Journal Issue: World Bank Research Observer, Volume 17, Issue 1
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Weak Links in the Chain II : A Prescription for Health Policy in Poor Countries
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002-01) Hammer, Jeffrey S.; Filmer, Deon; Pritchett, Lant H.
This article presents an approach to
public policy in health that comes directly from the
literature on public economics. It identifies two
characteristic market failures in health. The first is the
existence of large externalities in the control of many
infectious diseases that are mostly addressed by standard
public health interventions. The second is the widespread
breakdown of insurance markets that leave people exposed to
catastrophic financial losses. Other essential
considerations in setting priorities in health are the
degree to which policies address poverty and inequality and
the practicality of implementing policies given limited
administrative capacities. Priorities based on these
criteria tend to differ substantially from those commonly
prescribed by the international community.
Weathering the Storm : The Impact of the East Asian Crisis on Farm Households in Indonesia and Thailand
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002-01) Bresciani, Fabrizio; Feder, Gershon; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Jacoby, Hanan G.; Onchan, Tongroj; Quizon, Jaime
This article assesses the impact of the
East Asian financial crisis on farm households in two of the
region's most affected countries, Indonesia and
Thailand, using detailed household level survey data
collected before and after the crisis began. Although the
natures of the shocks in the two countries were similar, the
impact on farmers' income (particularly on
distribution) was quite different. In Thailand, poor farmers
bore the brunt of the crisis, in part because of their
greater reliance on the urban economy, than did poor farmers
in Indonesia. Urban-rural links are much weaker in
Indonesia. Farmers in both countries, particularly those
specializing in export crops, benefited from the currency
devaluation. Although there is some evidence that the
productivity of the smallest landholders declined over the
period in question, it is difficult to attribute this
directly to the financial crisis. At least in Thailand, a
rural credit crunch does not seem to have materialized.
Urbanization in Developing Countries
(World Bank, 2002) Vernon Henderson
The rapid urbanization in many
developing countries over the past half century seems to
have been accompanied by excessively high levels of
concentration of the urban population in very large cities.
Some degree of urban concentration may be desirable
initially to reduce inter- and intraregional infrastructure
expenditures. But in a mature system of cities, economic
activity is more spread out. Standardized manufacturing
production tends to be de-concentrated into smaller and
medium-size metropolitan areas, whereas production in large
metropolitan areas focuses on services, research and
development, and non-standardized manufacturing. The costs
of excessive concentration (traffic accidents, health costs
from exposure to high levels of air and water pollution, and
time lost to long commutes) stem from the large size of
megacities and underdeveloped institutions and human
resources for urban planning and management. Alleviating
excessively high urban concentration requires investments in
interregional transport and telecommunications to facilitate
de-concentration of industry. It also requires fiscal
de-concentration, so that interior cities can raise the
fiscal resources and provide the services needed to compete
with primate cities for industry and population.
The Impact of Financial Crises on Labor Markets, Household Incomes, and Poverty : A Review of Evidence
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002-01) Fallon, Peter R.; Lucas, Robert E. B.
The 1990s have witnessed several
financial crises, of which the East Asia and Mexico tequila
crises are perhaps the most well-known. What impact have
these crises had on labor markets, household incomes, and
poverty? Total employment fell by much less than production
declines and even increased in some cases. However, these
aggregates mask considerable churning in employment across
sectors, employment status, and location. Economies that
experienced the sharpest currency depreciations suffered the
deepest cuts in real wages, though deeper cuts in real wages
relative to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) were associated
with smaller rises in unemployment. To some extent, families
smoothed their incomes through increased labor force
participation and private transfers, though the limited
evidence available suggests that wealthier families were
better able to smooth consumption. The initial impact of the
crises was on the urban corporate sector, but rural
households were affected as well and in some instances
suffered deeper losses than did urban families. School
enrollment declined, especially among poorer families, as
did use of health facilities, but the impact on
children's nutrition levels appears to vary. Crises
have typically proved short-lived, but whether households
plunged into poverty during a crisis is able to recover as
the economy does remain an open question.
Public Intervention in Health Insurance Markets : Theory and Four Examples from Latin America
(World Bank, 2002) Jack, William
This article examines rationales for
public intervention in health insurance markets from the
perspective of public economics. It draws on the literature
of organizational design to examine alternative public
intervention strategies, including issues of contracting,
purchaser provider splits, and regulation of competition.
Health insurance reforms in four Latin American countries
are then considered in light of the insights provided by the
theoretical literature. This article addresses the role of
government in spreading and reducing health risks with
particular emphasis on the design and organization of the
relevant institutions in Latin America.
Developing Countries and a New Round of WTO Negotiations
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002-01) Hertel, Thomas W.; Hoekman, Bernard M.; Martin, Will
This article summarizes some of the
results and findings emerging from an ongoing World Bank a
research and capacity-building project that focuses on the
World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiating agenda from a
developing country perspective. Recent research suggests
that the potential gains from further multilateral
liberalization of trade remain very large. The payoffs
associated with attempts to introduce substantive
disciplines in the WTO on domestic regulatory regimes are
much less certain. This suggests that the focus of current
and future negotiations should be primarily on the bread and
butter of the multilateral trading system-the progressive
liberalization of barriers to trade in goods and services on
a nondiscriminatory basis. In addition, priority should be
given to ensuring that rules are consistent with the
development needs of poorer countries and to helping
developing countries implement WTO obligations.