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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Technical Assistance and Training in Integrated Provincial Planning : Quang Nam Province, Vietnam

(Washington, DC, 2008-12) World Bank

Traditionally both national and regional development planning in Vietnam has been driven by 'top-down' Central Government social and economic targets based on limited analytical investigation. However, with the advent of the free market economy in Vietnam since the late 1980s, vigorous global economic competitiveness and Vietnam's membership to the World Trade Organization (WTO), changes in national policy in Vietnam have now required a more decentralized approach to development planning based on the preparation of integrated regional development strategies. This change in policy direction requires the application of new and innovative approaches to development planning underpinned by 'best practice' tools and techniques. This new way of planning will more effectively manage current and future investment opportunities at the provincial and regional levels in Vietnam. This report is the culmination of the findings and recommendations of the project over this three month period noting that the training program itself involved a total of 45 participants from relevant provincial government and district level authorities in Quang Nam Province (QNP). Appendix two is a list of participants. It is emphasized that the method of training adopted in this technical assistance project was very interactive, it required individual and group tasks to be completed by participants based on the organization of participants into five teams, nomination of a team leader for each team and regular presentations of team activities to the whole group throughout the training program. The program ran for a total of seven days (7-9 October 2008 and 4-6 November 2008) with a 'report back' workshop session of all participants and other provincial government officials on 7 November 2008.
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.
India - Jharkhand : Addressing the Challenges of Inclusive Development

(Washington, DC, 2007-03) World Bank

This study on Jharkhand in India addresses the challenges faced by that new state of India (founded in November 2000) to surmount adverse initial conditions of low average income, very high incidence of poverty, and little social development. In addition, initial health and education indicators in Jharkhand were also markedly unfavorable in comparison to both the all-India average and the major Indian states. The paper points out that in order to put its fiscal house in order, the state needs to introduce reforms for improving resource mobilization, increasing cost effectiveness of expenditure and rationalizing the budgetary processes. Improvement of infrastructure is critically important, and once this has occurred, this will lead to favorable pro-poor changes in the labor market as well. Two opposite views of the development debate are represented by the different degrees of importance given to mining and agriculture. One view contends that the development of the mining sector can usher in a new decade of development in Jharkhand. The second view is that the potential risks associated with the mining sector are high and that agriculture has shown great potential through impressive growth in recent years contributing significantly to poverty reduction and human resource development. Given the strengths and weaknesses of the two options, the present study suggests a middle path, aiming at an inter-temporal balance between the two strategies. The paper stresses that social inclusion and effective citizenship for all are desirable outcomes everywhere, especially in Jharkhand with its sharp social and regional divide. It concludes that political commitment is needed to "make development happen" in the shortest possible time.
Russia : Reducing Poverty through Growth and Social Policy Reform

(Washington, DC, 2005-02) World Bank

The report is based on analysis of the main facets and dynamics of poverty in Russia since 1997. The analysis was conducted over the past two years by Russian and international experts in the framework of the first stage of the program on "enhancing the measurement, monitoring, and analysis of poverty". This report is however, not a Poverty Reduction Strategy - rather this report draws on the analysis of a much larger dataset, making its results far better suited for formulating poverty reduction policies. Thus recommendations are more of a sketchy roadmap of pillars of a poverty reduction strategy than a specific and detailed action plan. Following an overview of the report's main findings, Part I examines the nature of poverty, both nationally and regionally, to identify the groups with a high poverty risk. Part II examines the growth-poverty linkages through the labor market, as well as the contribution of growth and inequality to the recent poverty reduction. It also explores the expected impact of accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on overall growth and poverty. Part III examines the scope for improving social policy, in ways that will have a direct impact on the poor: the safety net, the housing and communal sector, and the education and health sectors. The final chapter of the report addresses improved monitoring of poverty outcomes, on the basis of the Household Budget Survey.
Indonesia : Selected Fiscal Issues in a New Era

(Washington, DC, 2003-02-14) World Bank

Despite the substantial progress in managing its fiscal challenges post-1997 financial crisis, Indonesia's risks to the budget have not disappeared, though the Government continues to be committed to fiscal consolidation. While debt sustainability is improving, the budget remains vulnerable to shocks, and, large non-discretionary spending (interest payments, transfers to the regions, personnel spending) still constrain the use of fiscal policy for macroeconomic stabilization, and social risk protection, and, as the fiscal situation improves, and decentralization proceeds, a rethinking of resource allocation becomes necessary. This report assesses Indonesia's progress in dealing with challenges that have altered the fiscal system since the crisis, and reviews options for fiscal consolidation, as well as sectoral issues in the new decentralized environment, including public expenditure management reforms. Suggestions include an increased revenue mobilization to make the budget more risk proof, and an improved tax administration, rather than streamlining the tax structure alone, while the Government's decision to eliminate the fuel subsidy remains critical for fiscal consolidation (which has little social implications). Moreover, the large interest payments burden incurred during the crisis, is crowding out development spending, and similarly, increased transfers to local governments are limiting discretionary spending (which could be accompanied by a decrease in central development spending in areas of regional responsibilities). A refinement of the budget management system is necessary, where the Finance Law would be instrumental in establishing accountability between the Executive, and Parliament.
Rural Poverty Alleviation in Brazil : Towards an Integrated Strategy, Volume 2. Technical Papers

