoral Approach to the Drivers of Productivity Growth in Poland: A Firm-Level Perspective on Technology Adoption and Firm Capabilities

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022) World Bank

The report presents the main structural characteristics of the sectors included in the Technology Adoption Survey (TAS) implemented in Poland and provides sectoral TAS results for general and sector-specific business functions, comparing Poland to a peer country, Korea. Nine sectors analyzed within TAS include agriculture, food processing, wearing apparel, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals, basic metals, wholesale and retail trade, financial services, and land transport. These form a selection of the most important economic industries in agriculture, manufacturing, and services. The same sectors were chosen in all countries where TAS was implemented because of their important contributions to the national economies as well as their diversity, which allowed us to identify the different natures of their technological needs and the barriers to technology adoption. Sectors in Poland differ in technology sophistication in both general business and sector-specific functions but, to a large extent, those differences are driven by the sectors’ structural differences, such as the number of large firms, the share of exporters, and the number foreign-owned enterprises. Firms in different sectors face different economic conditions and are exposed to a different balance of regulatory, environmental, and geopolitical risks and challenges. Understanding those sectoral differences, especially as they affect the use of sector-specific technologies, is of utmost importance, because productivity improvements historically have been driven primarily by capital-intensive investment, which often involves sector-specific technologies. In the context of sector-specific technologies, it is worth noting that the level of sophistication differs between sectors. Comparing technology trends across sectors is beyond the scope of this report, however; rather, here we closely follow the methodology described in Bridging the Technological Divide: Technology Adoption by Firms in Developing Countries.
The Role of Consumer Consent in Open Banking: Financial Inclusion Support Framework

(Washington, DC, 2021-12) World Bank

Open banking schemes provide consumers with more choice and new financial products and services through the use of technology, particularly application programing interfaces (API's). The main objective of this paper is to provide guidance on how to implement consumer consent protocols to access bank account data under open banking scenarios.