Other ESW Reports

306 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

https://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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Now showing 1 - 10 of 14

Fostering Rwanda Competitiveness and Resilience in the Post-COVID-19 Era
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-10) World Bank Group
Rwanda achieved rapid export growth in the decade before the pandemic. In addition, Rwanda has expanded business tourism by promoting the meetings, incentives, conferences/conventions, and events/exhibitions industry. Air transport services was another key export, as a growing number of international airlines are serving Rwanda. However, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic depressed goods and especially, services exports in 2020. Sustained growth in trade will be a key driver for achieving the government’s goal of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2035. While exports have increased significantly over the past two decades, Rwanda remains a less open country than the middle-income countries the government aspires to match. Regional integration can not only provide the needed economic scale for Rwandan firms to improve their productivity and competitiveness, but can also serve as a vital training ground for learning to export and produce higher-quality goods The aim of this report is to assess policy options to foster international trade, deepen regional integration, and reinforce the government diversification strategy through services. The first part of this report assesses Rwandan trade performances and trade potential in recent years, with a special emphasis on regional trade, trade in services, and the impact of the COVID-19. The second part of the report assesses the main drivers and challenges to international and regional trade in Rwanda including: i) trade policy, with special emphasis on non-tariff barriers and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement; ii) trade facilitation with special emphasis on Rwanda’s trade logistic ambitions; iii) supply side trade constraints at the firm-level; and iv) specific trade challenges to trade in service and data exchanges. The third part of the report discusses potential recommendations.
Engagement of Micro and Small Enterprises in Workplace-based Learning in South Africa
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2022-04) Franz, Jutta; Dulvy, Elizabeth Ninan; Marock, Carmel
Workplace-based learning (WBL) increases the labor market relevance of skills development programs and the employability of their graduates. The advantages of WBL for enriching the learning experience and improving the outcomes of skills development, and enhancing the employability of graduates, have always been recognized in South Africa. Engaging in WBL can help micro and small enterprises (MSEs) secure skilled labor and increase their productivity. Against this background, the World Bank and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) agreed to conduct a study about the involvement of MSEs in WBL in South Africa. The study intends to shed light on the constraints and opportunities for expanding WBL engagement among MSEs in South Africa, by taking stock of the current situation of MSE participation in WBL, identifying constraints, potential and key enablers, and outlining possible strategies to better engage and support MSEs in WBL. The study reviews the concept of WBL in a wider sense than is often applied in skills development debates in South Africa. Unlocking the vast potential of WBL and work experience opportunities to be offered to young South Africans by small and very small (micro) enterprises will be an important contribution to the fight against youth unemployment.
Mali Public Expenditure Review
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2022-03) World Bank
Mali is a low-income, fragile country that has suffered extraordinary setbacks in recent years. It is a landlocked economy which is highly dependent on agriculture, and thus vulnerable to external shocks and adverse weather condition. With a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of US 875 dollars (current USD) in 2019, Mali is in the lower 15th percentile of the world’s income distribution. Around 42 percent of the population live in extreme poverty. It is also a fragile state that has witnessed persistent conflict with political coups, social tensions, insecurity, and violence. The coup in 2012 has led to continued violence and displacement, leaving 8.7 million people, more than 45 percent of the population, living in crisis affected areas. It was followed by the military coup in August 2020 which has brought in a transitional civil government. The increasingly fragile security situation has also led to spikes in security expenditure, crowding out spending on public services and investment. This Public Expenditure Review (PER) proposes options to address this challenge, including improving spending efficiency and identifying ways to equitably increase domestic revenue. The policy actions and reforms it proposes will create the fiscal space to promote inclusive and sustainable growth. Starting with an overview of macro-fiscal developments, it examines Mali’s expenditure patterns and fiscal sustainability and benchmarks its performance against peer countries. It reviews the domestic revenue needed to meet the Government’s significant financing requirements and how the public finances are managed. It then investigates public spending efficiency in three sectors: education, health, and agriculture. These were chosen for their economic and social importance as well as their considerable share of public expenditure (over 30 percent). The PER provides some context for each sector, then analyzes financing and efficiency using a set of methodologies based on granular spending data and surveys, and concludes with suggested policy actions.
Missing Food : The Case of Postharvest Grain Losses in Sub-Saharan Africa
(Washington, DC, 2011-04) World Bank
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.
Benin : Transport Assessment Note for Roads, Airports, and Port Sectors
(Washington, DC, 2007-06-28) World Bank
The purpose of this Economic Sector Work (ESW) is to: (i) provide a framework to help the government analyze transport sector issues and finalize the update of the transport sector strategy; and (ii) identify issues and challenges that can be addressed through donor funded operations. This ESW focuses on roads, air, and port transport. Transport infrastructure and services have a vital role to play in the economic and social development of the country. They were designed to facilitate the distribution and sale of income-generating products, mainly cotton; to promote goods transit towards neighboring countries; and to facilitate trade between towns and rural areas, and ensuring access to social infrastructure and services in the rural area. The formal transport sector contributes approximately seven percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), but its indirect contribution to the creation of added value is much greater.
An Assessment of the Investment Climate in Botswana, Volume 2. Detailed Results and Econometric Analysis
(Washington, DC, 2007-06) World Bank
