Other ESW Reports
242 items available
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This includes miscellaneous ESW types and pre-2003 ESW type reports that are subsequently completed and released.
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Publication
Georgia Beyond Arrivals: Emerging Opportunities for Georgian Firms in Tourism Value Chains
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-27)Georgia’s current tourism offering is oriented toward low-spending neighboring markets and,although there is growth in high-spend global markets, the share is still very small. The majority of international visitor trips are from Georgia’s neighboring countries—Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey. This strong regional footprint is partly attributable to Georgia’s reputation during Soviet times as a recreational destination. Proximity, low prices, familiarity and language have contributed to this strong position. However, of Georgia’s top 15 source markets, tourists from Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey have the lowest average total trip expenditure and make the shortest trips. Although Georgia has seen very strong growth from China and India, arrivals to Georgia from the top global tourism source markets1 in 2018 represented only 7.3 percent of arrivals to the country. Georgia’s government is targeting high-growth, high-spend source markets. In 2015, the Government of Georgia (GoG) launched “Georgia Tourism 2025”; a 10-year vision and strategic plan for increasing the value and importance of tourism for the benefit of the country’s economy and ultimately its citizens. The plan—developed with support from the World Bank Group—included infrastructure development, country promotion, service quality improvement and tourism product diversification. Building on this plan, in 2018, GoG developed a marketing, branding and promotional strategy to communicate Georgia’s brand positioning, visual and verbal identity guidelines, and promotional objectives and target high growth, high-spend source markets. As Georgia’s source markets evolve, new GVC structures necessary to serve those markets will alsoemerge. GoG has identified 26 key source markets based on accessibility, economic factors, culturalrelations, and other factors such as the size of diaspora, historical ties and language barriers. A shift towards these new markets will also correspond to changes in consumer behavioral trends and tastes. This, coupled with global industry trends will see new value chain structures emerge, emphasizing activities with differing competitive forces, and presenting differing opportunities to create and retain value. Georgian firms may need support to respond to changes in emerging tourism GVCs and compete for higher-value-added activities. The report asks and answers two questions: i) How are emerging trends changing the structure of Tourism GVCs and how can Georgian firms benefit from these changes? ii) What policy reforms, capital investment or skills development is needed to increase Georgia’s value chain competitiveness in each of these key tourism offerings? -
Publication
Facilitating Trade and Logistics for E-Commerce: Building Blocks, Challenges, and Ways Forward
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12)The objective of this note is to identify the key issues in trade facilitation and logistics that affect the e-commerce landscape, with a focus on cross border (trade facilitation) domestic delivery (logistics); highlight key challenges and opportunities, particularly for developing countries and small and medium enterprises (SMEs); and provide a roadmap for potential areas of World Bank (WB) support in that landscape. This work has broadly covered areas such as customs and border management; information and communications technology for trade; logistics services, including competition issues; and trade-related infrastructure (ports, inland ports, airports, and so on). This note identifies the various issues and challenges relating to e-commerce from a facilitation and logistics point of view and identifies potential solutions, particularly those in which the WBG can play a role in helping developing countries. The note draws from a wide array of developments and literature and from work done by the WBG more generally in trade facilitation and logistics in assisting countries to improve their trade environment. The note explores the required building blocks for facilitating cross-border e-commerce as to address the challenges raised and consist of: (a) improvement programs for creating a more conducive legal environment for automation; (b) improving automation and interconnectivity between agencies; (c) implementing simplified procedures to trade, including for e-commerce; and (d) implementing fully the World Trade Organizations (WTO’s) trade facilitation agreement. The note concludes with the summation that e-commerce offers new challenges and opportunities for governments and firms, but to maximize its benefits requires significant reform. This note has set out a path for countries to continuing the reform and modernization route with recommendations and an action matrix of specific improvements to the trade facilitation and logistics environment that will better position countries and firms to take advantage of the enormous potential that cross border e-commerce offers. -
Publication
Tightening Demand to Maintain Macroeconomic Balances : Lao PDR Economic Monitor, November 2012
