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.

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

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.
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.
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.
Democratic Republic of Congo : Health, Nutrition and Population, Country Status Report

(Washington, DC, 2005-05) World Bank

The objective of this report is to describe and analyze the health, nutrition, and population situation in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in order to inform the Government's strategy development in the sector, particularly in the context of its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). The report analyzes health, nutrition, and population outcomes and determinants, focusing on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the health situation of the poor. Health service utilization and i t s determinants are assessed, and the main features of the health system described. The policies and strategies of Government and external partners are discussed, with particular attention to the health care financing situation and its impact on the poor.
Lesotho : An Assessment of the Investment Climate

(Washington, DC, 2005-01) World Bank

The objective of the Lesotho Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) is to evaluate the investment climate in Lesotho in all its operational dimensions and promote policies to strengthen the private sector. By comparing the investment climate in Lesotho to investment climates in other countries, it is possible to observe areas were Lesotho performs relatively well and others were improvements is necessary if Lesotho is to continue to grow. The primary source for the assessment is a firm level survey (investment climate survey or ICS) which was completed towards the end of 2004. About 110 firms in three sectors of the economy (manufacturing, construction and tourism) were interviewed. The information collected during the survey is supplemented with results from other studies conducted by the Bank and other donor agencies and the Government of Lesotho. In this study, the investment climate in Lesotho is compared other countries, particularly attention is given to China and India because they are important competitors in Lesotho's main export market, the garment sector. Chapter 5, attempts to provide key recommendations to assist the Government in addressing current weakness and improving environment for a faster and more diversified economic growth.
South Africa - Constraints to Growth and Employment : Evidence of the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise Firm Survey

(Washington, DC, 2000-08-31) World Bank

This report identifies several themes that cover both macroeconomic constraints as well as structural factors affecting small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMME) in South Africa. After the introduction, Chapter 2 continues to discuss firm demographics for the 800 SMME firms surveyed. Characteristics such as age, race, size, and legal status of the firm are presented along with a brief description of the entrepreneurs' motivations for starting their SMME. Chapter 3 provides information on the degree to which firms in this survey have been expanding or contracting employment and investment levels, followed by a discussion of factors limiting further expansion. This section of the report also contains ratings indicating the policies SMME firms would like local and national governments to implement or improve. The remaining chapters contain more detailed analyses of each of the main constraints identified. Chapter 4 discusses the skills shortage as well as the degree to which SMME firms are hindered by inflexible labor arrangements. Chapter 5 analyzes the capital constraints, but with regard to access and cost. Chapter 6 illustrates the insufficient progress made by government promotion and procurement programs. Chapter 7 discusses the business environment within which SMME firms must operate, paying particular attention to location ratings and crime. Finally Chapter 8 evaluates the extent to which the SMME tier is linked to the international economy.