Publication: State Your Business!: An Evaluation of World Bank Group Support to the Reform of State-Owned Enterprises, FY08-18
Loading...
Files
882 downloads
464 downloads
71 downloads
Date
2020-12-03
ISSN
Published
2020-12-03
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) play a major role in many developing and emerging economies, where governments use them to achieve economic, social, and political objectives. SOEs deliver and extend access to services, fill gaps in markets, develop key sectors or regions, and provide employment. However, SOEs’ mixed institutional mandates and their political importance often pose performance, financial and governance challenges. This is IEG’s first systematic assessment of the Bank Group’s support for the reform of SOEs, looking at what works and the factors of success. It parallels Bank Group efforts to provide more integrated support to SOE reform in client countries and to empower staff with new tools. The evaluation focused on five major types of SOE reforms in the financial and energy sectors: (i) Corporate governance improvements; (ii) Business and operational reforms; (iii) Measures to strengthen competition and regulation in SOE markets; (iv) Privatization and other ownership reforms (including PPPs); (v) Macro, fiscal, and public financial management (PFM) reforms. The evaluation includes findings about the impact of competition on SEO performance; corruption control and its effect on SEO reform; the success of World Bank Group sequential and complementarity interventions; and about other factors that aid success such us client commitment, collaboration, strong design features, solid results frameworks and monitoring, and early risk identification. Based on the findings and lessons of experience drawn from this evaluation, IEG offers Management two recommendations to enhance the Bank Group’s support to SOE reform: (i) The World Bank Group should apply a selectivity framework for SOE reform support that considers country governance conditions, control of corruption, and sector and enterprise-level competition; and (ii) The World Bank Group should apply the MFD and its embedded Cascade approach for SOE reform.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Independent Evaluation Group. 2020. State Your Business!: An Evaluation of World Bank Group Support to the Reform of State-Owned Enterprises, FY08-18. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34945 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Pakistan : An Evaluation of the World Bank's Assistance(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2006)This book analyzes the objectives and content of the World Bank's assistance program during the period 1994-2003, the economic and social development outcomes in Pakistan, and the contributions of the Bank to development outcomes.Publication World Bank Engagement at the State Level : The Cases of Brazil, India, Nigeria, and the Russian Federation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2010)This report summarizes the past 10 years (1998-2008) of World Bank engagement at the state level in four selected large federal countries: Brazil, India, Nigeria, and the Russian Federation. The report identifies lessons and good practice examples that warrant further examination and wider dissemination. First, the study confirms the desirability of continued selective lending in a few focus states. The Bank's engagement with progressive, reformist states has added value and has been highly appreciated, but to enhance the poverty impact of state-level interventions, greater weight should be given to the needs of the poorest states by balancing states' propensity to reform and the concentration of poverty within them. Experience shows that it has been possible to achieve results in some of the poorer, low-capacity states through persistent work with committed state counterparts and partnerships with other donors. Second, continued focus on public finance management appears sound, irrespective of whether engagement is confined to this area or serves as an entry point for broader engagement. Third, there is considerable scope for greater impact from knowledge transfer and expanded knowledge services.Publication Dealing with GAC Issues in Project Lending : The Special Case of Fragile and Conflict-Affected States(Washington, DC, 2013)The principal objective of the Bank's governance work should be to help develop capable and accountable states to deliver services to the poor, promote private-sector-led growth, and tackle corruption effectively. The agenda for action has been defined, new tools and approaches have been developed, and governance and anticorruption (GAC) issues and concerns are increasingly being mainstreamed in the Bank's operational work at the country, sector, and project levels. With the introduction of the operational risk assessment framework (ORAF), the Bank has undertaken a major effort to improve how it manages GAC risks in the development projects and programs it supports. This note provides principles-based advice and guidance to task teams working at the sector and project levels on fragile and conflict-affected states (FCS) countries in Africa. It aims to provide a common conceptual framework for understanding the challenges and opportunities they face in project design, implementation, and supervision; highlight key lessons learned and good practice examples from others working in this area; and suggest some topics where further work is needed to understand and mitigate key operational risks. A communications strategy that frames GAC issues in a constructive way, seeks to take into account the concerns and perspectives of all stakeholders involved, enhances the understanding of constraints and opportunities, and strengthens the project's incentives for improving governance and