Other ESW Reports

242 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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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.
Bulgaria - Administrative and regulatory barriers to business

(World Bank, 2010-11-01) World Bank

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.
Better Regulation for Higher Growth : Bulgaria's Business Regulation - Achievements and Recommendations

(World Bank, 2010-11-01) World Bank

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.
Bulgaria - Ex-post impact assessment of the act on limiting administrative regulation and administration control on economic activity

(World Bank, 2010-07-01) World Bank

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.
Taking Stock of Recent Migration Flows in the European Union

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

Expanded employment opportunities across the continent have been one of the most significant changes to have taken place in Europe during the past 50 years. Since the inception of the European Economic Community in 1957 involving 6 countries (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany) with a combined population of less than 200 million, the European Union (EU) has grown to encompass nearly 500 million people across 27 member countries that produce, in total, about 30 percent of the world's total gross domestic product. May 2010 marked the six-year anniversary of the inclusion of eight countries from Central and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia) into the EU, followed by Romania and Bulgaria in January 2007. An important consequence of these 10 new member states (henceforth EU10) joining the EU has been to expand the internal EU labor market, albeit to varying extents for nationals of different member countries. Migration flows out of the EU10 following the 2004 enlargement is hampered by various technical and data constraints. As a result, the policy debates on the welfare consequences of migration following enlargement for both the host and sender countries have often been based on speculation and ideology rather than on the empirical evidence per se. Following the accession of EU10 countries to the EU, how large were the ensuing flows of migrant workers, and what were their main socio-economic characteristics?-in particular, how do migrants from within the EU compare to those from countries outside the EU? Are migrants poorer than the native-born population?-do they impose a high economic and social burden on the countries where they currently reside? Addressing these and other such key issues of policy interest are among the main questions addressed by this report. Using information from a variety of data sources, it takes stock of the nature, extent, and impact of EU migration following EU10 accession, and synthesizes the main lessons from this experience for future migration policy. In particular, the report highlights the positive contributions made by migrants in their host countries, as well as documents the growing importance of remittances in receiving countries.
Bulgaria - Reforming the regime of states fees

(World Bank, 2009-06-01) World Bank

The Government of Bulgaria requested the World Bank to analyze the legal, institutional and administrative framework for setting state fees and provide recommendations based on good international practice. How big is the problem compared to the many other issues the government wants to reform in order to improve the business climate in Bulgaria? So far there are no comprehensive studies of the level of administrative fees in the European Union (EU) area. Such studies would be of great value to assess the magnitude of the problem. There are, however, several arguments in support of reforming the regime of state fees in Bulgaria now. Firstly, business associations in Bulgaria agree also confirmed by a recent unpublished government report - that state fees at the central level became an uncontrolled area in which authorities apply their own judgment and interests without considering the impact on businesses often to the disadvantage of the private sector. Secondly, if the Government of Bulgaria (GoB) does not curb the current regime system, then the trend of increasing state fees will continue or might even gain speed. Again, this will have a negative impact on the cost of doing business. Thirdly, a number of identified state fees are so high that they seriously harm competition by functioning as a barrier to firm entry. Fourthly, the EU requires Member States to implement a specific regime for administrative fees in the services sector by the end of 2009 and Bulgaria does not comply with that yet. A recent World Bank report for Bulgaria Investment Climate Assessment (2008) called for overall reduction of the administrative cost for businesses because Bulgaria is not competitive in this area compared to other Central and Eastern European countries. The report recommended that a strategic policy document is prepared to embrace the administration practice and provide an instrument for classification of the tariffs for the central administration service fees targeting universal reduction of the administrative cost. It also proposed that a special methodology for the classification of the tariffs for the central administrative service fees is developed. The present report is intended to support reform of the regime of state fees.
Romania - Poverty Monitoring Analytical and Advisory Assistance Program : Are the Most Vulnerable Protected?

