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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Towards Better Labor Migration Systems in Northern Central America: Overview of Findings from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-08-01) World Bank

This note aims to close the knowledge gap about the effectiveness and capacity of labor migration sending systems in NCA countries. The report assesses whether NCA countries have the fundamental elements of an effective labor migration sending system, identifies the missing elements, and offers recommendations for strengthening the systems over time. Filling such a knowledge gap is critical to inform policies that maximize the benefits and minimize the costs of economic migration. Programs and policies that help expand legal pathways for regular migration will not only promote mutually beneficial migration, but could be a step, albeit small, towards dissuading individuals from pursuing risky migration patterns. Indeed, evidence from Mexico indicates that investing in legal labor pathways can reduce irregular migration (Clemens and Gough, 2018). In this context, this note summarizes the main findings from three institutional diagnostics of the labor migration sending systems in NCA countries, with a view to deepening the understanding of the supply side of labor flows. To this end, and building on previous World Bank experience globally, a diagnostic tool was developed to identify what steps the NCA governments have taken to recognize and respond to foreign demand for workers. The tool examines if appropriate structures, systems, processes, and resources exist to prepare and deliver adequate labor supply arrangements in the context of bilateral agreements (BLAs) or Temporary Work Agreements (TWAs) with other countries. The diagnostic tool is organized around four main pillars to regulate, facilitate, fortify, and further access of labor migrants to international labor markets.
Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers ML/ TF Risk Assessment Tool: Guidance Manual

(Washington, DC, 2022) World Bank

The World Bank’s VA and VASP ML/TF Risk Assessment Tool (VA-RA) and this Guidance, aims to assist countries in assessing the ML/TF risks of VA activities and the service providers in the financial and non-financial sectors involved in these activities. It outlines the steps and explanations to assist countries to understand the ML/TF risks associated with VA activities. It examines VA activities and VASPs that fall within the scope of the FATF Recommendations, as these VASPs have the same full set of obligations as financial institutions or Designated Non-Financial Businesses or Professions (DNFBPs). It also considers other actors within the technology providers sector that may fall within the definition of FATF VASPs if they provide any of the functions defined in the FATF Recommendation 15.
Non-Profit Organizations TF Risk Assessment Tool: Identifying the FATF NPOs at Risk of Terrorist Financing Abuse - Guidance Manual

(Washington, DC, 2022) World Bank

The National Money Laundering/Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment (NRA) Toolkit has been developed by World Bank Group (WBG) staff members to support WBG client countries and jurisdictions in self-assessing their money laundering and terrorist financing risks.The nonprofit organization (NPO) tool of the NRA Tool serves as an instrument that jurisdictions can use to support their analyses of the terrorist financing abuse of NPOs. Through it, the Working Group will identify NPOs that meet the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) definition, assess the evidence of NPO abuse for terrorist financing, determine the inherent risk (exposure to active terrorist threat), and review the quality of existing mitigation measures. This analysis should seek to complement and draw on national terrorism and terrorist financing risk assessments.
Informality in Colombia : Implications for Worker Welfare and Firm Productivity

(World Bank, 2010-03-01) World Bank

The level of informality in Colombia's labor market is high and persistent. When measuring informality of workers in terms of their contributions to health insurance and pension systems, 74.2 percent of all Colombian labor force was considered informal in 2008. The informality debate has taken on a new sense of urgency, as Colombia's robust economic growth in recent years has not led to significant declines in informality. Even during the period of high economic growth experienced between 2001 and 2007, the share of workers in the informal sector remained very high. This report presents new insights to develop a better understanding of the nature, causes, and consequences of informality and its implications for social policies. The study analyzes informality using the conceptual framework presented in the World Bank flagship study on informality (Perry et al 2007), which shows that informality in the region is a function of both exclusion and exit, with some workers and firms opting out of the formal sector based on their assessment of the relative benefits and costs of formality versus informality. The focus of this report is on exploring options to enhance worker welfare and firm productivity through access to public goods and services, including social protection and productive inputs. Hence, the report adopts definitions and measures of informality separate measures for workers and firms that directly capture the extent to which they are linked to the state and, thus, to public goods and services.
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.
Argentina : Facing the Challenge of Ageing and Social Security