reducing corruption. In FCS countries, constraints are likely to include severe weaknesses in institutional capacity; thus the project design should include an explicit strategy and action plan for institutional strengthening, as well as explicit, measurable indicators of progress.Publication Doing Business, An Independent Evaluation : Taking the Measure of the World Bank-IFC Doing Business Indicators(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)Doing Business (DB), the annual World Bank- International Finance Corporation (IFC) benchmarking exercise launched in 2004, is one of the Bank Group's flagship knowledge products. It aims to measure the costs to firms of business regulations in 178 countries and ranks the countries along 10 dimensions. It also aims to advance the World Bank Group's private sector development agenda by motivating and informing the design of regulatory reforms, enriching international initiatives on development effectiveness, and informing theory. By ranking countries and spotlighting both leaders and laggards, DB has attracted the interest of senior policy makers and is claimed to have inspired reforms on business climate issues. DB's lively communications style has helped give the DB indicators an international profile. The report has five sections: the first chapter reviews the intellectual underpinnings of the DB indicators. The second chapter reports on how DB collects and assembles data. The chapters third and fourth discuss the relevance of the dimensions measured by the exercise and their use inside and outside the Bank. And finally, chapter fifth presents findings and recommendations.Publication IEG Annual Report 2011 : Results and Performance of the World Bank Group(Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2011)The work of the World Bank Group (WBG) in helping reduce poverty supports four core goals at both global and country levels: expanding economic opportunities, enhancing human development, mitigating socioeconomic and environmental risks, and improving governance and public sector effectiveness. In the first half of the 2000s, developing countries made advances in these areas, leading to a significant reduction in poverty. Historically high economic growth rates as well as improvements in key aspects of human development made the difference. A series of global economic crises as well as natural disasters contributed to setbacks, while global climate change continued to threaten progress. These global shifters need to be confronted by development strategies. Improving governance and public sector effectiveness is key to reducing poverty further. The quality of public sector management also affects the WBGapos;s development effectiveness in countries. WBG-supported country program and project outcomes are lower in countries with poorer quality public sector management, suggesting a need to augment the approach and prioritize engagement in this area. Finally, WBG managementapos;s adoption of recommendations derived from evaluations has increased over time, and both management and Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) have agreed on measures to improve this process.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Unconventional Monetary Policy Normalization in High-Income Countries : Implications for Emerging Market Capital Flows and Crisis Risks(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-04)As the recovery in high-income countries firms amid a gradual withdrawal of extraordinary monetary stimulus, developing countries can expect stronger demand for their exports as global trade regains momentum, but also rising interest rates and potentially weaker capital inflows. This paper assesses the implications of a normalization of policy and activity in high-income countries for financial flows and crisis risks in developing countries. In the most likely scenario, a relatively orderly process of normalization would imply a slowdown in capital inflows amounting to 0.6 percent of developing-country GDP between 2013 and 2016, driven in particular by weaker portfolio investments. However, the risk of more abrupt adjustments remains significant, especially if increased market volatility accompanies the unwinding of unprecedented central bank interventions. According to simulations, abrupt changes in market expectations, resulting in global bond yields increasing by 100 to 200 basis points within a couple of quarters, could lead to a sharp reduction in capital inflows to developing countries by between 50 and 80 percent for several months. Evidence from past banking crises suggests that countries having seen a substantial expansion of domestic credit over the past five years, deteriorating current account balances, high levels of foreign and short-term debt, and over-valued exchange rates could be more at risk in current circumstances. Countries with adequate policy buffers and investor confidence may be able to rely on market mechanisms and countercyclical macroeconomic and prudential policies to deal with a retrenchment of foreign capital. In other cases, where the scope for maneuver is more limited, countries may be forced to tighten fiscal and monetary policy to reduce financing needs and attract additional inflows.Publication Afghanistan Development Update, August 2018(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-08)The Afghanistan Development Update is a twice-annual publication providing analysis of recent developments and presenting the World Bank team’s most-recent macroeconomic projections. The August 2018 edition focuses on the state of the economy in the context of upcoming elections, and the potential for a loss of recent momentum as confidence declines. Special topics address: i) the potential for trade to underpin development in Afghanistan; ii) recent trends in poverty and