Publication: Structural Adjustment and Forest Resources : The Impact of World Bank Operations
Loading...
Date
2001-04
ISSN
Published
2001-04
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Over two decades, the World Bank has undertaken many structural adjustment operations with governments of developing countries. During negotiations for structural adjustment loans (SALs), partner governments agree to specific policy reforms, whose implementation becomes a condition for disbursement of SAL funds. Conditionality varies with local circumstances, but generally supports privatization of state enterprises, liberalization of the domestic economy, and openness in international trade. Structural adjustment operations have often been controversial because they are explicitly political. Opposition, or support reflects ideological perspectives, perceptions of who gains, and who loses economically from a SAL, or beliefs about its environmental, and social impacts. Environmental groups express particular concern about SALs' impacts on the rate of deforestation. Debate about adjustment, and deforestation has been fueled largely by anecdotes, and a few country cases bases on limited time-series data. The authors broaden the analysis by combining a complete record of Bank SAL operations, with a 38-year socioeconomic database for 112 developing countries. They find that adjustment has greatly affected imports, exports, consumption, and production in many forest products sectors (such as fuel-wood, sawn-wood, panels, pulp, and paper). Some activities have increased, and some declined, but overall, the effects have balanced each other. The net impact on domestic round-wood production, the authors' proxy for forest exploitation, has been almost exactly zero. Their results suggest that growth in round-wood production is explained well by population growth, urbanization, and world demand for forest products. Their findings suggest that adjustment has not promoted domestic deforestation, but it has increased net imports of wood products, implying some displacement of pressure onto other countries' forest resources. They also find that devaluations have significantly increased the exploitation of forest resources.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Pandey, Kiran D.; Wheeler, David. 2001. Structural Adjustment and Forest Resources : The Impact of World Bank Operations. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 2584. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19678 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Publication Geopolitics and the World Trading System(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-12-23)Until the beginning of this century, the GATT/WTO system worked. Economic research provided a compelling explanation. It showed that if governments maximize the well-being of their own countries broadly defined, GATT/WTO principles would facilitate mutually beneficial cooperation over their trade policy choices. Now heightened geopolitical rivalry seems to have undermined the WTO. A simple transposition of the previous rationalization suggests that geopolitics and trade cooperation are not compatible. The paper shows that this is only true if rivalry eclipses any consideration of own-country well-being. In all other circumstances, there are gains from trade cooperation even with geopolitics. Furthermore, the WTO’s relevance is in question only if it adheres too rigidly to its existing rules and norms. Through measured adaptation to the geopolitical imperative, the WTO can continue to thrive as a forum for multilateral trade cooperation in the age of geopolitics.Publication The Macroeconomic Implications of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Options(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-29)Estimating the macroeconomic implications of climate change impacts and adaptation options is a topic of intense research. This paper presents a framework in the World Bank's macrostructural model to assess climate-related damages. This approach has been used in many Country Climate and Development Reports, a World Bank diagnostic that identifies priorities to ensure continued development in spite of climate change and climate policy objectives. The methodology captures a set of impact channels through which climate change affects the economy by (1) connecting a set of biophysical models to the macroeconomic model and (2) exploring a set of development and climate scenarios. The paper summarizes the results for five countries, highlighting the sources and magnitudes of their vulnerability --- with estimated gross domestic product losses in 2050 exceeding 10 percent of gross domestic product in some countries and scenarios, although only a small set of impact channels is included. The paper also presents estimates of the macroeconomic gains from sector-level adaptation interventions, considering their upfront costs and avoided climate impacts and finding significant net gross domestic product gains from adaptation opportunities identified in the Country Climate and Development Reports. Finally, the paper discusses the limits of current modeling approaches, and their complementarity with empirical approaches based on historical data series. The integrated modeling approach proposed in this paper can inform policymakers as they make proactive decisions on climate change adaptation and resilience.Publication Global Poverty Revisited Using 2021 PPPs and New Data on Consumption(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-05)Recent improvements in survey methodologies have increased measured consumption in many low- and lower-middle-income countries that now collect a more comprehensive measure of household consumption. Faced with such methodological changes, countries