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  • 2010-2014  (3,126)
  • 2005-2009  (1,439)
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  • Washington, D.C : The World Bank  (4,584)
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  • 1
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Other papers
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, seeks to promote private sector led growth in order to support job creation and inclusive growth. In this context, an important priority of IFC in Lebanon is to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In Lebanon, SMEs represent 97 percent of the total formal enterprises, employ more than 51 percent of the working population, and are mostly family-owned. Supporting Lebanese SMEs is therefore an important mechanism for increasing employment opportunities, and improved access to finance for SMEs is an essential factor allowing SMEs to grow. As part of its activities in Lebanon, IFC partners with local banks and other financial institutions to (i) broaden their networks and facilitate greater outreach to SMEs; and (ii) offer innovative products that expand financing options for SMEs. Fransabank and IFC have had a long-standing relationship dating back to the 1990s. In 2007, IFC supported Fransabank under the Lebanon Rebuild Program with two facilities including a risk-sharing facility to support the bank's lending to SMEs. IFC's counter-cyclical support not only provided liquidity but also helped restore investor confidence in Lebanon and its private sector in a post-conflict situation. Measuring the impact of IFC's investment and advisory activities can be complex. With the idea of quantifying job creation through financial markets investments in Lebanon, IFC and Fransabank have undertaken this in-depth study. The key objectives of the study are: (i) to measure the job impact on SMEs from increased access to finance; and (ii) to understand the broader development outcomes facilitated by engagements in the financial sector. The results are based on a survey implemented in March 2013, which sampled 73 companies that received loans from Fransabank during 2008 and 2011. The enterprises ranged from very small to medium firms in the service, agribusiness, and manufacturing sectors across the five regions of Lebanon. While it is difficult to draw any definitive conclusions from these findings, the results validate that SMEs are vital and have the potential to contribute significantly to job creation. The findings should also encourage financial institutions like Fransabank to continue supporting SMEs through financing and other services to promote sustained job growth in Lebanon
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  • 2
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Other papers
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: This report addresses the insolvency of natural persons following this structure: a first part introduces the objectives and nature of the report, deals with general issues, and describes the foundations of a system for the treatment of the insolvency of natural persons. The second part of the report analyzes the core legal attributes of system for the treatment of the insolvency of natural persons: within this system, the most relevant questions are analyzed in depth, namely the design of the system and the institutional framework, access to the system, the participation of creditors, the solutions to the insolvency process, and discharge. The main objective of this report is to provide guidance on the characteristics of an effective insolvency regime for natural persons and on the opportunities and challenges encountered in the development of such a regime. In this regard, the report raises awareness about the importance of a regime for the treatment of the insolvency of natural persons, and explores the advantages and disadvantages of the solutions to the numerous practical issues that have to be confronted in the design of an insolvency regime for natural persons
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  • 3
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Education Sector Review
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: The scope and pace of education reforms in Georgia over the last decade are unique in the region but have not yet yielded the expected improvements in the quality of education. In particular, reforms of financing and governance of educational institutions, that other countries have been grappling with for years, have been implemented. The key reforms included: (i) the decentralization of the management; (ii) the adoption of a per-student financing mechanism at all levels of education; (iii) the creation, under the umbrella of the ministry of education and science, of new public legal entities responsible for ensuring the quality of reforms; (iv) the adoption of new standards and outcome-based national curricula in general education along with the development of new textbooks; and (v) the design of a new national assessment and examination system. The government has set a clear vision for the future of the education sector as a tool for human capital development to support economic growth. To achieve the new vision for the sector s development, the government needs to address the remaining challenges both at the system and sub-sector level. The analysis presented in this report reveals that the major challenge across all levels of education in Georgia is improving quality and, more specifically, improving student outcomes. The document presents comparative analysis and brings in relevant examples from other countries and country comparisons for that purpose
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  • 4
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Other papers
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: This paper provides an account of the Emerging Markets Corporate Governance Research Network (EMCGN) and its first 10 years of activities. The network was established under the auspices of the Global Corporate Governance Forum (now incorporated into IFC's Corporate Governance Group). The paper describes the history of the EMCGN and its objective (to stimulate research focused on corporate governance in emerging markets as well as transition and developing countries); its structure, which is a joint undertaking of corporate governance research centers and internationally recognized scholars, with IFC Corporate Governance acting as its catalyst; and its modalities: organizing workshops, holding biennial conferences, and disseminating and communicating research. The paper reviews the quantity and quality of EMCGN's output, based on objective research rankings, and its effects on countries in capacity building and policy changes and development, based on the experiences of participants and policymakers exposed to its work. Analysis of publication data shows that EMCGN has been successful in encouraging research on corporate governance in emerging markets in most areas of research identified as critical at the Network's inception and through its interactions with practitioners and policymakers. EMCGN also has been successful in stimulating collaborative research and facilitating dialogue between scholars and the larger corporate governance community. Its impact on policy and practice development, inherently difficult to pinpoint, seems to have been most effective when channeled through efforts of local corporate governance associations with professional members to influence relevant policymakers and when actively using media to communicate the need for key reforms
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  • 5
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Other papers
