world bank publications jun 2011 (19 risultati)

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - This study reviews trends in aid provided to the health sector in Somalia over 20002009. It is a testimony to the commitment of donors and implementers who have relentlessly tried to improve the dire health situation of millions of Somalis. At the same time, this study is a wake-up call for all donors and implementers. Have donors been generous enough Have millions of dollars been invested in the most efficient way to maximise results Did donors choose the right priorities Did they stay the course Did they learn from their own mistakes The answers are mixed. Donors stepped up their contributions over the decade: some new financiers came, some others left, but overall, financial support has been constantly increasing. Emergencies took up 30 percent of the overall funding, thus demonstrating the impact on the health sector of man-made and natural disasters. Only 20 percent was allocated for horizontal programmes, with increasing funds over the last part of the decade. Vertical programmes dominated aid financing for health: in the case of AIDS, TB, and malaria, the generous funding of the last years of the decade do not appear justifiable. Malnutrition, EPI, and reproductive health programmes never got the attention they deserved.The key conclusion of this study is that donors' funding for public health in Somalia over the past decade could have been used more strategically. Better coordination among donors, local authorities, and implementers is now needed to avoid the mistakes of the past and to ensure that priority setting for future interventions is more evidence based and more results oriented.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - India has 150GW of renewable energy potential, about half in the form of small hydropower, biomass, and wind and half in solar, cogeneration, and waste-to-energy. Developing renewable energy can help India increase its energy security, reduce the adverse impacts on the local environment, lower its carbon intensity, contribute to more balanced regional development, and realize its aspirations for leadership in high-technology industries. This study aims to answers critical questions on why renewable energy development is relevant in Indian context, on how much development is economically feasible, and on what needs to be done to realize the potential. The Report is based on data from nearly 180 wind, biomass, and small hydropower projects in 20 states, as well as information from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).The Report suggests that about 3GW of renewable energy - all from small hydropower is conomically feasible, when the avoided cost of coal-based generation of Rs 3.08/kWh is considered. About 59GW of renewable energy in wind, biomass, and small hydropower is available at less than Rs 5/kWh. The entire cumulative capacity of 68GW in these three technologies can be harnessed at less than Rs 6/kWh. About 62GW-90 percent of cumulative renewable capacity in wind, biomass, and small hydropower-is economically feasible when the environmental premiums on coal are brought into consideration. Realizing the need to bridge this gap, the government has set an ambitious target of installing at least 40GW of additional capacity of renewables in the next 10 years. India has made tremendous strides in establishing overarching policy framework and institutions to bring renewable in the mainstream of energy mix, but significant financial, infrastructure and regulatory barriers to renewable energy development remain which the report sheds light on and suggests possible solutions.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Production and export diversification expose firms to domestic and international competition, which enhances productivity and ultimately drives a country's structural transformation from agriculture to industry to services. This structural transformation is accompanied by a spatial transformation seen in the increasing role of leading cities and their hinterlands in production and trade. As Central Asian countries cope with the effects of the global crisis, there is a need to think strategically about how to strengthen their export competitiveness in the medium- to long-term. This is particularly challenging for these countries that have small domestic markets and are landlocked and relatively remote from large markets; they suffer from low domestic economic density, long distances to markets, and significant economic divisions between trading partners and major markets. The report recommends that Central Asian countries build their export-diversification policies on three spatial levels, corresponding with the framework from the 2009 World Bank World Development Report: urban (leading city), area (city-hinterland), and regional (integration with regional markets). It recommends focusing on the two leading cities - Almaty and Astana in Kazakhstan, Bishkek and Osh in the Kyrgyz Republic, and Dushanbe and Khujand in Tajikistan - connecting these leading cities with their agricultural hinterland to unleash the potential of the region's agriculture-related activities, and improving the connections between the six leading cities and major regional markets, such as China, India, Russia, and Turkey, along a north-south road corridor. Policymakers in these countries must take actions along the above three dimensions, and in parallel, to obtain results.