Other ESW Reports

305 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.

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

State-Owned Enterprises (SOES) in Oman: Review of SOE Governance Practices
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-11-08) World Bank
This report is part of a World Bank review of State-owned Enterprise (SOE) governance practices in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. The review is responding to the scarcity of data about such practices in the MENA region. It initially covers six countries, including: Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, and Tunisia. The objective of the reviews is to develop and disseminate knowledge about SOE governance in the interests of promoting continued SOE reforms in the region. This report provides an overview of the SOE landscape and history in Oman, followed by a review of key dimensions of SOE governance practices. This includes a review of the following dimensions: (i) The legal and regulatory frameworks for SOEs; (ii) State ownership arrangements; (iii) Performance management frameworks; (iv) SOE board structures and functioning; (v) Transparency and disclosure practices; (vi) Procurement policies and practices; and (vii) Climate reporting practices. The framework for the review is based on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for SOE Corporate Governance and the World Bank’s Integrated SOE Framework (iSOEF).
Desktop Review: Analysis of The Pacific Islands Forum Members included in the EU List of Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-14) World Bank
The objective of this desktop study is to enhance the overall implementation of the international standards in the region and gain a better understanding of their technical assistance needs. This independent assessment concerning the technical challenges affecting the PIF members in the EU list has been requested by the PIF and completed by the World Bank Group (WBG). The desktop review has been prepared with public sources cited throughout the report. An interview with the Secretariat of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Taxation and Customs was also conducted. Section 2 of this note contains the evaluation of Fiji, Palau, Samoa, and Vanuatu; countries listed in the February 2024 update, against the EU tax good governance criteria. This section clearly identifies the situation of each country in respect of the criteria considered not met by the EU Council. The assessment was conducted exclusively using publicly available sources. Section 3 contains the main actions that each country must undertake to strengthen its international tax system, in accordance with the challenges identified in section. Technical assistance from international organizations can facilitate the completion of these actions. The WBG has strong expertise in the implementation of the tax transparency standards and the BEPS minimum standards within the Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment (MTI) Global Practice. In addition, WBG works closely with other international organizations that help in these topics. Lastly, section 4 outlines the potential consequences faced by PIF countries for being in the EU list. However, this impact does not include quantification of FDI losses, as it is out of scope of this desktop review.
The Evolution, Practice and Impact of Participatory Budgeting in Kenya: The Kenya Accountable Devolution Program
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-15) World Bank
Citizen engagement is critical to achieving an effective devolution process. The success of devolution in delivering good quality services in Kenya is inextricably linked to the extent to which counties provide their citizens with adequate information on budgets and service delivery performance, empower them to participate and contribute to decision-making, and are held accountable. For a decade, counties in Kenya have been translating into action the legal principles on transparency, accountability, and public participation as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya 2010. Although this has not been an easy task, counties have made notable progress, establishing systems, structures, processes, and practices for meaningful citizen engagement. One of the innovative practices adopted is participatory budgeting. With training and technical assistance from the World Bank through the Kenya Accountable Devolution Program (KADP), several counties have been implementing participatory budgeting since 2015 as an approach to achieving more inclusive and effective government.
Governance of State-Owned Enterprises in the MENA Region: Synthesis and Cross-cutting Findings of SOE Governance Reviews of Six Countries
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-22) World Bank
This report is part of a World Bank review of state-owned enterprise (SOE) governance practices in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The focus on governance is motivated by research pointing to good governance as an important precondition for successful and sustainable SOE reform. This report summarizes findings of six SOE governance reviews of Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, and Tunisia, while also drawing on other regional studies. The six country reports, as well as this cross-cutting report, concentrate on the core dimensions of corporate governance of SOEs as identified in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Corporate Governance of SOEs, and the World Bank’s Integrated SOE Framework (iSOEF). These include: (i) the legal and regulatory framework for corporate governance; (ii) state ownership arrangements; (iii) performance management frameworks; (iv) Board structures and functioning; (v) financial reporting, accountability, control, and transparency; (vi) procurement policies and practices; and (vii) climate change reporting practices. The report also provides an overview of the SOE landscape in terms of the size, composition, employment, subsidies, and financial risks of the SOE sectors.
Local Governments Climate Finance Instruments - Global Experiences and Prospects in Developing Countries
(World Bank and UNCDF, 2024-04-15) World Bank; United Nations Capital Development Fund
Local governments—especially cities and municipalities—in developing countries will be at the forefront of confronting and mitigating the impacts of climate change, and they need substantial financing to address this challenge. However, they often lack the fiscal resources for such investments. To address this financing gap, they will need to utilize a variety of financing sources and instruments. This joint publication of the World Bank and the UN Capital Development Fund aims to help cities and local governments better understand the various climate finance instruments and sources available to them, including intergovernmental fiscal transfers, own-source revenues, municipal borrowing (loans and bonds), public-private partnerships and credit-enhancement instruments such as guarantees. It provides information on each of these instruments - organized in a conceptual framework – and highlights international experience and 18 case studies on their use from around the world. The report also recommends various actions that cities, local and national governments and development partners can take to increase access to these instruments to help meet climate investment needs in cities.
Municipal Mergers and Associations: International Experience and Reform Options for Croatia
(Washington, DC, 2022-05) World Bank
Croatia’s high degree of municipal fragmentation has been consistently recognized as a weakness and one of the main problems of its intergovernmental fiscal system. The report argues that the problem of fragmentation is in essence a problem of capacity. The objective of this report is to review international experiences and lessons in the promotion of local government mergers and municipal associations to inform efforts to advance institutional reform in Croatia and address the problem of low local government capacity. The report is organized into six sections. The first section is introduction, the second section reviews the fragmented territorial administrative structure in Croatia, and the third is devoted to unpacking the concept of local government units (LGU) capacity. The fourth section focuses on relevant international experience related to municipal fragmentation and capacity deficiencies, and the fifth examines incentive measures for Intermunicipal Cooperation (IMC) and the creation of associations or commonwealths. The sixth section lays out policy options and recommendations for Croatia, prioritized along a sequence for implementation.