World Bank Country Studies

68 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

https://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 This series as been superseded by the World Bank Studies series.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 - 9 of 9

Zambia Health Sector Public : Accounting for Resources to Improve Effective Service Coverage
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2009) Picazo, Oscar F.; Zhao, Feng
Over the past few years, three nagging problems have bedeviled Zambia's health sector: the country is falling off-track from reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), it is facing severe financing constraints on the government front, and the health and HIV/AIDS sector is increasingly being fragmented by the reemergence of global disease initiatives. This health sector pubic expenditure review (PER) seeks to assist the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) and its development partners take stock of the resources in the health sector and how these resources can be better used to produce better health services. The results of the PER are expected to be the used for a variety of purposes, including the preparation of the health sector strategic plan, and succeeding rounds of the global fund request for proposals. Policy dialogue between the Bank and GRZ, both at the macro and sector levels, can also be enriched by the PER. The PER also provides critical inputs into the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) process, and in the assessment of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Likewise, the PER can provide inputs to fine-tune the process of the pooled basket funding mechanism under the sector-wide approach (SWAp).
Putting Tanzania's Hidden Economy to Work : Reform, Management, and Protection of its Natural Resource Sector
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008) World Bank
This paper tells a story about conditions in Tanzania's hidden economy, the parts of the natural resource sector often ignored in conventional economic analyses and studies, and makes recommendations for future policy actions. The paper draws primarily from extensive background studies undertaken of the forestry, fishery, wildlife, mining, and tourism sub sectors (COWI 2005) as well as a wide range of complementary studies undertaken by the World Bank and others. It de-emphasizes those sectors with factors of production that are not readily traded or exported (such as land and water), although some examples are given relating to soil quality and water management based on extensive studies undertaken within the agriculture and water sectors. The story is relatively simple: pricing distortions, coupled with institutional weakness and the lack of rule of law, have created an environment that undermines economic growth. This paper also acknowledges that Tanzania has already taken positive steps to making some of the needed corrections to protect its natural resources. In recent analyses of corruption indicators world-wide (World Bank Institute 2006), Tanzanian stands out among those nations as having made significant progress towards improving accountability and reducing economic leakages. Anti-corruption legislation was drafted for parliament attention in early 2007. Revisions to the Deep Sea Fishing Authority Act were passed into law in early 2007. Moreover, changes in institutional arrangements, taxation, and general management of the resource sector show promise and have contributed positively to general economic growth. Yet, the sector remains fragile and vulnerable in other respects: perceptions of unequal income distribution, impacts of climate change, and other external influences must also be addressed to build on past successes.
Angola : Oil, Broad-Based Growth, and Equity
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007) World Bank
This book points out that the main issues confronting the Angolan authorities in their efforts to consolidate macroeconomic stability on a sustainable basis and in promoting an improvement in the welfare of the Angolan citizens do not seem to differ significantly from those addressed in the 1990 report. Therefore, in the current Country Economic Memorandum, the Bank reassesses some of the key issues that remain relevant nowadays and that should help the Angolan economy reach a path of sustainable economic development. The analysis in this report centers around the following four core issues: (i) taking stock of socio-economic realities; (ii) the options available for the management of the country's mineral wealth without deleterious macroeconomic consequences; (iii) the main constraints to economic diversification away from the mineral sectors; and (iv) the challenges and opportunities to improve the welfare of the population. Each of these core issues forms the building blocks that provide an overview of the current situation and a possible solution to Angola's structural problems in the short to the medium term. The report thus plays an informative role and offers policy recommendations. In Chapter 1, the analysis starts with a brief discussion of socio-economic realities in the country. In Chapter 2, a comprehensive macroeconomic assessment is presented highlighting major past features, the country's constant search for stability, and recent successes in the macroeconomic front. In Chapter 3, the report discusses the structure of the petroleum sector, the future production profile, the size of the oil wealth, and policy options to manage the revenue windfall. Chapter 4 focuses on the diamond sector, its structure, legal and fiscal framework, and explores ways in which the sector can improve its contribution to social development. In Chapter 5, the report assesses the quality of the business environment and the opportunities to improve the investment climate. Chapter 6 discusses alternatives to unleash the potential of the agricultural sector in generating employment outside of the mineral sectors. Finally in Chapter 7, the analysis focuses on how to improve the livelihoods of the poor and of the vulnerable with recommendations on how to use the mineral wealth to improve public service delivery targeted to the poor.