(Washington, DC, 2008-06) World Bank

The rapid economic growth since 2000 has been the main driver of poverty reduction in Romania. However, even under the current positive growth scenario, there are still people who live in poverty, and some who are unlikely to benefit from future growth and thus may continue to be left behind. For these people an effective redistributive social policy and targeted interventions are needed. The purpose of this note is to assist the Ministry of Labor, Family and Equal Opportunities (MLFEO) to analyze and monitor the effectiveness of the main social safety net benefits to fight social exclusion and reduce poverty. To determine the extent to which social transfers offer protection to the poorest groups of the population, the paper uses the last available (2004-2006) rounds of the household budget survey data. The analysis presented here uses the consumption aggregate and the absolute poverty definition presented in the 2003 and 2007 poverty assessments. Three main indicators are used to assess the effectiveness of social protection (SP) programs: coverage (share of population covered by the programs), targeting (share of funds directed to each welfare group of population), and adequacy of benefit (share of the benefit in the consumption of beneficiaries). The paper begins with a review of the main findings, followed by an overview of the social protection system and its overall effectiveness. Then it assesses the main social assistance programs, and concludes with a review of key issues.
From Social Funds to Local Governance and Social Inclusion Programs : A Prospective Review From the ECA Region - Technical Annexes

( 2007-05-01) World Bank

The role and relevance of Social Fund Community-Driven Development (SF/CDD) has been highly debated in the international development community. Some conceive these programs only as parallel and temporary arrangements that can ensure short-term delivery of development benefits. Others emphasize the flexibility of the SF/CDD instrument in adopting different institutional forms depending on the country context, and their contributions to long-term development challenges. The aim of this study is to provide guidance on the question of social fund relevance. The report is organized into six chapters and a set of annexes. Chapter 1 defines social funds and their main rationales. Chapter 2 provides an overview of their origins in ECA, basic facts about the Bank operations and SF performance, and develops a typology based on policy objectives. Chapter 3 summarizes the institutional arrangements of social funds in the Region and then reviews them within the wider vision of optimal public sector arrangements. Chapter 4 looks at local infrastructure and governance funds, evaluating their design against a set of good practice benchmarks for promoting local governance, and drawing implications for the future. Chapter 5 conducts a similar exercise but for social inclusion funds. The final chapter summarizes the main answers to the study questions and elaborates a set of options for future engagement with social funds, taking into account different country contexts. In the Second Volume, Annexes provide more detailed background material.
Croatia - Living Standards Assessment : Volume 1, Promoting Social Inclusion and Regional Equity

(Washington, DC, 2006-11) World Bank

The Croatian economy has performed moderately well in the past decade, enabling a gradual narrowing of the income gap with the European Union (EU). Using a cost-of-basic-needs poverty line, poverty in Croatia is found to be low, with only a small proportion of the poor facing hard-core deprivation. Looking ahead, the task of faster external income convergence with the EU will be challenging, and will require both faster job creation as well as flexibility in the allocation of jobs and workers in the economy. These will also help with more rapid improvement in living conditions in lagging regions. To these ends, the report highlights three sets of interrelated policy challenges and priorities: (1) sustaining high rates of growth to permit continued income convergence with Europe; (2) promoting greater labor mobility, including measures aimed at building human capital to improve workers' opportunities; and (3) improving the adequacy and effectiveness of social safety nets within a responsible fiscal framework. In examining regional disparities, several development indicators show that regional disparities in living conditions are significant (though on average no higher than in EU countries), and only partially explained by human capital and other such individual attributes. Building on local comparative advantages offers the best way forward to improve living conditions in lagging regions.
Belarus : Window of Opportunity to Enhance Competitiveness and Sustain Economic Growth, A Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) for the Republic of Belarus, Volume 2, Executive Summary

(Washington, DC, 2005-11) World Bank

This Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) for the Republic of Belarus takes stock of the growth trends in the country's economy since 1996, reviews the evidence of the accumulated challenges and risks within the existing growth patterns, and provides recommendations aimed at strengthening growth sustainability. In sum, while economic growth in the last nine years has been impressive, the report argues that maintaining the current growth strategy would lead to a gradual erosion of economic competitiveness. The government should make significant policy adjustments by reorienting its policies toward ensuring a better business environment, and a smaller sized government. Current international and domestic environment are favorable for supporting a policy shift toward the acceleration of structural reforms. At the moment, the government is well equipped to mitigate the potential costs of these reforms, because the policy settings are largely determined by the growing economy, the positive trends in both the enterprise and the household sectors, favorable developments in the global economy, low debt, and the strong administrative capacity of the state. This situation could change: various pressures might become stronger, and then these same reforms would become politically more costly, and fiscally more risky. In short, the current window of opportunity should be used to ensure that the authorities' growth and poverty objectives are sustainable in the medium to long terms. The analysis in this report has documented a significant and broad-based growth, while pointing to the erosion of several important factors that have driven this growth recently. The Belarusian economy is facing a considerable risk of declining competitiveness. To sustain growth, a significant policy adjustment is necessary to enhance market discipline, and encourage new business entry.