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Media development seeks to support and promote a pluralistic, editorially independent and financially sustainable media sector. An independent media sector buttresses key governance goals such as voice, accountability, and transparency not through dissemination of messages about these issues, but through its very existence. This handbook is the result of a multi-year effort, the first stage of which Public Sentinel: News Media and Governance Reform. That book explored key issues surrounding the media and governance, including: the ideal role of the media system in strengthening democratic governance, the conditions under which media systems fulfill their objectives, and the policy interventions most effective at helping the news media live up to its democratic potential. The second stage of this effort, presented here, is meant to bridge the gap between theory and practice. A survey reveals that very few governance advisors understand the concept of media development and how such programs could play a key role in advancing good governance. Ultimately, this handbook is designed for those who may be interested in media development programs, but are unclear about the whys, hows, and whens. It will introduce the fundamentals of media development, provide ways to conceptualize and analyze the sector, and help guide programming based on political economy analysis as well as individual country context. It also includes ideas on monitoring and evaluation of media development programs, plus links to further resources.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - This volume presents a framework designed to help international development partners consider the relevance of political economy issues for their programmatic support to decentralization and local government reform. The intention is neither to advocate decentralization in general or in any particular form, nor to presume or privilege any particular decentralization objective. Instead, the purpose is to document the potential value of better understanding how (primarily national and intergovernmental) political and institutional dynamics do or could affect the scope for realizing decentralization reforms aligned with commonly advocated service delivery, governance, and poverty reduction goals. The underlying premise is that systematic analysis of these issues can productively complement the dominantly technical diagnostic work typically carried out by development partners. Specifically, development partners can benefit from better understanding the practical significance of motives that drive politicians and bureaucrats to support or oppose reform at various stages of the decentralization process, from making an initial reform decision to detailed design and implementation. In addition, the authors address how these incentives can weaken, strengthen, or shift in response to changes in political and economic conditions that arise after reform begins. A general approach to conducting political economy of decentralization analysis is outlined, recognizing the need to tailor such analysis to the particular country context. This volume is based on literature reviews and knowledge derived from selected country experiences.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - This book serves as a toolkit on risk-based audits and brings together country experiences for implementing risk-based audit systems. Risk management is an important element of effective and efficient compliance management in revenue administration. It is impossible for any revenue administration to control and check every single taxpayer, and an unnecessary waste of scarce enforcement resources on routinely examining low-risk, compliant taxpayers. The opportunity costs for such roving examinations are high. Just as a private business allocates its resources to areas they feel have the most potential for generating revenues and profits, a modern revenue administration selects cases for audits using methods focused on high-risk taxpayers. This targeted focus is likely to raise higher revenue and, arguably, provide a stronger deterrence for non-compliance. Risk management techniques should not be considered to be confined to the selection of tax audit cases. It is part of a holistic and cooperative approach to enhance compliance. This is dramatically changing the way revenue administrations and taxpayers interact with each other.The effectiveness of a risk-based compliance management has been enabled by, and depends fundamentally on, the use of automated systems to: (1) gather third-party information and match with taxpayer reporting using reliable databases and a unique taxpayer identification number; (2) undertake selective checks based on risk analysis; (3) standardize payment processes (e.g., payments through banks) and accounting requirements; (4) provide assurance that the legislation and procedures are being applied uniformly; and (5) provide adequate, timely information to support management decision making and tax policy formulation.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Under its Health in Africa Initiative, IFC intended to conduct a country assessment of the private health sector in Mali, working in close collaboration with the World Bank and the Government of Mali.The Core objective of the Mali Country Assessment Report was to work closely with the Government of Mali and Development partners to develop recommendations for a reform program to strengthen the existing policy framework for the public-private interface in the health sector and to improve the delivery of health related goods and services for all Malians.As part of this, the purpose of the book was to:¿ Determine the role the private sector currently plays in Mali's health care system.¿ Present a diagnose of the nature and effectiveness of the existing interface between the public and private sectors in Mali, health system constraints, as well as the business enabling and investment environment.¿ Assist the World Bank Group to engage in policy dialogue with stakeholders in Mali's health care system, and particularly with public officials and policy makers; and help develop detailed recommendations for the Government of Mali with policy makers and key stakeholders.