The objective of the Botswana Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) is to evaluate the investment climate in Botswana in all its operational dimensions and promote policies to strengthen the private sector. The investment climate is made up of the many location specific factors that shape the opportunities and incentives for firms to invest productively, create jobs, and expand. These factors include macroeconomic and regulatory policies; the security of property rights and the rule of law; and the quality of supporting institutions such as physical and financial infrastructure. The main sources of information for the ICA are two firm-level surveys. The first survey covered Small, Medium, and Large Enterprises (SMLEs) with five or more employees in retail trade, manufacturing, and other services. The second covered micro enterprise with fewer than five employees in the same sectors. Information from the survey is supplemented with information from other sources, including the doing business report; analytical reports by the World Bank, the international monetary fund, other international organizations and the Government of Botswana; and academic papers and reports. Although the analysis in this report suggests that there are some areas where the investment climate might be improved, it is important to note none of these problems with the possible exception of worker skills appear to be particularly debilitating. This suggests that other factors are probably also playing a role. One such factor is likely to be the small size (in terms of population) and remoteness of the economy. Another factor is the effect that is the macroeconomic effects of the large mining economy has on the competitiveness of the rest of the economy. Improving living standards and cutting poverty depends on broad-based economic growth, which will only take place when firms improve worker productivity by investing in human and physical capital and technological capacity. But firms will only invest when the investment climate is favorable.
Tanzania - Subnational Costs of Doing Business in Tanzania : An Assessment of Doing Business in Arusha, Dodoma, Iringa, Kigoma, Mtwara, Mwanza, and Zanzibar
(Washington, DC, 2007-05) World Bank
This report assesses some of the more significant doing business indicators including how easy it is to register a business, obtain a license, transfer property, connect basic utilities, and obtain an overdraft in 8 regions of Tanzania. The time and cost of completing these transactions play a significant role for local investors in their decision of whether to operate in a country's formal sector, thus affecting its investment and growth performance. The doing business assessment provides an index for measuring the ease of doing business across 175 developing and developed countries. The assessment promotes awareness of and focus on private sector needs, and oftentimes competition in reform programs among countries.The indicators look at 10 key operating areas for a firm, ranging from starting up and getting credit to closing the business. The report studies a theoretical firm. Data is based on research of laws and regulations in a country's main business city or capital. Input and verification are supplied by local government officials, lawyers, business consultants, accountants, and other professionals who routinely administer or advise on legal and regulatory requirements. The most important objective of this sub national report and related survey is to help the local governments and agency officials who directly facilitate firm operations within the regions to better understand and more effectively help Tanzania's businesses increase their investment, enhance their productivity, and drive the country's economic growth.
Nigeria - Competitiveness and Growth : Country Economic Memorandum, Volume 2. Main Report
(Washington, DC, 2007-05) World Bank
The theme of this report is Nigeria's competitiveness and growth. This report consequently focuses on constraints, opportunities and strategic choices associated with increasing productivity and growth of the Nigerian economy on a sustained basis. Its objective is not to present a "blueprint" for Nigeria's growth but rather to raise issues and provide some options for the consideration of policy makers and other Nigerian stakeholders. The report is structured in four main sections. The first section analyzes Nigeria's growth history, examines the recent growth pick up and assesses its sustainability. The second section analyses how the critical constraints to competitiveness and growth may be addressed. The third section discusses how trade -domestic and external - can be used more effectively to drive growth and poverty reduction. The final chapter provides policy conclusions and suggestions on what could be key elements of a growth agenda for Nigeria. The analysis in this report suggests the following key elements for a growth strategy for Nigeria: 1) Strengthening actions to tackle the most immediate constraints to the competitiveness of the economy presented by infrastructure and the business environment; 2) Using domestic trade more effectively to enhance productivity and competitiveness by strengthening their functioning, and building stronger linkages between the oil and non-oil sectors, and over time strengthening Nigeria's integration into global markets; 3) Ensuring that the poor can participate more fully in growth by placing urgent emphasis on (i) finding ways to give back some of the proceeds of oil windfall directly to Nigerians; (ii) raising agricultural productivity-including through enhanced technology; and (iii) encouraging the transition from informality to the formal sector; and 4) Building the human capital and technological base of the economy over the longer term.
Mauritius - Country Economic Memorandum : Managing Change in a Changing World
(Washington, DC, 2007-01) World Bank
This Country Economic Memorandum subscribes to the overall direction of the reform program mapped out by this body of work and it goes deeper in three important areas: (1) public sector management, (2) labor markets and education and (3) science and technology policy. Chapters 2-4 of this report, each one largely self-contained, cover these topics in order. First, however, Chapter 1 gives the context for the transition now underway with an overview of past and present development focusing on the transformation of the economy from factor-intensive to skill- and knowledge-intensive development. Then a forward-looking section offers a medium-term forecast for the economy's emergence from the recent slowdown and discusses prospects for longer-term (potential) growth.
Organisational Development and Governance of the National Statistical System
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-06) Strode, Mary
This report looks at the governance and management systems required to establish the National Statistical System, and is the result of two missions to South Africa by the consultant. The development of the National Statistical System (NSS) has made considerable progress over the life of the project particularly in raising awareness of the NSS among all parts of government, and forming partnerships with producer and user government bodies. Several consultants have worked on plans for the NSS, including a business plan, departmental audits and training. A step change in data quality in the wider statistical system of government departments will require an increase in resources and greater priority to be given to improving information systems. Additional resources will be required in the producing departments outside Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).