have frequently revised upward their national poverty lines to make them appropriate for the new measures of consumption. This in turn affects the World Bank’s global poverty lines when they are periodically revised. The international poverty line, which is based on the typical poverty line in low-income countries, increases by around 40 percent to $3.00 when the more recent national poverty lines as well as the 2021 purchasing power parities are incorporated. The net impact of the changes in international prices, the poverty line, and new survey data (including new data for India) is an increase in global extreme poverty by some 125 million people in 2022, and a significant shift of poverty away from South Asia and toward Sub-Saharan Africa. The changes at higher poverty lines, which are more relevant to middle-income countries, are mixed.Publication From Patriarchy to Policy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-29)Legal institutions play an important role in shaping gender equality in economic domains, from inheritance to labor markets. But where do gender equal laws come from? Using cross-country data on social norms and legal equality, this paper investigates the socio-cultural roots of gender inequity in the legal system and its implications for female labor force participation. To identify the impact of social norms, the analysis uses an empirical strategy that exploits pre-modern differences in ancestral patriarchal culture as an instrument for present-day gender norms. The findings show that ancestral patriarchal culture is a strong predictor of contemporary norms, and conservative social norms are associated with more gender inequality in the de jure legal framework, the de facto implementation of laws, and the labor market. The paper presents evidence for a political selection mechanism linking norms to laws: countries with more conservative norms elect political leaders who are more hostile to gender equality, who then pass less progressive legislation. The results highlight the cultural roots and political drivers of legalized gender inequality.Publication Global Socio-economic Resilience to Natural Disasters(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-22)Most disaster risk assessments use damages to physical assets as their central metric, often neglecting distributional impacts and the coping and recovery capacity of affected people. To address this shortcoming, the concepts of well-being losses and socio-economic resilience—the ability to experience asset losses without a decline in well-being—have been proposed. This paper uses microsimulations to produce a global estimate of well-being losses from, and socio-economic resilience to, natural disasters, covering 132 countries. On average, each $1 in disaster-related asset losses results in well-being losses equivalent to a $2 uniform national drop in consumption, with significant variation within and across countries. The poorest income quintile within each country incurs only 9% of national asset losses but accounts for 33% of well-being losses. Compared to high-income countries, low-income countries experience 67% greater well-being losses per dollar of asset losses and require 56% more time to recover. Socio-economic resilience is uncorrelated with exposure or vulnerability to natural hazards. However, a 10 percent increase in GDP per capita is associated with a 0.9 percentage point gain in resilience, but this benefit arises indirectly—such as through higher rate of formal employment, better financial inclusion, and broader social protection coverage—rather than from higher income itself. This paper assess ten policy options and finds that socio-economic and financial interventions (such as insurance and social protection) can effectively complement asset-focused measures (e.g., construction standards) and that interventions targeting low-income populations usually have higher returns in terms of avoided well-being losses per dollar invested.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Lao PDR - Production Forestry Policy : Status and Issues for Dialogue, Volume 1. Main Report(Washington, DC, 2001-06-11)Forestry contributes 7-10 percent of Lao Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 15-20 percent of non-agricultural GDP. In rural areas forest exploitation is one of the few available economic activities, and non-timber products provide more than half of family income. The sector contributes 34 percent of total export value, and even more of net foreign exchange. Forestry royalties as a share of government revenues have decreased from 20 percent in the mid-1990s to 6 percent of tax revenues and 5 percent of all revenues last year. Collection rates are low, around 50 percent, and royalty revenues have been declining since mid-1990s. Over the last five years, Treasury has realized only about one-third of the estimated market value of the timber harvested. Current wood industries' capacity exceeds long-term sustainable AAC, and despite heavy investment, their performance has not met expectations. There is no evidence that wood production has had a positive impact on rural poverty; rather it has had a negative one by destroying the environment on which the poor depend. This report concludes that fundamental problems in the forest policy framework can, and must be corrected for forestry to make its full contribution to national development. This Review focuses on proposing a narrow and select set of priority policy and implementation initiatives: improving production forest management and utilization, community participation in forest management, and controlling illegal logging. With interlinked and mutually reinforcing efforts in these areas, the production forestry sub-sector could be put on a sustainable