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Over the coming decades, the supply of electric power will need to expand to meet the growing demand for electricity, but how the production and use of electricity develops will have broad ramifications for the diverse economies and societies of Latin America and the Caribbean. This report discusses the critical issues for the power sector considering a baseline scenario to 2030 for countries and sub-regions. Among these critical issues are the demand for electricity, the total new supply of electric generating capacity needed, the technology and fuel mix of the generating capacity, and the CO2 emissions of the sector. Under modest GDP growth assumptions, the demand for electricity in Latin America and the Caribbean would more than double by 2030. The analysis suggests that under any economic scenario, it will be challenging for the Region to meet future electricity demand. The report shows that meeting the demand for electricity in Latin America and the Caribbean can be achieved by not only building new generating capacity by the expansion of hydropower and natural gas, but by relying on an increased supply of non-hydro renewables, expanding electricity trade, and making use of supply and demand-side energy efficiency to lower the overall demand for electricity. Some recommendations derived from the report are the need for strengthening regulations and market design of hydropower and gas power generation projects and the need to design supportive policies to develop renewable energy technologies and promote energy efficiency measures. The primary audience to which this report is addressed are policy makers, power sector planners and stakeholders.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - This completely revised and updated third edition provides an accessible and straightforward overview of the World Bank Group's history, organization, mission, and purpose. Additionally, for those wishing to delve further into subjects of particular interest, the book guides readers to sources containing more detailed information, including annual reports, Web sites, publications, and e-mail addresses for various departments. It also provides information on how to work for or do business with the World Bank. A good introduction for anyone interested in understanding what the World Bank Group does and how it does it, this book shows readers who want to learn more where to begin.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - The process of rural-urban transformation presents both opportunities and challenges for development. If managed effectively, it can result in growth that benefits everyone; if managed poorly, it can lead to stark welfare disparities and entire regions cut off from the advantages of agglomeration economies. The importance of rural-urban transition has been confirmed by two consecutive World Development Reports: WDR 2008 Agriculture for Development; and WDR 2009 Reshaping Economic Geography. Focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, this book picks up where the WDRs left off, investigating the influence of country conditions and policies on the pace, pattern, and consequences of rural-urban transition and suggesting strategies to ensure that its benefits results in shared improvements in well-being.The book uncovers vast inequalities, whether between two regions of one country, between rural and urban areas, or within cities themselves. The authors find little evidence to suggest that these inequalities will automatically diminish as countries develop: empirical and qualitative analysis suggests that spatial divides are mainly a function of country conditions, policies and institutions. By implication, policymakers must take active steps to ensure that rural-urban transition results in shared growth. Spatially unbiased provision of health and education services is crucial to ensuring that the benefits of transition are shared by all. But connective infrastructure and targeted interventions also emerge as important considerations, even in countries with severely constrained fiscal and administrative capacity. The authors suggest steps for navigating the tricky political economy of land reforms. And they alert readers to potential spillover effects that mean that policies designed for one space can have unintended consequences on another.Policymakers and development experts, as well as anyone concerned with the impact of rural-urban transition on growth and equity, will find this book a thought-provoking and informative read.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - It is estimated that the proceeds of crime, corruption and tax evasion represent between $1 trillion and $1.6 trillion per year, with half coming from developing countries. Proceeds are typically transferred abroad and hidden in foreign jurisdictions, thus requiring international cooperation. Various international conventions and agreements require international cooperation on this issue, in particular the United Nations Convention against Corruption; however, only $5 billion in stolen assets have been repatriated over the last 15 years. This enormous gap reveals that significant barriers continue to impede asset recovery despite the commitments taken by governments, civil society and the private sector. Drawing on the experience of practitioners with hands-on experience, the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative launched this study to identify the barriers to stolen asset recovery internationally, provide brief analysis of the impact of these barriers, and propose recommendations for overcoming these obstacles. This volume is intended to guide policy makers in their efforts to ensure necessary resources and the development of a plan, policy or strategy aimed at eradicating the barriers to asset recovery. In addition, this study proposes actions to be taken by the G20, international organizations, financial institutions, developmental agencies and civil society.