welfare; and iii) priorities for improving education quality and coverage. Afghanistan has experienced slow growth since 2014, with the draw-down of international security forces, accompanying reductions in international grants, and a worsening security situation (growth has averaged 2.3 percent between 2014-2017). Following a period of political instability after the 2014 elections, the economy has slowly regained momentum as reforms have been implemented and confidence restored. From a low of 1.5 percent in 2015, real GDP growth accelerated to 2.3 percent in 2016, and is estimated at 2.7 percent for 2017. Building momentum now appears to be at some risk, with increasing election-related violence, declining business confidence, worsening drought conditions, and some apparent slowing of economic activity. Growth is projected at 2.4 percent in 2018, with substantial downside risks arising from the prospects of political instability around upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. Risks can be partly mitigated and recent momentum maintained through: i) continued reform progress, demonstrating to investors that the deterioration in governance seen in 2014 will not be repeated; and ii) continued donor commitment to sustained grant support.Publication Gold Investing Handbook for Asset Managers(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-02-28)Throughout history, gold has played a vital role as a financial asset in the global financial system. It has been prevalent as a currency in many civilizations, including Ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. In the modern era, gold continues to play a critical role in the global financial system, serving as a hedge against inflation, a safe haven asset, and a reserve asset for central banks. In recent years, gold has regained its importance as a financial asset, with many investors using it as a hedge against inflation and market volatility. In addition, central banks and other financial institutions continue to hold significant amounts of gold as part of their reserve assets. The increasing awareness of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues in the investment community has led to a growing interest in responsible sourcing and use of gold. Initiatives such as the LBMA’s Responsible Sourcing Program (RSP) and the World Gold Council’s Responsible Gold Mining Principles (RGMP) aim to promote sustainable and ethical practices in the gold mining industry. This report first discusses the credentials of gold as a strategic asset by analyzing its historical risk and return characteristics, its correlation with various asset classes, and the historical and future performance of several stylized institutional portfolios with varying allocations to gold. The later part of the report addresses practical aspects for reserve managers of investing into gold and discusses various gold buying practices; gold trading, storing, and accounting; and gold liquidity management strategies. ESG considerations for gold investments are covered in the final chapter.Publication Enhanced Transparency in Procurement through Voluntary Disclosure under the RTI Act 2005(Washington, DC, 2009-03)Good practices reduce costs and produce timely results; poor practices lead to waste and delays and are often the cause for allegations of corruption and Government inefficiency. Enhanced transparency in procurement through voluntary disclosure under the Right to Information (RTI) Act (2005)' is one of the individual components of the larger initiative undertaken by Yashwantrao Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA) under the national resource centre for social accountability, and funded by the World Bank institute, New Delhi. Sound public procurement policies and practices are among the essential elements of good governance. The objective of the study is to: study the current procurement process; suggest measures to tackle the discrepancies by developing mechanisms; and enhance social accountability and transparency in the procurement process by focused implementation of right to information as a tool. The project takes into account the four pillar approach towards public procurement which believes that unless all the aspects of the function (i.e. efficiency, economy, fairness and transparency) are taken care of, the overall impact will not be evident. The focus of this project is mainly on social accountability. Obviously the focus of the study is on transparency and how by making the systems more transparent the other aspects of fairness, efficiency and economy can be pushed for reforming the procurement process.Publication Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, Fall 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-10-05)Europe and Central Asia continues to be negatively impacted by the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, tighter global financial conditions, persistent inflation, and global economic fragmentation. Economic growth in the region is projected to remain weak relative to the long-term trend, delaying the convergence of living standards to those of high-income countries. The impacts of climate change are becoming a serious constraint on growth, as extreme weather events are affecting the region with increased frequency and severity. Economic growth for the emerging market and developing economies of the Europe and Central Asia region has been revised up to 2.4 percent for 2023. The pickup in growth reflects improved forecasts for Ukraine, Central Asia, Türkiye and Russia. Downside risks cloud the outlook. High inflation may persist amid heightened volatility in global commodity markets and a surge in energy prices. Global financial conditions may tighten further. And global growth, already the weakest on record for any five-year period since 1990, may slow further.