Other ESW Reports

322 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.

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Practitioners' Toolkit for Agriculture Public Expenditure Analysis
(World Bank, 2011-03) World Bank
This toolkit for analyzing public expenditures in agriculture contributes to a broader effort to enhance the focus, quality, and appropriate scaling of public spending in the sector. More specifically, the toolkit has two goals: to provide checklists for practitioners conducting various kinds of agriculture public expenditure analyses, and to provide selected examples on aspects of the checklist to help guide analysis. The toolkit presents a diversity of approaches and describes experiences both positive and negative in conducting agricultural public spending analyses in different settings and with different objectives. It offers checklists of issues and options, rather than a minimum list of issues to be covered. Needs, existing work time, and budget constraints will likely drive the selection of the checklist topics to be covered in any given analysis of public expenditures. The toolkit is organized to facilitate this selectivity of topic, while maintaining a strategic perspective. The supporting examples draw on numerous analyses of public expenditures in agricultures.
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.
Tunisia's Global Integration : Second Generation of Reforms to Boost Growth and Employment
(Washington, DC, 2008-05) World Bank
This report addresses the following issues: Chapter one takes stock of the integration policies implemented since the early 1970s and assessed their impact on foreign direct investments (FDI), exports and employment. Chapter two looks at today's major challenges in the manufacturing sector and the specific policies needed to address them. Chapter three assesses the entry, business, and trade restrictions in Tunisia's key backbone services sectors (telecommunication, banking, air transport, accounting, auditing, and legal services) using a well-focused regulatory questionnaire. The restrictiveness indices calculated from the regulatory questionnaire are then used to benchmark Tunisia against Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and some emerging economies and to simulate the impact of various liberalization options on the price of services and the economy via a multi-region general equilibrium model. Finally, chapter four examines the prospect for increasing exports and off shoring of a large number of services for which Tunisia has demonstrated a strong capacity for export in recent years. The significant increase in real incomes in Tunisia is the result of solid gross domestic product (GDP) growth since the mid-1960s (5 percent a year), low inflation and the demographic transition, faster than in neighboring countries. In 1996-2007, economic growth has exhibited greater resilience to moderate exogenous shocks, thanks to prudent macroeconomic management public debt declined from 62.4 percent in 2001 to 50.9 percent of GDP in 2007 thanks to pro-active debt management. The resulting decline in the debt service since 2005 combined with steady GDP growth allowed the government to 'protect' capital expenditures and key social spending within the context of low but structural fiscal deficit. While the current account remained in deficit over the last 10 years, foreign exchange reserves increased steadily thanks to increasing FDI inflows. In 2007, international reserves increased by US$ 1 billion to US$ 7.8 billion, representing 4.6 months of imports of goods and services.
Development of Construction Industry : A Literature Review
(2007-11-01) Mir, Aized H.; Durrani, Amer Z.; Tanvir, Mehreen
The construction industry in Pakistan is well aware of the challenges it faces and its issues, constraints, and recommendations are also well documented in reports published from time to time. This study shows that business environment (demand-side), Human Resources (HR), equipment and materials are key factors restraining growth therefore showing that there are no short-term fixes for these problems. A sustained long-term committed approach to developing the construction industry (contractors, consultants, and, clients) is of paramount importance. Considering the Government of Pakistan's (GoP) ambitious development plans for the coming years, innovative and out of the box solutions will be required to deliver the proposed infrastructure projects.
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.
An Assessment of the Investment Climate in Botswana, Volume 2. Detailed Results and Econometric Analysis
(Washington, DC, 2007-06) World Bank
The objective of the Botswana Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) is to evaluate the investment climate in Botswana in all its operational dimensions and promote policies to strengthen the private sector. The investment climate is made up of the many location specific factors that shape the opportunities and incentives for firms to invest productively, create jobs, and expand. These factors include macroeconomic and regulatory policies; the security of property rights and the rule of law; and the quality of supporting institutions such as physical and financial infrastructure. The main sources of information for the ICA are two firm-level surveys. The first survey covered Small, Medium, and Large Enterprises (SMLEs) with five or more employees in retail trade, manufacturing, and other services. The second covered micro enterprise with fewer than five employees in the same sectors. Information from the survey is supplemented with information from other sources, including the doing business report; analytical reports by the World Bank, the international monetary fund, other international organizations and the Government of Botswana; and academic papers and reports. Although the analysis in this report suggests that there are some areas where the investment climate might be improved, it is important to note none of these problems with the possible exception of worker skills appear to be particularly debilitating. This suggests that other factors are probably also playing a role. One such factor is likely to be the small size (in terms of population) and remoteness of the economy. Another factor is the effect that is the macroeconomic effects of the large mining economy has on the competitiveness of the rest of the economy. Improving living standards and cutting poverty depends on broad-based economic growth, which will only take place when firms improve worker productivity by investing in human and physical capital and technological capacity. But firms will only invest when the investment climate is favorable.
