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 This series as been superseded by the World Bank Studies series.

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 10 of 26

The Invisible Poor : A Portrait of Rural Poverty in Argentina

(World Bank, 2010-02-01) World Bank

Many of the poorest Argentines are invisible in official statistics. Four million rural residents and another 12 million in small urban areas lie outside the reach of the Permanent Household Survey (EPH), which is the basis for poverty figures and most data on social conditions in the country. According to the best estimate, roughly a third of rural residents, more than a million people, live in poverty. The urban bias common too many countries have been accentuated by the lack of data on the rural poor. With little information on their condition, it is exceedingly difficult for policy makers to design policies and programs to help move people out of poverty. The report is organized as follows: chapter one profiles rural poverty base on the limited existing data, including the first in-depth analysis of rural poverty ever conducted with the 2001 population census. Chapter two presents findings from the new qualitative study of the rural poor conducted in the first half of 2007. Finally, chapter three concludes with a discussion of methodology for rural poverty analysis, focusing on the issues related to expanding the EPH to full national coverage.
Argentina : Income Support Policies toward the Bicentennial

(Washington, DC, 2009) World Bank

Argentina approaches its bicentennial as an independent republic; it has a window of opportunity in social protection policy. Following the most serious economic crisis in its history during 2001-02, the country mobilized an unprecedented effort to provide income support to the population in need. Now, as growth has returned and social indicators have recovered to pre-crisis levels, there is an opening to move from emergency income support programs to a more comprehensive, long-term, and sustainable strategy for social protection. The emergency response was effective, as it helped the country to overcome the worst of the crisis. The centerpiece of the strategy, plan Jefes y Jefas, provided benefits to nearly two million households during a period when poverty affected more than half the population and unemployment reached record levels. The number of beneficiaries slowly declined beginning in 2003, and was at nearly one-third of its maximum value by early 2008. This reduction was achieved by the reentry of beneficiaries into the formal labor market, the loss of eligibility, and the shift of beneficiaries to familias and seguro de capacitacion y empleo (Seguro), the successor programs to Jefes. Now that the crisis has passed, the policy debate has shifted toward the future of social protection over the longer term. The improvement in overall economic conditions since 2003 has resulted in a decline in unemployment, poverty, and inequality, and a recovery of formal employment and real salaries to pre-crisis levels. These positive trends have generated opportunities to consider longer-term and structural issues, including a debate over the future of whether this new type of noncontributory social policies, based on income transfers to households and individuals, should continue.
Social Resilience and State Fragility in Haiti

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007) World Bank

This Country Social Analysis examines Haiti's conflict-poverty trap from the perspective of the triangle of factors that have been identified as its main components: (a) demographic and socioeconomic factors at the individual and household levels; (b) the state's institutional capacity to provide public goods and manage social risks; and (c) the agendas and strategies of political actors. This report's three main chapters explore the nature of these components. The closing chapter considers the linkages among them.
Nutritional Failure in Ecuador : Causes, Consequences, and Solutions

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007) World Bank

This study supports the development of a more coherent and effective nutrition strategy in Ecuador through an analysis of the main nutrition issues, based on in-depth statistical analysis of a large new household survey dataset (ENDEMAIN 2004) and other data sources, together with a review of qualitative evidence regarding behavioral and program-access obstacles to improved nutritional outcomes. It also reviews the existing programs and policies which aim to improve nutritional outcomes, considered the available evidence on the efficiency, effectiveness, targeting and inter-programmatic coherence of the programs and projects reviewed and suggests an agenda for policy discussions to improve these outcomes.
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.
Household Risk Management and Social Protection in Chile

(Washington, DC, 2005) World Bank

This volume takes a critical look at the country's social protection "system" - broadly defined to include policy interventions, public institutions, and the regulation of private institutions that lower the welfare costs of adverse shocks to income from job loss and extended unemployment, health episodes, old age, and life-time poverty - to determine if a system exists or simply a set of loosely coordinated programs. The study also assesses whether households are provided with appropriate tools to mitigate risks to their income, identifying gaps in coverage and where instruments are missing. As well, the study provides the Government with a set of guidelines grounded in a conceptual framework that, if carefully applied, could increase the effectiveness of social protection. The author of the study finds that Chile succeeds in providing households with the instruments that they need to mitigate shocks to income. The institutions Chile has put in place to help households lower losses from these shocks - from the new unemployment insurance system, the retirement security system and the mixed health insurance system - are generally appropriately designed to match the nature of the risks they are intended to cover. Yet, while still in a minority, too many Chilean households - even among the non poor - do not have access to the sophisticated, state of the art social protection institutions that are in place.
Afghanistan : State Building, Sustaining Growth, and Reducing Poverty

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2005) World Bank

Afghanistan has come a long way since emerging from major conflict in late 2001. Important political milestones mandated by the Bonn Agreement (two Loya Jirgas, a new Constitution, recently the Presidential election) have been achieved. The economy has recovered strongly, growing by nearly 50 percent cumulatively in the last two years (not including drugs). Some three million internally- and externally-displaced Afghans have returned to their country/home.More than four million children, a third of them girls, are in school, and immunization campaigns have achieved considerable success. The Government has supported good economic performance by following prudent macroeconomic policies; it has begun to build capacity and has developed the nationally-led budget process and made the budget into its central instrument of reform; and it has made extraordinary efforts to develop key national programs (for example public-works employment programs and community development programs) and to revive social services like education and health.
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.
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.