(Washington, DC, 2001-12-27) World Bank

This report finalized in March 2001 constitutes a step toward the objective of designing an integrated strategy for rural poverty reduction in Brazil, The report contains an updated and more detailed profile of the rural poor in the northeast (NE) and southeast (SE) of Brazil; identifies key determinants of rural poverty in these regions; and proposes a five-pronged strategic framework in which to couch a set of integrated policies that could effectively help to reduce rural poverty in Brazil. This tentative set of policy options was identified via an analysis of rural poverty determinants complemented with an evaluation of relevant current public programs and six in-depth thematic studies that bear on critical components of the proposed integrated policy approach aimed at reducing rural poverty in the NE and SE of Brazil: 1) the dynamics of the Brazilian small farm sector, 2) rural labor markets, 3) rural land markets, 4) rural non-farm employment, 5) rural education, and 6) rural pensions. While this study emphasizes primarily microeconomic events--such as the impact of schooling, income transfers, and access to land and credit--poverty reduction requires both economic growth (macro-level) and specific anti-poverty policies (micro-level).
Rural Poverty Alleviation in Brazil : Towards an Integrated Strategy, Volume 1. Policy Summary

(Washington, DC, 2001-12-27) World Bank

This report finalized in March 2001 constitutes a step toward the objective of designing an integrated strategy for rural poverty reduction in Brazil, The report contains an updated and more detailed profile of the rural poor in the northeast (NE) and southeast (SE) of Brazil; identifies key determinants of rural poverty in these regions; and proposes a five-pronged strategic framework in which to couch a set of integrated policies that could effectively help to reduce rural poverty in Brazil. This tentative set of policy options was identified via an analysis of rural poverty determinants complemented with an evaluation of relevant current public programs and six in-depth thematic studies that bear on critical components of the proposed integrated policy approach aimed at reducing rural poverty in the NE and SE of Brazil: 1) the dynamics of the Brazilian small farm sector, 2) rural labor markets, 3) rural land markets, 4) rural non-farm employment, 5) rural education, and 6) rural pensions. While this study emphasizes primarily microeconomic events--such as the impact of schooling, income transfers, and access to land and credit--poverty reduction requires both economic growth (macro-level) and specific anti-poverty policies (micro-level).
Egypt : Social and Structural Review

(Washington, DC, 2001-06-20) World Bank

A social and structural review (SSR) identifies the strategic policy priorities that are likely to yield the highest returns in terms of poverty reduction and development. This SSR identifies those priorities by providing a systematic evaluation of economic policy and structure in order to identify a) the main constraints on poverty reduction and long run development in Egypt and b) the sources of vulnerability, particularly as Egypt considers further global integration through entering into foreign trade agreements. The five priorities for reform include: 1) In order to maintain Egypt's robust economic performance of the late 1990s, the Government will need to continue to maintain stability of the macroeconomic environment by strengthening economic management which may have been pushed off-course by exogenous shocks in the latter half of the 1990s. 2) Trade liberalization remains as an unfinished and critical area for further reform. By sharply reducing tariffs and other trade taxes, especially on manufactures, Egypt can achieve productivity gains and wage growth. 3) It is important to revisit government regulations that increase the cost of doing business in Egypt. 4) Expenditures of the bottom half of population appear to be fairly compressed. 5) The quality of life of population is in part determined by public services such as those that enhance health, education, sanitation, clean water, and air quality.
Poverty in the West Bank and Gaza

(Washington, DC, 2001-06-18) World Bank

This report's overarching objective is to increase understanding of the causes of poverty in order to find ways to reduce it among Palestinaians. Three broad messages emerge from this report: 1) Unless the Palestinian territories are able to achieve high levels of economic growth, the prospects for future poverty reduction are not encouraging. not only will the number of poor Palestinians grow rapidly, but their share in the population will also increase, which could become a socially destabilizing factor. 2) Unless Palestinians gain greater access to external markets and to better paying jobs, whether in Israel or in higher productivity occupations, it will be difficult for them to escape poverty. Presently, the majority of poor Palestinians live in households headed by working adults in low-paying jobs that do not provide sufficient income to raise their families to a minimally acceptable standard of living. 3) The formal safety net does not have the financial resources necessary to have a significant impact on poverty. Nevertheless, it can play an important role in helping to reduce destitution among households headed by the unemployable poor and even the temporarily unemployed. The report's four chapters compare poverty levels and discuss the microdeterminants of poverty; analyze the impacts of economic growth, income redistribution, and labor markets; detail the poverty map; and discuss improving the social safety net.
Thailand : Country Development Partnership for Competitiveness

(Washington, DC, 2001-06-13) World Bank

Competitiveness has emerged as a key issue confronting policymakers in Thailand. The Government's reform program will be extended by explicitly incorporating into the competitiveness framework measures that address the remaining constraints on competitiveness. The three critical areas that could constrain Thailand's medium term competitiveness include: 1) The need to strengthen the knowledge base--addressing the skills gap, and improving quality and coverage of education; mainstreaming information technology; and enhancing science and technological capability. 2) The need to modernize the infrastructure regulatory framework to improve the efficiency and delivery of public services. A modern and efficient physical infrastructure will help to reduce the cost associated with infrastructure bottlenecks faced by Thai firms. 3) The need to further improve the business environment and enhance competition--corporate governance, trade and investment regimes, competition policy--so that scarce labor and capital can be utilized in the most productive sectors. In addition, an appropriate macroeconomic environment, by signaling the right relative prices (domestic interest rates and exchange rates), will enable Thai firms to respond to emerging market trends.