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been a remarkable success in Africa. In just 10 years--dating from the end of the 1990s--mobile network coverage rose from 16 percent to 90 percent of the urban population and by 2009 nearly half of Africa's rural population was also living within range of a mobile network. Large-scale investment in the sector across the continent has transformed telecommunications from a luxury enjoyed by a privileged few to a mass-market, low-cost service, used in villages and cities alike. Africa's ICT Infrastructure: Building on the Mobile Revolution charts this ICT revolution, reviewing the rapid growth in networks and the emergence of the mobile phone as a part of everyday life in Africa. It also tracks the policy and regulatory changes that have driven this growth: the liberalization of markets, the establishment of effective competition and the emergence of institutions to regulate the sector. Africa's ICT Infrastructure reviews how the investment in the sector has been financed and how the structure of the market has changed since the liberalization process started. It looks at the role of both private and public institutions as sources of financing for the sector and charts the emergence of investors from developing countries in leading the expansion of the sector across the region. In the context of these successful sector reforms, Africa's ICT Infrastructure addresses one of the key questions facing regulators and policy makers: how far will this process go in delivering universal access to telecommunications services By adopting an innovative new spatial modeling approach, the authors have mapped existing mobile network coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa and estimated the limits of commercially viable network expansion. But at the same time as voice networks are expanding across the region, the focus of sector policy makers is turning to the Internet which is becoming increasingly important in the global economy. The authors use a similar spatial approach to analyze the commercial viability of wireless broadband networks in Africa and review the development of the region's fiber-optic network infrastructure which lies at the heart of broadband service delivery. Finally, Africa's ICT Infrastructure draws these experiences together and offers a set of policy recommendations that will support the continued development of the sector, particularly in the delivery of affordable broadband Internet.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - This book gathers in one volume all the information needed to use ADePT Edu, the software platform created by the World Bank for the reporting and analysis of education indicators and education inequality. It includes a primer on education data availability, an operating manual for the software, a technical explanation of all the education indicators generated, and an overview of global education inequality using ADePT Edu. The World Bank developed ADePT Edu to fill the need for a user-friendly program designed to give everyone the ability to organize and analyze education data from households. ADePT Edu can be used with any household survey with the aid of its user friendly interface, generating education tables and graphics that comply with international standards for performance indicators. Because this volume is a compendium its chapters can be consulted independently of each other, depending on the need of users.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - This volume comprises a collection of papers prepared and presented at the World Bank's Fifth Urban Research Symposium, as part of the World Bank Group's strategy to share and encourage research oriented to urban issues and bridge these academic results with the pressing needs of developing cities. The selected papers included in this book combine robust analytical pieces and theoretical insights with best practices from around the world. Specific case studies include New Orleans in the context of a fragile environment, a framework to include poverty aspects in the cities and climate change discussion, a contribution to measure the impact of cities and their GHG emissions. Cities and Climate Change is the first title in the World Bank's new Urban Development Series.The Series discusses the challenge of urbanization and what it will mean for developing countries in the decades ahead, and aims to delve more substantively into the core issues framed by the World Bank's 2009 Urban Strategy, Systems of Cities: Harnessing Urbanization for Growth and Poverty Alleviation.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - The East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region is characterised by wide variations in the types of health financing systems. The continued high prevalence of communicable diseases coupled with the rapid population aging place EAP financing systems under pressure. The need to mobilise additional financial resources for health has highlighted variations in technical and allocative efficiency as well as large inequalities. This basic premise of this book is that health systems need to generate sustainable, adequate financing for health so as to ensure that health outcomes are optimised and financial protection is guaranteed. Many countries in the EAP region are searching for health financing best practices and options for their country. This book reviews best practices and remaining challenges with regard to each of the functions of health financing -- collecting and pooling of revenues, and purchasing of services -- across EAP countries.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - This report explores the emerging epidemics of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) in low and middle income countries (LMIC). A case study approach is used to explore these epidemics in detail in Peru, Ukraine, Kenya, and Thailand. Systematic reviews of epidemiology and prevention science were used to understand these epidemics, and to assess the evidence for interventions in prevention, access to care and treatment, and human rights protections. The Goals model was then used to assess the potential impact at country level of responding to epidemics among MSM. Benefits were seen for overall HIV epidemic control in all four countries with greater investment in MSM prevention, treatment, and care. Costing and cost-effectiveness work found these interventions to be cost effective. Human rights and policy analyses were consistent with the epidemiology and costing-responding to HIV among MSM is both a public health priority and a human rights imperative.