path, greatly enhancing prospects or success in biodiversity conservation, watershed management and upland rural development. The blend of policy institutional and investment action needed, and priority for implementation is indicated in the attached summary Forest Policy Matrix and Proposed Action Plan.Publication Integrated Forestry Development in the Middle East and North Africa(Washington, DC, 2003-05-30)This Policy Note discusses the status of Forestry in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MNA) of the Bank. The Policy Note is a product of the FAO Investment Center in Rome, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Bank. Experience in natural resource management shows that to adequately address sustainable development, solutions must go beyond any single sector, and be cross-sectoral. They must also go beyond technical solutions to include legal and policy frameworks. In the MNA Region, a large percentage of the population lives in rural areas on primarily small pieces of land and in the absence of other sources of revenue to supplement their income. Also because many do not own their land, they are without the means to improve their small land areas to increase output and revenues, thus creating a dependence on the natural resources.Publication Managing the Miombo Woodlands of Southern Africa : Policies, Incentives and Options for the Rural Poor, Volume 1. Main Report(Washington, DC, 2008-05)Miombo woodlands stretch across Southern Africa in a belt from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the west to Mozambique in the east. The miombo region covers an area of around 2.4 million km. In some areas, miombo has been highly degraded as a result of human use (southern Malawi and parts of Zimbabwe), while in others, it remains relatively intact (such as in parts of northern Mozambique, and in isolated areas of Angola and the DRC). From a conventional forester's perspective, miombo is fundamentally uninteresting. It supports relatively few good commercial timber species. The management of commercial species has been problematic. The best areas were logged over long ago. Except in a few areas, remaining commercially viable stocks are relatively small and difficult to access. Public forestry institutions have, for the most part, failed to put in place effective management systems for forests, preferring instead to limit their role to regulation and revenue collection, rather than to management per se. The objectives of this paper are threefold, and the paper is structured around these objectives. First, in section two, the paper describes some of opportunities for improving the use and management of miombo woodlands. Second, in section three, outline some of the barriers which are preventing households, communities, and countries from adopting better and more sustainable woodland management practices. In section four, by exploring some of the policy opportunities for removing these barriers, with the objective of strengthening miombo's contribution to reducing risk and vulnerability of poor rural households through sustainable forest management.Publication Turkey : Forestry Sector Review(Washington, DC, 2001-06-27)The report identifies the challenges, and opportunities the forestry sector faces in Turkey, where twenty five percent of the country's land area is covered by forests, with significant economic, environmental, and cultural functions. The challenges identified in the review include poverty, land tenure, the need to establish multi-purpose, participatory forest management planning, and, to control soil erosion in degraded areas, including the need to restore the sector's financial viability. Following an introductory review on economic growth, urbanization, and new demands on forest resources, the study analyzes the liberalization of the policy framework, the reform of state-owned enterprises, and the public expenditure restraints. The sustained realization of forestry development goals in the context of strengthened economic discipline, should lead to the planning, and management of forest resources at both the national, and local levels; to a decrease in forest areas managed primarily for wood production; to an expansion of protected areas, and national parks, covering a wide range of Turkey's natural ecosystems; and, to reforestation levels rising significantly the degraded forest lands, supported by active communal participation. This will be achieved based on suggestions on policies, and institutional arrangements, and on consensus development on sectoral priorities. Recommendations suggest pilot approaches to biodiversity conservation; reconsideration of public sector agencies' organizational structures; integrated rural development initiatives to support poverty alleviation, including institutional target programs for the poorest forest-dependent people; and, development of community based resource management approaches, mainstreamed through supportive regulations, guidelines, and budgetary processes.Publication Managing the Miombo Woodlands of Southern Africa : Policies, Incentives, and Options for the Rural Poor(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-11)This report is based on seven background papers comprising household studies, national level analyses, and technical assessments. Household studies were undertaken in Mozambique and Zambia to develop a clearer picture of the role of Miombo woodlands in household consumption. These studies were an outcome of intensive, seasonal structured household surveys, which have formed the core of the original work supported by this project (technical annexes one, two, and three). Two national level assessments were carried out, the first in Zambia on the contribution of dry forests to economic development. This assessment was derived from a synthesis of empirical household studies, policy research, silvicultural and ecological studies, and other primary sources (technical annex four). The second country case study reviewed community-based woodland management opportunities in Mozambique and synthesized the results of other primary studies (technical annex five). The author also reviewed what is known about miombo silviculture and how management systems could be improved or otherwise put in place to increase productivity (technical annex six). Technical annex seven focuses on policy options for improving management. There are obvious geographic gaps in coverage in this paper. Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were not covered to any significant extent. This is partly because the available body of miombo research largely excludes these miombo-rich countries. It was also not our intention to provide a comprehensive country-by country overview of the status of miombo woodlands and the policies, institutions, and legislation that are affecting their use. This shortcoming notwithstanding, our efforts focused on teasing out some of the complexities of miombo use and management in the individual technical annexes.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.Publication Financing Firm Growth(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-13)Well-functioning capital markets can foster economic growth and allocate resources efficiently. Firms can tap into a broader funding base by issuing debt and equity in capital markets, often at cheaper rates and longer tenors than through other sources of external finance, such as banks. However, capital markets in low- and middle-income countries have lagged those in high-income countries. Accordingly, the firms in those countries have more often relied on bank financing or retained earnings to fund investment and expansion, and they have experienced greater financial constraints than their counterparts in high-income countries. Financing Firm Growth: The Role of Capital Markets in Low- and Middle-Income Countries shows that the gap in capital market financing between low- and middle-income countries and high-income countries has narrowed, with resulting benefits for both the firms accessing those markets and for the countries in which they operate. The analysis reveals greater participation by firms from low- and middle-income countries in capital markets since the 2000s. Most of these firms are new participants in capital markets, and they tend to be smaller, younger, and more productive than those already participating. Firms are deploying capital raised in markets to become more productive—investing in physical assets, hiring more workers, and expanding operations, spurring growth both at the firm level and within their economies. To reach these findings, the analysis used a novel database of the universe of bond and equity issuances from companies between 1990 and 2022. The insights leverage data from nearly 80,000 firms worldwide, focusing on how 20,000 firms across 106 low- and middle-income countries access and use capital market financing. --- “Financing Firm Growth is a groundbreaking exploration that delves into the vital role that capital markets play in driving business expansion in low- and middle-income countries. Backed by data from 80,000 firms across 147 economies, the authors explore the factors underlying capital market growth and its benefits for economies and firms at all levels of development. This book is a must-read for investors, policy makers, and economists shaping the future of global finance.” — Laura Alfaro, Warren Alpert Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business SchoolPublication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Mexico Poverty and Equity Assessment(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-02-20)This Mexico Poverty and Equity Assessment reviews the evidence about poverty and equity in Mexico over the last two decades, compares it to comparable international experience, and identifies a set of critical areas of policy intervention to answer the opening question. The report aims at contributing to an open conversation in Mexico about how to achieve this essential policy objective. This report postulates three main policy areas needed for poverty eradication in Mexico: inclusive growth, efficient social policy, and infrastructure to confront vulnerability. The report includes four sections, the first three of which collect evidence about poverty, social deprivations, and vulnerability and how the evolution of these three correlates to patterns of economic growth, social protection policy and territorial development. The fourth section provides some quantitative benchmarks of what it would take to eradicate extreme poverty in Mexico. Poverty in Mexico is defined not only in monetary terms, but also in a multidimensional manner that includes social deprivations. These are social deprivations that often define formal-vs-informal employment, so policy changes that close these carencias, as they are called in Mexico, will also reduce the informality gap. This report documents the evolution of poverty, social deprivations, and vulnerability to poverty. It explains the main forces that have driven this evolution and advises that many of these forces may not operate the same in the future as they did in the past. It provides the basis to argue that short to medium term extreme poverty eradication requires newer policy actions in terms of inclusive growth, more efficient social policy, and investments in physical and social infrastructure to reduce vulnerability. The report indicates that short to medium term eradication to extreme poverty is a major, but within reach, development challenge for Mexico.