Publication: Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries 2001
Loading...
Date
2001
ISSN
1014-8906
Published
2001
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Technological innovations and the dismantling of trade barriers over the past decade have contributed to an acceleration of growth in global trade. This acceleration has been associated with faster growth in developing countries as a group. However, many of the poorest countries have not kept pace. This year's report focuses on international trade and discusses policies that are required if developing countries are to benefit from global integration. The report is organized as follows: Chapter 1 examines the prospects for developing countries and world trade and projects that long-term growth has improved and is projected to be higher despite significant vulnerabilities. Chapter 2 analyzes trade policies in the 1990s and discusses reductions in barriers to trade, trends in trade and economic growth, weaknesses in domestic trade-related policies, and trade protection in industrial countries. Chapter 3 explores the relationships between product standards and regulatory barriers to trade, labor standards and trade sanctions, and environmental standards and trade. Finally, Chapter 4 focuses on electronic commerce, the digital divide, and its effects on productivity, international trade, and income distribution, as well as impediments to Internet use, the role of policies, and challenges to regulatory regimes in developing countries.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2001. Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries 2001. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14779 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 Uganda - Moving Beyond Recovery, Investment and Behavior Change, For Growth, Volume 2, Overview(Washington, DC, 2007-09)In 2006 most of the people of Uganda, with the notable exception of those in the conflict-blighted Northern Region, enjoy a better quality of life and brighter opportunities in a stable and growing economy. Uganda's economy has bounced back beyond what could be regarded as recovery, with real incomes per person now exceeding the levels reached at Independence in 1962. The report structure is as follows: volume one synthesizes the conclusions from analysis in Volume two. In Chapter 1 of Volume two, emphasis is placed on understanding what drove past growth at macro and sector levels, and in particular, on how Uganda's firms and farms have evolved. Chapter 2 continues the retrospective of past growth in agriculture, the most important sector of the economy. The report provides a comprehensive review of growth trends in agriculture, using several data sources. The chapter provides fresh insights on recent trends in poverty and inequality. Chapter 3 presents growth diagnosis and it identifies short-term actions to remove emerging constraints to present and near-term future growth. Chapter 4 models alternative future growth paths and the impact o f alternative public investments on growth using a SAM-based CGE model. The analysis reveals there is little to be gained from 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' for example fixing infrastructure by reducing education financing. Chapters 6 and 7 return to the short-term priorities to remove binding constraints to growth, and put meat on the actions identified in Chapter 3 as being required in the financial sector (Chapter 6) and in infrastructure (Chapter 7). Finally, Chapter 8 ends by assessing the scope for an externally financed scale up of infrastructure.Publication In Search of the Missing Resource Curse(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-11)The debate over the curse of natural resources has haunted developing countries for decades if not centuries. A review of existing empirical evidence suggests that the curse remains elusive. The fragile negative effect of natural resources on economic growth might be due to international heterogeneity in the effects of natural resources on economic growth, to the use of weak indicators of natural resources that might be unrelated to relative natural-resource endowments, or to the inability of econometric analysis based on international data to capture historical processes. This paper defends an empirical proxy for relative abundance of natural resources, which is based on standard growth theory. In turn, various econometric estimations are hopelessly deployed in the search for the missing resource curse. Some evidence suggests that natural resources might have large positive effects whose true magnitude remains unknown due to unresolved econometric issues.Publication Local Gains from Global Opportunities : Improving Central America's Investment Climate(Washington, DC, 2008-09)Central America's economic performance in recent years has benefited from improved macroeconomic management, a favorable external environment, as well as rising investor confidence since the region has pursued greater access to global markets, particularly with the signing Dominican Republic, Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) in 2004. Nonetheless, while important reforms have been made, much remains to be done, and the context of a less favorable global environment underlines the urgent need to improve competitiveness and enhance productivity. An improving investment climate will contribute to both. This chapter discusses the broad economic factors that shape the investment climate in Central America. Section one describes the overall strategic context, highlighted by the opportunities and challenges emerging from the new trade deal. Section two discusses the region's macroeconomic environment, economic growth, sectoral changes, the business cycles with the US, and overall stability. Section three covers trade, financial and remittances flows, which are particularly important to the region. Section four summarizes and takes a look ahead.Publication Natural Resource Abundance, Growth, and Diversification in the Middle East and North Africa : The Effects of Natural Resources and the Role of Policies(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012-09-08)This book is organized as follows: this first chapter examines the pattern of structural transformation in Middle East and North Africa, or MENA and summarizes the role of various factors examined thoroughly in the rest of the volume. This second chapter examines the correlates of this overall disappointing performance. At the macro level, MENA countries have been unable to maintain depreciated (undervalued) real exchange rates for long periods, yet such