World Bank Country Studies

68 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4392

Country Studies are published with approval of the subject government to communicate the results of the Bank's work on the economic and related conditions of member countries to governments and to the development community. This series as been superseded by the World Bank Studies series.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 32

Fostering Higher Growth and Employment in the Kingdom of Morocco

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2006) World Bank

This book identifies the binding constraints to growth of Morocco. It applies an innovative procedure known as "growth diagnostic" and has a central finding. The Moroccan economy suffers from a too slow process of structural transformation for achieving higher growth, especially for its exports that face unfavorable external shocks arising from competitor countries in the main markets for Moroccan exports. This process of so-called "productive diversification" requires that Morocco enhance its competitiveness.
A New Social Contract for Peru: An Agenda for Improving Education, Health Care, and the Social Safety Net

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2006) Cotlear, Daniel

This book identifies the achievements and challenges of social policy in Peru. Its objective is to provide the new presidential administration of Peru with a diagnostic of the main problems that need to be overcome to improve education, health care, and anti-poverty programs, and with recommendations on how to overcome these problems. The diagnostic uses international comparisons that put in context the achievements in coverage, quality, and equity, and presents an analysis of the evolution and distribution of public expenditures and of the service delivery institutions. In recent decades, there have been several attempts to solve some of the problems identified in this study through the introduction of reforms; the analysis of the success and limitations of these reforms is used to obtain lessons and to make recommendations. The analysis of each sector uses a combination of quantitative data from surveys and administrative information systems and qualitative information from hundreds of interviews with parents, children, teachers, nurses, doctors, and municipal, regional, and ministerial authorities in different regions of the country.
Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability in Niger

(Washington, DC, 2005) World Bank

This study shows how difficult it is for Niger to significantly change its expenditure composition in a short time span. A narrow and volatile domestic resource base, heavy dependence on aid, and a large share of pre-determined expenditures such as external debt payments are important factors behind this lack of flexibility. There are ways, though, to create space in the budget for increasing public spending on priority sectors. The study identifies a number of measures in this regard, such as increasing domestic revenues, more realistic and conservative budgeting, strengthening cash management, controlling the wage bill, prudent borrowing and attracting higher external financing for recurrent costs in priority sectors. The study also shows that enhancing the efficiency and transparency of public spending is as important as increasing spending for PRS priority sectors. It thoroughly assesses public management systems in Niger and presents an action plan, jointly elaborated by the Government and its main external partners, to address the main challenges in this area. This action plan contains a priority set of measures to improve budget preparation, execution as well as internal and external oversight.
Creating Fiscal Space for Poverty Reduction in Ecuador : A Fiscal Management and Public - Expenditure Review

(Washington, DC: World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, 2005) World Bank

This report consists of two volumes. Volume I examines whether, and how, the core goals of public expenditure management, i.e., balanced fiscal aggregates, resource allocations to strategic sectors, and equity and microeconomic efficiency of public spending are met in Ecuador. Volume II presents sector studies on fiscal sustainability, the fiscal rules, education, health, pensions, the results of a national teachers tracking survey, water and sanitation, electricity, telecommunications and oil. Volume II deals with sectoral policies, and their link to fiscal management. It identifies the most efficient and cost-effective interventions in the social sectors, while making an optimal use of the reduced and available fiscal space. The study also recognizes the importance of political constraints, and the difficulties of setting steady rules in a non-cooperative game among national political actors that are particularly reflected in budget allocations.
Zambia : Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability Review

(Washington, DC, 2004-10-12) World Bank

Zambia's economy is not growing fast. Poverty is on the rise. The quality of economic governance is on the decline. And public resources are not well spent. The badly needed first steps to reverse all this are to start getting the budgetary allocations right and to make sure those allocations go where they re intended. That requires making the public aware of the government s budgetary decisions and holding the government accountable for better performance. Budgets, now not credible, have to become credible. Spending rules, where they exist, must be strengthened and enforced. Where rules are missing, they must be created and once again enforced to remove today s pernicious discretion. Addressing the longstanding challenges that Zambia faces in public expenditure management will require strong political will. For Zambia to assure that public accountability is enduring and not dependent on the government of the day, it must strengthen budget processes and institutions that can provide public oversight and promote basic checks and balances. This report provides an analysis of how Zambia can strengthen budgetary processes and institutions for accountability and effective service delivery to its citizens.
The Health Sector in Eritrea

(Washington, DC, 2004-06) World Bank

This study serves as the preliminary basis for further rounds of discussions and analyses among stakeholders to arrive at a strategic vision for the Eritrea health sector. It incorporates comments received from the Ministry of Health's central agencies, Zoba (regional) health teams, external partners working in Eritrea, and the World Bank Eritrea Country Team. In March 2001, the Ministry of Health of the Government of Eritrea launched a process to prepare a long-term health sector policy and strategic plan (HSPSP), with a focus on assuring equitable, quality, and sustainable health care. The Ministry outlined an open, participatory, three-step process for developing the HSPSP, with active participation from all partners in the health sector.
The Road to Sustained Growth in Jamaica