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Central America has put the promotion of international trade at the center of its development agenda. Over the past years the region has witnessed the successful conclusion of negotiations for a significant number of free trade agreement, most notably the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the US and the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union signed in May 2010. The priority given to international trade by Central America is unsurprising. Trade is generally perceived as being both beneficial for growth and a means for advancement for developing countries. There are now plenty of positive experiences with developing countries that have anchored their development strategies around the promotion of trade. The region should be congratulated without reservations for the effort made on this front. However, the real work starts now, with the recognition that trade agreements create opportunities but do not guarantee results. Three main questions are addressed in the background papers prepared for this study. How does trade liberalization enhance the volume of trade What is the impact of higher trade flows on growth Is the growth associated with trade equitable and sustainable The main conclusions of the study therefore aim to inform the ongoing policy discussion on how Central America can get the most out of its free trade agreements: a key message that emerges is that this will depend on the ability of countries to create an enabling policy and institutional environment; one that will stimulate trade flows as well as the growth impact of these flows, while ensuring that growth is inclusive and sustainable.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest U.S. investment bank filed for bankruptcy. Global credit markets tightened. Spreads skyrocketed. International trade plummeted by double-digits. Banks were reportedly unable to meet the demand from their customers to finance their international trade operations, leaving a trade finance "gap" estimated at around US$25 billion. Governments and international institutions were encouraged to intervene based on the information that some 80-90 percent of world trade relies on some form of trade finance. As the recovery unfolds, time has come to provide policy makers and analysts with a comprehensive assessment of the role of trade finance in the 2008-09 "great" trade collapse and the subsequent role of governments and institutions to help restore trade finance markets. After reviewing the underpinning of trade finance and inter-firm trade credit, ''Trade Finance during the Great Trade Collapse: Role, Response, and Results'' aims to answer the following questions: Was the availability and cost of trade finance a major constraint for trade during the 2008-2009 global economic crisis What are the underpinnings and limits for national and international public interventions in support of trade finance markets in times of crisis How effective were the public and private sector mechanisms put in place during the crisis to support trade and trade finance And to what extent have the new banking regulations under Basel II and Basel III exacerbated the trade finance shortfall during the crisis and in the post-crisis environment, respectively The book offers insights for policy makers in developed and developing countries and international organizations on the challenges confronting trade finance in times of crisis, especially in low-income countries and for small-and-medium size traders. Trade Finance during the Great Trade Collapse: Role, Response, and Results is the product of a fruitful collaboration during the crisis and includes mainly original contributions from the World Bank Group, international financial partners, private banks, and academia.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Economists have repeatedly warned against them, NGOs have fought them, and some governments have begrudgingly (at least in appearance) signed them. Yet, in the last twenty years the growth in number of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) has been unabated. Even more strikingly, their scope has broadened while their number was increasing. Deep integration provisions in PTAs have now become ubiquitous. Gaining market access or preserving existing preferences has remained an important motivation for acceding to PTAs. But with the liberalization of trade around the world and the related diminishing size of preferential rents, the growing success of PTAs cannot be only explained by traditional market access motives (even factoring for the possible substitution of tariff for other less transparent forms of protection). Countries are looking beyond market access in PTAs. They are interested in a host of objectives, including importing higher policy standards, strengthening regional policy coordination, locking-in domestic reforms, and even addressing foreign policy issues. This handbook on PTA policies for development offers an introduction into the world of modern preferential trade agreements. It goes beyond the traditional paradigm of trade creation versus trade diversion to address the economic and legal aspects of the regulatory policies that are contained in today's PTAs. The book maps the landscape of PTAs, summarizes the theoretical arguments, political economy, and development dimensions of PTAs, and presents the current practice in the main policy areas typically covered in PTAs (from agriculture policy, rules of origin, customs unions, trade remedies, product standards, technical barriers, to behind the border issues related to investment, trade facilitation, competition, government procurement, intellectual property, labor rights, human rights, environment, migration, and dispute resolution). These are also usually the policies driven by powerful trading blocs as they strive to influence the evolution of the global trading system.