(World Bank, Vientiane, 2012-11)Global and regional economic development continues to face uncertainties in 2012. East Asia and the Pacific region's growth is estimated to slow down compared to 2011, but remains robust compared with other regions thanks to sustained domestic investment and consumption. Lao PDR continues to maintain robust growth this year but faces a challenge to manage domestic demand. On the supply side, the construction, services, industry and agriculture sectors are the main drivers of growth; while on the demand side, public spending and private investment including demand driven by preparations for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) has played an important role in boosting the economy this year. In spite of robust growth, inflation has been declining, mostly on account of declining food and fuel inflation. However, home-grown and external risks associated with low reserves coverage, increased exposure to mining revenues, fast banking expansion with limited supervision capacity and a large number of newly announced large investment projects warrant close monitoring to preserve macroeconomic stability and sustainable growth. Stronger than expected revenue performance from the mining sector and external grants contributed to an improvement in the fiscal performance in FY11/12.With the contribution of mining revenue increasing, closely monitoring commodity price fluctuations is becoming increasingly important. The fiscal deficit in FY12/13 is expected to slightly widen as a result of a planned wage increase. Strong pressure on external reserves calls for tightening of aggregate demand. Credit growth remains high and is putting pressure on falling reserves. Credit growth has picked up in June 2012 driven by increased credit to the private sector and SOEs. Private sector credit growth is driven by buoyant performance in construction, manufacturing and service sectors. The Bank of Lao PDR's disbursements to local infrastructure projects have moderated compared to their peak in 2009, but are ongoing as a result of previous commitments. -
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Sustaining Robust Growth, Mitigating Risks and Deepening Reforms : Lao PDR Economic Monitor, May 2012
(World Bank, Vientiane, 2012-05)With development soaring in construction, manufacturing, mining and services, Lao PDR's economic outlook in 2012 is positive. As the driving force behind the domestic economy, these sectors are anticipated to drive a projected growth of 8.3 percent by year-end. To begin, higher wholesale and trading, tourism as well as transport and telecommunications will impact the service sector this year. A construction boom is also on the horizon supported by the preparation for the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Vientiane Capital. With this said, construction will support the manufacturing sector with the additional demand for cement and construction materials. Food and beverages will also expand in response to sustained domestic demand. Additionally, Phu Bia mining company's upgrade of existing copper and new gold and silver projects will generate more output from the mining sector. On the other hand, the power sector will contribute less in comparison to last year, despite the operation of Nam Ngum 5 hydropower project. In the mean time, agricultural output is expected to rebound after the adverse impacts of 2011's floods. Despite this robust growth, the medium-term outlook remains subject to uncertainty in external markets. In 2011, the National Assembly revised and approved the general tax law introducing public finance to a transparent, turnover based presumptive tax regime for businesses with a turnover below the Value-Added Tax (VAT) registration threshold. In effect, this law eliminated minimum business tax. Finally, the implementation of the 'one-stop' service (as stipulated on the enterprise law and the new investment promotion law) commenced in October 2011. -
Publication
Missing Food : The Case of Postharvest Grain Losses in Sub-Saharan Africa
(Washington, DC, 2011-04)Low-income, food-deficit countries have become especially concerned about the global and national food situation over the past three years. While the proximate cause of this heightened concern was the surge in food prices that began in 2006 and peaked in mid-2008, concerns remain for other reasons, among them the higher market-clearing price levels that now seem to prevail, continuing price volatility, and the risk of intermittent food shortages occurring repeatedly far into the future. For lower-income Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, ongoing contributing factors include persistently low productivity, difficulty adapting to climate change, financial difficulties (inability to handle the burden of high food or fuel prices or a credit squeeze), and increased dependence on food aid. Yet there is an additional, often-forgotten factor that exacerbates food insecurity: postharvest losses (PHL). They can and do occur all along the chain from farm to fork, which reduces real income for all consumers. This especially affects the poor; as such a high percentage of their disposable income is devoted to staple foods. This report is based on the desk study undertaken by experts of the U.K. Natural Resources Institute (NRI). Data were collected by direct contact (e-mail or telephone), with authorities holding information on past and current projects; by searching the Internet for details about projects; and by reviewing published and 'gray' literature. Data were also collected from the personal experiences of the NRI review team who had worked on numerous and diverse projects to reduce grain PHL in SSA over the last 30 years and from experts in the field. These experts were identified and asked to complete a questionnaire that would draw out their experiences to indicate the weakest links in the postharvest chain, the interventions that deserve to be prioritized for future action, and those that should be avoided. Of about 40 invited respondents, a total of 20 returned completed (or partially completed) questionnaires. -