(Washington, DC, 2004-04) World Bank

Jamaica's economic history is one of paradoxes, and potential - it has an English-speaking, and reasonably well-educated labor force, is close to the world's largest market, the United States, and, has an abundance of natural beauty, which has spurred tourism - and, many of its social, and governance indicators are strong, including near universal school enrollment. Poverty rates are below that of comparable countries. Yet, the Jamaican story is marked by the paradoxes of low growth in GDP and high employment, despite high investment, and important achievements in poverty reduction. This paper attempts to explain these paradoxes, and concludes that one possible explanation is that GDP has been understated. Amid these challenges, this report proposes that a "bandwagon" approach to reforms may be needed to improve prospects for sustained growth, with policy actions on several fronts, including measures to avert crisis, while continuing to strengthen social safety nets, as well as short- and long-term policies, such as reducing the growth of public expenditure, and tackling crime. Given that policy choices are likely to be difficult, it argues that an approach based on social dialogue, and consensus building is essential to create ownership for future reforms among all stakeholders.
Education in Rwanda : Rebalancing Resources to Accelerate Post-Conflict Development and Poverty Reduction

(Washington, DC, 2004) World Bank

Rwanda's recent history was marred by genocide in 1994, in which at least ten percent of the population lost their lives. Rebuilding the stock of human capital is an important part of the rehabilitation process, where the government has made efforts to broaden access to education, and enhance the quality of services. On the international stage, the education sector has also come into the limelight, specifically under the 2000 United Nations Millennium Declaration, and, the foregoing context presents clear challenges for education managers. The purpose of this report is to provide a factual basis for discussion. Noteworthy are the efforts to reduce grade repetition in primary education; and similarly, reforms in higher education finance have been launched to reduce the cost of government-sponsored overseas studies. The report is addressed to Rwanda's policymakers in the education sector, as well as to education practitioners, and should also be of interest to policymakers in other parts of the government, particularly those charged with managing the country's development strategy, and aligning public spending accordingly. The breadth of its coverage is limited to key economic aspects that are particularly relevant in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) context: cost, finance, service delivery, and education outcomes. Most impressive is the rapid pace of enrollment increase in the aftermath of the genocide. As the system has expanded, it has done so in ways that has moved it toward a good balance between the public, and private sectors, which also compares favorably with that of other low-income countries in Africa, in terms of the socioeconomic disparities in educational access. Challenges ahead focus on managing student flow and graduate output, mobilizing and making effective use of resources for education, ensuring that public resources for education reach the front lines, balancing the accessibility of schools against considerations of scale economies, managing classroom conditions and processes to enhance student learning, and minimizing the barriers to education for orphans and other vulnerable groups. Nevertheless, the task ahead remains daunting as the recovery phase gives way to implementing the sector ' s long-term development. Concerns about efficiency, equity, and fiscal sustainability will be inevitably relevant, as the country seeks to advance educational progress in a resource-constrained environment.
Poverty in Guatemala

(Washington, DC, 2004) World Bank

Poverty in Guatemala is high and deep. In 2000, over half of all Guatemalans lived in poverty. About 16 percent lived in extreme poverty. Available evidence suggests that poverty in Guatemala is higher than in other Central American countries. Although poverty has fallen over the past decade, its trend recently declined due to a series of economic shocks during 2001 and 2002. The drop of poverty incidence since 1990 is slightly slower than what would have been predicted given Guatemala's growth rates, suggesting that growth has not been particularly pro-poor. This pattern arises largely because growth in the rural sectors-where the poor are largely concentrated-has been slower than in other areas. Poverty and vulnerability are mainly chronic whereas only a fifth were transient poor. Likewise, while 64 percent of the population could be considered vulnerable to poverty, the majority of these are vulnerable due to low overall expected consumption rather than high volatility of consumption. The chronic nature of poverty and vulnerability highlights the importance of building the assets of the poor, rather than focusing primarily on the expansion of public safety nets or social insurance. Nonetheless, some public transfers (social assistance) could indeed be desirable to alleviate the poverty and suffering of the extreme poor, particularly when linked to participation in health and education activities. The Peace Accords represented a turning point for Guatemala's development path, paving the way for a transformation to a more prosperous and inclusive nation. Key areas related to economic development and poverty reduction include: a focus on human development, productive and sustainable development, modernization of the democratic state, and strengthening and promoting participation. The rights of the indigenous and women were also highlighted as cross-cutting themes throughout the accords, in an attempt to reverse the historical exclusion of these groups.
Health Sector Reform in Bolivia : A Decentralization Case Study

(Washington, DC, 2004) World Bank

Bolivia made progress in health status and equity in the last decade, thanks to the implementation of a series of health policies directed primarily at reducing maternal and infant mortality and controlling communicable diseases. These policies include the introduction of a focus on health outcomes in the context of decentralization, the implementation of a public health insurance, the strengthening of vertically-financed public health programs and to a lesser extent, an increase in the size of the sector's workforce and greater participation of indigenous peoples for health. This report analyzes these policies, draws lessons from their implementation, discusses remaining challenges, and provides recommendations in the context of the country's latest policy developments. Findings show that while coverage has increased in almost all municipalities, significant equity gaps remain between the rich and the poor, the urban and rural, and the indigenous and non-indigenous. The analysis suggests that the Ministry of Health should concentrate on three key issues: first, maintaining the focus on national priorities in the context of the new, expanded maternal and child insurance; second, strengthening efforts to extend care to poor rural areas; and third, improving the effectiveness of the system in the context of the new management model.