Nigeria - Competitiveness and Growth : Country Economic Memorandum, Volume 2. Main Report
(Washington, DC, 2007-05) World Bank
The theme of this report is Nigeria's competitiveness and growth. This report consequently focuses on constraints, opportunities and strategic choices associated with increasing productivity and growth of the Nigerian economy on a sustained basis. Its objective is not to present a "blueprint" for Nigeria's growth but rather to raise issues and provide some options for the consideration of policy makers and other Nigerian stakeholders. The report is structured in four main sections. The first section analyzes Nigeria's growth history, examines the recent growth pick up and assesses its sustainability. The second section analyses how the critical constraints to competitiveness and growth may be addressed. The third section discusses how trade -domestic and external - can be used more effectively to drive growth and poverty reduction. The final chapter provides policy conclusions and suggestions on what could be key elements of a growth agenda for Nigeria. The analysis in this report suggests the following key elements for a growth strategy for Nigeria: 1) Strengthening actions to tackle the most immediate constraints to the competitiveness of the economy presented by infrastructure and the business environment; 2) Using domestic trade more effectively to enhance productivity and competitiveness by strengthening their functioning, and building stronger linkages between the oil and non-oil sectors, and over time strengthening Nigeria's integration into global markets; 3) Ensuring that the poor can participate more fully in growth by placing urgent emphasis on (i) finding ways to give back some of the proceeds of oil windfall directly to Nigerians; (ii) raising agricultural productivity-including through enhanced technology; and (iii) encouraging the transition from informality to the formal sector; and 4) Building the human capital and technological base of the economy over the longer term.
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.
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.
Dominican Republic : Country Fiduciary Assessment, Volume 4, Annexes
(Washington, DC, 2005-04) World Bank
The Dominican Republic has made significant strides in deepening democracy during the past decade including the implementation of an important electoral reform. This fiduciary assessment was prepared by the Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as a tool for their coordinated policy dialogue on governance with the country, and as a key input for their respective assistance strategies. Consequently, the report also provides important contributions to both institutions' analytical work on public sector management, and State modernization which will be the basis for developing these strategies jointly with the government. The report was prepared as a composite document summarizing the main procurement, and financial management issues identified by the two banks in the Dominican Republic, within the broader public sector management context. Several short-term actions recommended in Volume II Country Financial Accountability Assessment (CFAA) and Volume III Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR Update) address the problems linked to the Government's weak capacity to manage the fiduciary function. Volume I presents key public sector issues relevant for the financial management system, including systemic strengths and weaknesses, the political economy surrounding the State modernization effort, and the obstacles to, and incentives for public financial management reform. It provides a wider context which is useful to assess fiduciary reforms that can be realistically implemented and expected to achieve sustainable results. Volume I also fosters the integration of the main recommendations for broad systemic improvements relevant to the public financial management system. These include reducing discretion within the executive power, improving access to, and quality of information, working more effectively with civil society by tapping into the leading Civil Society Organizations' technical ability and capacity to form strong coalitions, and building upon ongoing reform efforts including, in particular, the Integrated Financial Management Project (SIGEF) supported by the IDB. These broad aspects are recommended as priority areas for reform because their successful implementation would contribute to lowering the systemic risks, and establishing an enabling environment for regulatory, and enforcement bodies to function effectively. Unless such conditions exist, the specific legal, and institutional reforms required to strengthen the procurement and financial management systems, even if implemented, are not likely to have significant impact on the overall quality of public sector management.