Publication
Bulgaria - Administrative and regulatory barriers to business
(World Bank, 2010-11-01)The present report on the Administrative and Regulatory Barriers to Business is part of an ongoing World Bank analytical and advisory support to the Government of Bulgaria in the area of regulatory reform. Since 2006, the World Bank has provided analytical and advisory support to the government in this area. In 2007, the Bank reviewed administrative procedures in the tourism, food, and road transportation sectors, calling for reduction and simplification of certain burdensome administrative regimes and emphasizing superfluous regulation at the municipality level. This report aims to identify ways in which Bulgaria can further remove obstacles to business regulation, recognizing that achieving pre-crisis growth levels, raising labor productivity and improving the business environment will require continued reforms to eliminate administrative and regulatory barriers to business. The report serves three purposes, such as: 1) providing the economic backdrop and comparators of Bulgaria's regulatory environment; 2) reporting on survey results including assessments by and perceptions of senior managers of Bulgarian enterprises; and 3) identifying strategic reform recommendations, including regulatory changes, institutional upgrading and capacity building, and legislative amendments. -
Publication
Better Regulation for Higher Growth : Bulgaria's Business Regulation - Achievements and Recommendations
(World Bank, 2010-11-01)Removing regulatory obstacles that create barriers to business is a major objective for economic policymakers. There is broad understanding among policymakers and development practitioners that microeconomic reforms aimed at strengthening property rights, unleashing competition, and reducing the cost of doing business are critical to creating a sound investment climate and promoting economic growth (World Bank 2004; World Bank 2005; Lewis 2004). It is also commonly agreed that these changes need to be credible and sustained for private firms to respond by increasing investment and production (World Bank 2005). This report summarizes the findings of three topical studies of the World Bank: Administrative and Regulatory Barriers to Business (volume two) studies the overall burden of regulation for companies in comparison to other new European Union (EU) peers and specifically assesses Information Technology (IT) and manufacturing companies and the role of key stakeholders. The ex-post impact assessment of the act on limiting administrative regulation and administrative control on economic activity (Volume three) makes an assessment of how the act has been enforced, identifies and estimates the impacts of the act, and provides recommendations for amendments. Reforming the regime of state fees (volume four) examines how reforms to the structure of state fees could decrease the regulatory burden for firms. -
Publication
Bulgaria - Ex-post impact assessment of the act on limiting administrative regulation and administration control on economic activity
(World Bank, 2010-07-01)The ex-post impact assessment of the Limiting Administrative Regulation and Administrative Control on Economic Activity Act (LARACEAA) is part of the World Bank's support to the Government of Bulgaria through on-going analytical and advisory work in the area of regulatory reform. The purpose of the present ex-post impact assessment of the LARACEAA is to: (i) assess how the Act has been enforced, (ii) identify and estimate the impacts of the Act, and (iii) provide recommendations for amendments to the Act. Chapter one emphasizes the importance of the Act as part of the Bulgarian Government's role in advancing regulatory reform and improving the business environment; gives the scope of the assessment and presents the sources of information utilized; and delineates general limitations of the analysis. Chapter two outlines a policy framework by discussing coherence with the Governmental and European Union (EU) policies, as well as touching upon relevant documents on regulatory reform, followed by analysis of the goal and objectives of the Act, and identification of performance indicators for the measurement of the impact of the Act. Chapter three depicts the results of the ex-post impact assessment, while the final chapter four identifies the main problem; discusses underlying drivers and effects of the problem; and proposes recommendations for amendments to the Act. -
Publication
Performance-Based Agreements : Incorporating Performance-Based Elements into Standard Loan and Grant Agreements, A Technical Guide
(Consultative Group to Assist the Poor/The World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010)All donors and investors use contracts to establish legal relationships with the partners they fund. Typically, these contracts define the permitted use of the funds and include general suspension or termination clauses. Unfortunately, many agreements do not include project-specific performance targets and do not define sanctions for failure to deliver minimum performance against those targets. This technical guide presents the rationale for the use of performance based agreements (PBAs) and suggests ways to incorporate performance based targets and incentives into existing loan and grant agreements. The focus of this guide is PBAs for retail financial service providers, but some of the advice can be applied to other nonretail projects as well.