Sector/Thematic Studies

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2110

Economic and Sectoral Work are original analytic reports authored by the World Bank and intended to influence programs and policy in client countries. They convey Bank-endorsed recommendations and represent the formal opinion of a World Bank unit on the topic. This set includes the sectoral and thematic studies which are not Core Diagnostic Studies. Other analytic and advisory activities (AAA), including technical assistance studies, are included in these sectoral/thematic collections.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 93

Improving Behavioral Change Interventions: A Closer Look at 4Ps Family and Youth Development Sessions

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-04-10) Rodriguez, Ruth ; Revilla, MA. LAARNI

An important component of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the flagship conditional cash transfer (CCT) program of the Philippines, is the delivery of complementary services such as Family Development Sessions (FDS) and Youth Development Sessions (YDS) to program beneficiaries. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, these were regular face-to-face sessions providing practical information on topics such as parenting, early childhood care, and disaster preparedness to adult beneficiaries and guidance on adolescent dynamics to young children in 4Ps households, with the overall aim of promoting positive behavioral changes. This technical note examines the process undertaken to enhance and align the content of the FDS and YDS based on the 4Ps law that mandates a maximum 7-year operational period, and it discusses feedback and insights from beneficiaries and implementers. Moreover, it considers the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns, which have led to mobility restrictions among beneficiaries and implementers since March 2020. Due to the pandemic, the delivery of FDS have relied mostly on broadcast and social media platforms, with options for small group neighborhood sessions in areas with low rates of COVID-19 infections, while YDS have been mostly suspended due to school closures nationwide, without in-person gathering. For a more effective delivery of these learning sessions, this policy note proposes key recommendations on adapting to future shocks and emerging beneficiary needs, developing strategic communications, mobilizing resources, strengthening monitoring and evaluation, and connecting to core values. In particular, it proposes regular updating of module content to maintain relevance and applicability, strengthening alternative modes of program delivery to increase coverage, providing training to facilitators to improve capacity, raising awareness to increase program uptake, creating a clear monitoring and evaluation system to track progress, leveraging the use of technology, and providing post-program exit support to sustain positive behavioral changes among beneficiaries.
Timor-Leste Economic Report: Investing in the Next Generation

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-06-28) World Bank

Buffeted by COVID-19 and Tropical Cyclone Seroja, the non-oil economy grew by 1.5 percent in 2021. A record-high budget with expenditure of nearly 90 percent of GDP bolstered government consumption. A series of fiscal and quasi-fiscal stimulus measures supported employment and incomes, thereby allowing households to maintain their consumption. On the demand side, gross capital formation shrunk while net exports expanded. The oil economy grew by 8.3 percent, bringing the total economic growth to 4.4 percent.1 The government lifted the pandemic-related state of emergency at the end of November 2021, but challenges remain. Following a relatively brisk start, the vaccination campaign has moved sluggishly in recentmonths. Nevertheless, the authorities have initiated vaccination of children and adolescents between 12 and 18 years old, while booster shots have been made available. There has been a concerning surge of Dengue Fever with 5,000 reported cases (and 54 fatalities) to date since January 2022‒a more than seven-fold increase from the same period a year ago. All restrictions for inbound international vaccinated travelers to Timor-Leste havebeen rescinded. By the end of May 2022, the partly vaccinated and fully vaccinated figures in Timor-Leste stood at 85.4 percent and 73.4 percent, respectively.
Malaysia - Assessment of the Start-Up Financing Ecosystem

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-02-28) Kuriakose, Smita ; Fong, Kristina Siew Leng ; Loh, John Jaan Hui ; Zakaria, Mohamad Izwan Bin

In the context of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its impact on Malaysia's economy, the need to foster the emergence of an innovation-led economy has taken on increasing urgency. Public-sector involvement in the early-stage financing phase of the ecosystem is integral to crowding-in private investments, as seen by the impact of the establishment of government-sponsored venture capital (VC) funds in several small OECD countries, including Estonia and Finland. In turn, improved access to finance at the initial stages of a start-up and the crowding in of private capital will play a pivotal role in strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem. The government has devised a number of developmental roadmaps that emphasize the greater use of alternative forms of financing, such as VC and digital platform based models, including peer-to-peer financing (P2P) and equity crowdfunding (ECF). These strategies are an integral part of the government's strategies for maintaining growth as Malaysia achieves high-income nation status. This study aims to identify the financing gaps in Malaysia's start-up financing ecosystem and to propose specific policy levers to address the identified constraints on both the availability of and access to early-stage financing.
Vulnerability Map for Response to the COVID-19 Epidemic: A Case Study on Indonesia

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-02-01) Hou, Xiaohui ; Stewart, Benjamin P. ; Tariverdi, Mersedeh ; Pambudi, Eko Setyo ; Harimurti, Pandu ; Nagpal, Somil ; Jia, Wei ; Vicencio, Jasmine Marie ; Görgens, Marelize ; Garrett, Keith Patrick

The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a threat to global health security. This paper uses geospatial analyses to create a COVID Vulnerability Mapping Dashboard that examines and displays social vulnerability indices at the national and subnational levels in Indonesia. The dashboard answers three main questions: 1. Where are the vulnerable populations 2. What is the capacity of local health systems and 3. What is the local trend in COVID cases The dashboard prototype presented herein was developed and used to direct attention to geographic areas where risks are expected to be greatest.
Improving Food Safety Risk Assessment in Vietnam: Facilitating the Setting-up of a National Food Safety Risk Assessment Committee