undervaluation has proved important to offset the market failures and poor institutional environment that severely hit the dynamic non-resource-intensive traded sectors. This third chapter shows that services sectors in resource-rich MENA countries have been declining as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) and of non-mining GDP as per capita incomes increase. This fourth chapter explores the presence of systematic differences between the patterns of diversification in MENA and the rest of the world. This fifth chapter shows that from a historical perspective, fiscal policy has not contributed significantly to diversification in MENA, because it has been more oriented toward food and fuel subsidies (consumption) rather than toward public goods such as infrastructure (investment). Finally, in this sixth chapter, the authors emphasize the different characteristics of the regional partners in terms of their resource endowments and consider wealth distribution effects within the region.Publication Fostering Higher Growth and Employment in the Kingdom of Morocco(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2006)This book identifies the binding constraints to growth of Morocco. It applies an innovative procedure known as "growth diagnostic" and has a central finding. The Moroccan economy suffers from a too slow process of structural transformation for achieving higher growth, especially for its exports that face unfavorable external shocks arising from competitor countries in the main markets for Moroccan exports. This process of so-called "productive diversification" requires that Morocco enhance its competitiveness.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Remarks to the Annual Meetings 2020 Development Committee(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-10-16)David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, announced that the Board approved a fast track approach to emergency health support programs that now covers 111 countries. Most projects are well advanced, with average disbursement upward of 40 percent. The goal is to take broad, fast action early. The operational framework presented back in June has positioned the Bank to help countries address immediate health threats and social and economic impacts and maintain our focus on long-term development. The Bank is making good progress toward the 15-month target of 160 billion dollars in surge financing. Much of it is for the poorest countries and will take the form of grants or low-rate, long-maturity loans. IFC, through the Global Health Platform, will be providing financing to vaccine manufacturers to foster expanded production of COVID-19 vaccines in both part 1 and 2 countries, providing production is reserved for emerging markets. The Development Committee holds a unique place in the international architecture. It is the only global forum in which the Governments of developed countries and the Governments of developing countries, creditor countries and borrower countries, come together to discuss development and the ‘net transfer of resources to developing countries.’ The current International Financial Architecture system is skewed in favor of the rich and creditor countries. It is important that all voices are heard, so Malpass urged the Ministers of developing countries to use their voice and speak their minds today. Malpass urged consideration of how we can build a new approach to debt restructuring that allows for a fair relationship and balance between creditors and debtors. This will be critical in restoring growth in developing countries; and helping reverse the inequality.Publication Doing Business 2014 : Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises(Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2013-10-28)Eleventh in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 185 economies, Doing Business 2014 measures regulations affecting 11 areas of everyday business activity: Starting a business, Dealing with construction permits, Getting electricity, Registering property, Getting credit, Protecting investors, Paying taxes, Trading across borders, Enforcing contracts, Closing a business, Employing workers. The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2013, ranks economies on their overall “ease of doing business”, and analyzes reforms to business regulation – identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. The Doing Business reports illustrate how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. Doing Business is a flagship product by the World Bank and IFC that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. More than 60 economies use the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground. In addition, the Doing Business data has generated over 870 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals since its inception.Publication World Development Report 2011(World Bank, 2011)The 2011 World development report looks across disciplines and experiences drawn from around the world to offer some ideas and practical recommendations on how to move beyond conflict and fragility and secure development. The key messages are important for all countries-low, middle, and high income-as well as for regional and global institutions: first, institutional legitimacy is the key to stability. When state institutions do not adequately protect citizens, guard against corruption, or provide access to justice; when markets do not provide job opportunities; or when communities have lost social cohesion-the likelihood of violent conflict increases. Second, investing in citizen security, justice, and jobs is essential to reducing violence. But there are major structural gaps in our collective capabilities to support these areas. Third, confronting this challenge effectively means that institutions need to change. International agencies and partners from other countries must adapt procedures so they can respond with agility and speed, a longer-term perspective, and greater staying power. Fourth, need to adopt a layered approach. Some problems can be addressed at the country level, but others need to be addressed at a regional level, such as developing markets that integrate insecure areas and pooling resources for building capacity Fifth, in adopting these approaches, need to be aware that the global landscape is changing. Regional institutions and middle income countries are playing a larger role. This means should pay more attention to south-south and south-north exchanges, and to the recent transition experiences of middle income countries.Publication 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.