Other ESW Reports

226 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.

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 10 of 41

Using Behavioral Science in Communication Outreach to Increase Female Participation in Natural Resource Management in Mexico

(Washington, DC, 2022-02-06) World Bank

While a range of public programs in Mexico exist to incentivize communities to conserve and manage forest natural resources, a gender gap persists in the use of these initiatives. The experiment discussed in this report was commissioned by the climate investment funds’ (CIF) evaluation and learning (E and L) initiative to understand how to improve outreach to and encourage women to engage in productive natural resource management (NRM) programs. Following an earlier behavioral diagnostic study, the World Bank and local partners conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess the effectiveness of behaviorally informed additional outreach and engagement measures for NRM programs in Mexico. This report summarizes the findings of a field experiment commissioned by the CIF E and L initiative, with additional financing from the forest carbon partnership facility (FCPF). The experiment was designed to help identify promising strategies to improve outreach to women in order to encourage them to engage in productive natural resource management programs. This report presents the methodology used for the intervention and experimental design. It provides an analysis of the results at the locality and individual level. Finally, it provides conclusions and policy recommendations.
Accelerating Paraguay’s International Integration through Enhanced Trade, Investment and Competition Policies

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-02) World Bank

This report seeks to inform the policy dialogue on how to accelerate Paraguay’s international economic integration and in turn its medium- and long-term growth prospects. It benchmarks Paraguay’s global integration; analyzes trade, investment and competition policies and the quality of related institutions; and provides recommendations for strengthening them and accelerating the country’s global connection. Chapter 2 benchmarks Paraguay’s trade outcomes along several dimensions, including export diversification, quality upgrading and export survival, and Chapter 3 follows with an analysis of how trade policies and the quality of the institutional framework are affecting trade performance and identifies opportunities for improvements. It also estimates the impact of the MERCOSUR-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement on Paraguay. Chapter 4 focuses on FDI patterns and the strengths and shortcomings of the supporting FDI policy framework to help integrate in regional and global value chains. Chapter 5 examines competition challenges in Paraguay’s markets that could be affecting trade and FDI attraction and provides recommendations for strengthening competition policies and institutions. The preparation of this report has benefitted from the analysis of multiple data sources as well as extensive consultations with stakeholders from the private and public sectors.
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.
Colombia Public Finance Review

(Washington, DC, 2021-12) World Bank

Over the past twenty years, fiscal policy has become one of the three pillars of macroeconomic stability for Colombia, the other two being the flexible exchange rate and inflation targeting. The credibility and sustainability of fiscal policy is the result of strong institutions (in particular, the fiscal rule and the medium-term fiscal and expenditure framework) and a prudent management of public finances. After the 1999 crisis, Colombia managed to reduce the general government deficit and built buffers, which allowed it to respond to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Colombia successfully withdrew the 2008–09 deficit expansion and ran one of the highest fiscal balances in Latin America, until the COVID-19 crisis hit. The COVID-19 crisis has created a large shock to the economy and to public finances .Growth contracted to a minimum not seen in over 35 years. The economic contraction and the response needed to address the health emergency and to sustain activity pushed the central government’s deficit and the debt to their highest levels in decade, 7.8 and 64 percent of GDP respectively. Gains in poverty reduction reached over the past 10 years were wiped off.
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.