(Washington, DC, 2022) World Bank

Vietnam’s agricultural sector plays an important role in the global agri-food value chain. As the sector having the highest trade surplus in one of the most open economies in the world, Vietnam’s agricultural sector was affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19) in two main ways. Firstly, raw materials and immediate input supplies for the sector were disrupted due to the early outbreak in Asian countries, especially China, which supply most agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and plant protection products. Secondly and compounding this trend, demand has dropped significantly due to mobility restrictions and reduced economic activity within the country and its most important markets, such as the US and Europe. The objective of this study was to enhance Vietnam’s trade and competitiveness, focusing on strengthening private sector participation in global value-chains and food safety awareness and compliance. This report is structured as follows. The first chapter presents the context, objectives and approach for the study. The second chapter highlights the key issues, challenges and gaps in Vietnam’s food safety risk assessment. The third chapter presents some of the key lessons and experiences in food safety risk management from some countries within the region and more advanced economies, as a basis to inform Vietnam’s national food safety risk assessment framework. Chapter four makes recommendations on how to strengthen Vietnam’s National food safety risk assessment committee.
Market Study for Vietnam: Plastics Circularity Opportunities and Barriers

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-09-28) World Bank Group

Vietnam's public and private sector stakeholders are increasingly active in addressing plastics waste. The Vietnam Government has set ambitious national plastics waste management goals to combat the economic and environmental consequences of mismanaged plastics waste nationally. This study uses a plastics value chain approach to evaluate Vietnam’s plastics recycling industry and its role in supporting a circular economy.
Plastic Waste Discharges from Rivers and Coastlines in Indonesia

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-05-18) World Bank

In 2015, a global study estimating inputs of plastic waste into the oceans ranked Indonesia as the second largest contributor to plastic marine pollution. In 2017, another study ranked four Indonesian rivers in the world’s most polluting top 20. The challenge of plastic waste and marine debris requires a robust national response to curb the significant impacts on Indonesian marine biodiversity, its communities and its economy. The Government of Indonesia (GoI) has signaled its leadership on combating plastic waste and marine debris - making strong commitments and setting ambitious targets to reduce plastic pollution and improve waste management. As the GoI implements this agenda, it is imperative we better understand the current state of this challenge. In this study, we provide the first Indonesia-wide assessment integrating local waste data with actual hydrological conditions to tell the story of how local practices contribute to marine plastic pollution.
Timor-Leste Economic Report, May 2021: Charting a New Path

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-05) World Bank Group

COVID-19 is spreading quickly throughout the country, despite early successes in containing the virus. Meanwhile, flooding and landslides have caused considerable human loss and economic damage. These compounding health and humanitarian emergencies are undermining the economic recovery in 2021, but the recent approval of a revised budget can alleviate the negative impacts. Economic activity has been weakened by the recent COVID-19 outbreak and the impact of Cyclone Seroja. GDP is forecast to grow by 1.8 percent in 2021, which is lower than the 3.1 projected in October 2020. The economy is expected to recover in the medium-term, but structural constraints will remain an impediment to faster growth. Reforms to boost productivity and competitiveness are critical. COVID-19 and recent floods have highlighted and exacerbated underlying weaknesses in Timor-Leste’s health system. Disruptions to health and nutrition services arising from these crises may have a multiplier effect on access to care for routine and essential care, setting back the country’s progress on health outcomes and human capital development.
Caring for Thailand’s Aging Population

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04) Glinskaya, Elena ; Walker, Thomas ; Wanniarachchi, Thisuri

Thailand is the second-fastest aging country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after Singapore, and it is growing old before it grows rich. Thailand has already made considerable progress in recognizing the ageing challenge and has initiated policy reforms and development programs to address it at both national and local levels. The 2012–16 National Economic and Social Development Plan and, more recently, the 2017–2036 National Strategy, underscore the welfare of older persons as a government priority. At the heart of Thailand’s approach is universal health insurance, supported by a community-based primary health care system with a reliance on volunteers. Thailand is now working to expand access to long-term care (LTC) at the community level as part of this volunteer-supported primary health care system. This report was prepared based largely on secondary sources, given the limitations on travel during 2020. It makes use of the comprehensive results of the Survey of Older Persons in Thailand, as well as excellent studies produced by various government, non-government, and academic authors. Nevertheless, in preparing the report the authors noted considerable data gaps, especially on private sector services, costs and usage, labor force, and projections of future demand for care. The team fact-checked the report with various country and sector experts; however, it should be considered a preliminary overview of the current situation. Additional data and consultation are needed to elaborate on the recommendations provided in this report.
Partnerships for a Healthier Indonesia: Unlocking Constraints for Better Private Sector Participation

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021) World Bank

Indonesians have become healthier in recent decades as confirmed by the progress on key health indicators. Despite these advancements, significant challenges remain in improving maternal health and nutrition and in tackling persistent communicable diseases. As the Indonesian population grows older, new challenges are emerging. Regional and income-related inequalities in health outcomes persist. The private sector can play an important role in driving better health outcomes for all Indonesians. There has been increased utilization of outpatient and inpatient private sector health services by all Indonesians, including the poor. Of course, increased private sector involvement is not a panacea. The challenge is to manage trade-offs between equity and efficiency, growth and access to health, and private and public sector participation. Considering these trade-offs, this report investigates the opportunities and constraints to more and better private sector participation in the Indonesian health services sector.