Education in the Democratic Republic of Congo : Priorities and Options for Regeneration
(Washington, DC, 2005) World Bank
The main purpose of this report is to assist the Democratic Republic of Cong (DRC) to identify the priorities for education policy and present options in order to assist the government in developing an education strategy. This is necessary for preparing the government's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and a program of assistance for the education sector by external donors. This summary integrates the key findings and the recommendations presented in the Country Status Report on Education in the DRC. The Country Status Report is structured in six chapters covering the recent trends and current status of educational coverage, expenditures and financing at all levels of instruction in DRC, issues relating to quality in primary and secondary education and specific issues relating to higher education. It also presents the expenditure requirements under various policy options which can be used to begin a more detailed planning for the sector. The summary has three parts: (a) the main findings (b) the results of the financial simulations and (c) the key policy choices.
Education in Ethiopia : Strengthening the Foundation for Sustainable Progress
(Washington, DC, 2005) World Bank
With the end of civil war in 1991, Ethiopia's government launched a New Education and Training Policy in 1994 which, by the early 2000s, had already produced remarkable results. The gross enrollment ratio rose from 20 to 62 percent in primary education between 1993-94 and 2001-02; and in secondary and higher education it climbed, respectively, from 8 to 12 percent and from 0.5 to 1.7 percent. Yet the government can hardly afford to rest on its laurels. Primary education is still not universal, and already there are concerns about plummeting educational quality and the growing pressures to expand post-primary education. Addressing these challenges will require more resources, both public and private. Yet money alone is insufficient. Focusing on primary and secondary education, this report argues for wise tradeoffs in the use of resources-a result that will often require reforming the arrangements for service delivery. These changes, in turn, need to be fostered by giving lower levels of government more leeway to adapt central standards-such as those for teacher recruitment and school construction-to local conditions, including local resource constraints; and by strengthening accountability for results at all levels of administration in the education system.
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.
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.
Tanzania at the Turn of the Century : Background Papers and Statistics
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2002-02) Government of the United Republic of Tanzania; World Bank
This report is the successor to the Country Economic Memorandum for Tanzania prepared in 1996 (World Bank 1996). The 1996 memorandum focused on the challenge of reforms and paid particular attention to the impact of reforms on growth, incomes, and welfare in Tanzania. The present report draws out lessons from Tanzania's development experience of the past four decades, with emphasis on the period since the last report, and assesses the imperatives for higher sustained growth and better livelihood for its citizens in the future. The background papers presented in this Country Study review and assess Tanzania's actual growth and poverty reduction performance against its large natural potential and against countries at a comparable stage of development, analyze the main reasons behind the performance record, and then draw out the strategic and institutional imperatives for exploiting the country's vast potential for sustained growth and reduction of poverty in the long and medium term. The analysis focuses on development of the private sector and its increased role in scaling up overall growth and modernization of the Tanzanian economy. One chapter focuses on the Zanzibar economy and its development, even though Zanzibar is part of the union, because the policy and institutional framework for the island are distinct enough to merit separate attention. Also presented are the statistical appendices.
Tanzania at the Turn of the Century : From Reforms to Sustained Growth and Poverty Reduction
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2001-04) Government of the United Republic of Tanzania; World Bank
The study builds on lessons from Tanzania's development experience of the past four decades, with emphasis on the period following the 1996 Country Economic Memorandum, which focused on the challenge of reforms, in particular the impact of reforms on growth, incomes, and welfare in the country. The study assesses Tanzania's current development status against the country's ambition, since independence, to rid the nation of three archenemies: poverty, ignorance, and disease. Structural transformation has been extremely limited, with agriculture still dominating the economy, a non-diversified economy that hampers flexibility to withstand shock occurrences. Nonetheless, the country intensified macroeconomic policy reforms, significantly stabilizing the economy, with falling inflation levels, climbing foreign exchange reserves, and an overall fiscal balance. But the main factors identified behind the slow development progress, are primarily inadequate capital accumulation, and productivity growth; poor support for the transformation of agriculture; disrupted progress in building human capital; and, delayed demographic transition. However, the steady progress in reorienting its economy to a market-based operation, is creating space for exploiting the large potential of private sector initiative. It is emphasized that growth will only be sustainable, if firmly rooted in exploiting the domestic resource base, international competitiveness, and an aggressive pursuit of new export opportunities.