(Washington, DC, 2007-01) World Bank

This report, Argentina facing the challenge of ageing and social security, is structured in five parts that follow the introduction and summary of main findings. Part I presents a conceptual framework for decision makers charged with crafting policies for old age income security, and describes the evolution and structure of Argentina's pension institutions. Part II presents the findings of the household empirical analysis using existing surveys and the new data from the ETEEP, including the importance of pensions to household income and poverty, the micro-determinants of coverage, and the viability of other income security strategies for the most vulnerable. Part III focuses solely on policies and programs designed to ensure minimum income and cover poverty in old age, presenting estimates of the fiscal cost of proposals made by the principal actors and stake-holders in the pension reform debate. Part IV examines the main pension policy issues in this debate and places these issues in international context. Part V presents some options for the Government and stakeholders to consider as Argentina enters a more detailed and deliberate phase of defining pension reform.
Costa Rica - Reform of the Regulatory Framework : Spectrum Aspects

(Washington, DC, 2006-06-27) World Bank

This study for 'reform of the regulatory framework, spectrum aspects' is a continuation of various earlier studies done in 2005 like: sector overview and key input to spectrum policy; refarming the mobile spectrum, migration of users; and spectrum management and monitoring, options and issues study. These studies are still valid and a lot of additional background information can be found in these earlier reports. In this study the focus will be more towards the actual steps necessary to realise the reform of regulatory framework. Also new spectrum measurements have been performed to verify the continued validity of the earlier measurements and to detect any major changes in actual spectrum usage.
Shocks and Social Protection : Lessons from the Central American Coffee Crisis, Volume 2, Detailed Country Cases

(Washington, DC, 2005-12) World Bank

A major objective of this report is to provide a deeper, more policy relevant understanding of the welfare impacts of the coffee crisis - including the effects of the crisis on household income, consumption, poverty, as well as on basic human development outcomes, such as education and child nutrition. To do this, the study has generated a body of new empirical evidence, drawing from an unusually rich collection of household survey data from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. This includes "panels" of data from Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras that enable one to track changes in welfare of the same households over the period of the crisis. This has helped to provide a more detailed, clearer understanding of the crisis than has been available to date. Given the prevalence of both natural and economic shocks in Central America, another key objective of the study is to draw out the broader policy lessons of the coffee crisis - to enhance the abilities of the region's governments to respond to a range of shocks in a timely and effective manner. To do this, the report draws not only on evidence specific to the coffee crisis, but to other recent analysis on the role and efficacy of different safety net programs in the face of different types of shocks. By learning the lessons of recent experience, Central American governments, along with their development partners, can be better prepared to deal with a variety of different shocks in the future. In pursuing its objectives, the report has been organized into two volumes. Volume I presents a synthesis of the key findings and policy implications, focusing both on the impacts of the coffee crisis, specifically, and the lessons for government responses to shocks, more generally. Volume 2 goes into more detail on the specific impacts of the coffee crisis, presenting the collection of background studies commissioned for this report.
Argentina : Sources of Growth, Seeking Sustained Economic Growth with Social Equity

(Washington, DC, 2005-10) World Bank

This report attempts to analyze selected topics, chosen in collaboration with the Argentine authorities, regarding the inter-linkages between economic growth, income distribution and poverty, as well as the respective roles of these factors in explaining the historical underperformance of the Argentine economy. The report aims to identify relevant issues for policy formulation and further economic work. Its emphasis is on longer-term structural factors which are thought to determine productivity and income distribution. The report is organized as follows. Chapter 2 briefly reviews the time-dynamics o f economic growth, poverty and inequality in Argentina. Sections of the chapter study the evolution of poverty and inequality. It is noted that inequality has increased dramatically, though not monotonically, since 1990 and, notably, increases in inequality were observed in periods of both growth and recession. Chapter 3 reviews the latest episode o f economic volatility in Argentina, a period that started with the sharp decline o f economic activity in 2002 and continued with a recovery since 2003. Special attention is paid to the impact of this recent volatility on economic growth, poverty and inequality. The sections study the social impact of the recent crisis and recovery; employing different methodologies to test whether the recent recovery was pro-poor. It also analyzes the recession and recovery at the sector level, while identifying the economic sectors that contributed most to poverty reduction during the latest upturn o f the economy. Chapter 4 then turns to a selected set of government policies that could help to deliver high economic growth. The section highlights the idea that macroeconomic stability is crucial to reducing poverty rates since the empirical evidence indicates that economic crises disproportionately affect the poor. Another major lesson from this section is that tax policy is not a good tool for redistribution in developing countries. Further it analyzes the potential impact of various trade initiatives on employment opportunities for relatively unskilled workers in Argentina; and presents the results o f a recent study on the returns to education for workers across income groups. Finally, it reviews some key issues involved in ensuring a favorable environment for private sector development.