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: Capital markets have been a source of funding for green investments for a number of years, but until recently, financing was predominantly from equity. Private equity, venture capital, and government funding were the most accessible sources of capital when green technologies such as solar and wind were in early stages of development. More recently, as these technologies have been tested, proven, and refined, funders have naturally progressed along the capital structure towards public equity and debt financing to support growth and scale. At the same time, leading financial institutions have provided impetus for expanded green investing. International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Kellogg School of Management have collaborated to author this paper which attempts to cover the bounty of credit tools available for harvesting by issuers and sponsors, with the aim of attracting new investments to green industry. This paper is the first in a series to proffer avenues to enhance the financial environment towards addressing this gap. This paper presents a brief overview of efforts that can circumvent these barriers by introducing a mix of innovative products to attract different kinds of fixed income investors and draw more private capital into funding green technologies
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  • 6
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Economic Updates and Modeling
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: This regular economic report records the economic activities of Azerbaijan for the year 2013-2014. Economic growth continued to be powered by spending of previously accumulated oil-related proceeds, although the stabilization of oil production also helped. The non-oil sector grew by 10 percent in 2013, essentially aided by public investment. In addition, efforts aimed at stabilizing oil production bore fruit and resulted in an increase of 0.9 percent in oil output. The fiscal surplus narrowed to 1.8 percent of GDP in 2013 because of lower oil revenues and sustained expenditures, and the non-oil fiscal deficit continues to be high. The 2014 budget signals fiscal consolidation, essentially through lower public investments, a step in the right direction. With the announcement of 2014 as the Year of Industry, the authorities intend to prioritize adoption of the competition code, establishment of special economic zones and techno parks, winemaking, and other agricultural products. A modest increase in public expenditures on health and education in 2014 adds to the concerns that the government's efforts at diversification might not be focused on strengthening its asset base
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  • 7
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Other papers
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: The ambition to reach full global financial inclusion requires that we address the challenge of delivering appropriate and affordable financial services to an estimated 2.5 billion unbanked individuals globally. One response to this challenge has involved the design of products such as microloans, low balance savings accounts, micro-insurance, and mobile money transfer that are specifically tailored to meet the needs of the often excluded low-income mass market. Delivering these products and services on a large scale, however, cannot be achieved without accessible channels that lower the cost of service and increase reach. Alternative delivery channels (ADC), defined as those channels that expand the reach of services beyond the traditional bank branch channel, have emerged as a result of innovations in information and communication technology and a shift in consumer expectations. This handbook serves as a tool for Financial Services Providers (FSPs) to increase the technical understanding of ADC platforms and to provide practical guidance on how to approach an ADC technology project. The handbook is structured as follows: 1) Chapter one provides an overview of ADCs and the technologies that underpin them; 2) Chapter two offers guidelines to develop a channel strategy, taking into account the internal and external factors that impact strategy decisions; 3) Chapter three outlines the different components of a technology platform, aiming to provide guidance on how the channel strategy can be mapped to a specific technology platform; 4) Chapter four highlights the importance of identifying requirements and outlines the steps involved in selecting the right provider and solution; and 5) Chapter five introduces a best-practice implementation methodology and key considerations for a successful implementation. In addition, the chapter discusses how a channel should be monitored, maintained and scaled up after going live
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  • 8
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Accounting and Auditing Assessment
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: The auditing profession in Chad is characterized by the existence of numerous practitioners who provide accounting and auditing services illegally, in violation of community regulations, and whose qualifications often do not meet the international standards. To date, Chad has not yet set up a national association of chartered accountants. One of the most pressing areas in transposing community texts relates to the establishment of a national association of chartered accountants, whose existence is essential for the development and practice of the accountancy profession in Chad. It is also important for consolidating accounting and auditing processes, improving the quality of financial reporting, facilitating access to credit and supporting foreign direct investors, as well as improving the competitiveness of national businesses. With regard to the accounting standards, the Uniform Act (UA) organizing and harmonizing accounting systems for businesses, as well as the accounting chart of accounts and the provisions put in place by the Commission Bancaire d'Afrique Centrale (COBAC) and the Conference Interafricaine des Marches d'Assurances (CIMA) code, there has been very little change since their entry into force towards the end of the 1990s. This is due to shortcomings in the functioning of the regional bodies in charge of ensuring that these texts were updated in line with changes in the accounting, economic, and legal fields. Looking ahead, the major areas of focus in seeking to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework governing accountancy and auditing professions in Chad are the following: (i) the reclassification of CEMAC licensed accounting technicians in Chad in the category of public accountants, in accordance with community regulations, (ii) the establishment of a national association of chartered accountants, (iii) the proper functioning of the national accounting standards commission, (iv) the adoption of auditing professional standards and a code of ethics in line with those established by International Federation of Accountants, or IFAC independent standard-setting board, (v) the strengthening of initial training through the improvement of the quality of the national curriculum and by drafting a continuous professional training plan, and (iv) the capacity building of the Court of Accounts to enable it implement INTOSAI auditing standards in order to ensure proper supervision of public enterprises
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  • 9
    ISBN: 9781464803185
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (55 p)
    Series Statement: Latin American and Caribbean Semiannual Report
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: As usual in this series, Chapter 1 reviews the configuration of global risks and assesses the outstanding short term opportunities and challenges facing the LAC region. A special focus is placed this time around on the difference between exposure and vulnerability to exogenous shocks, with the latter assessed by adjusting exposure for a country’s shock absorption policy capacity. Given the global context and associated concerns with capital flow volatility, in Chapter 2 we take a look at the comparatively more stable components of international flows: FDI and Remittances. The cyclicality and volatility, as well as the joint determinants of FDI and Remittances are reviewed
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  • 10
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (140 p)
    Series Statement: State and Trends of Carbon Pricing
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: The report is a one stop shop for learning about key developments and prospects of existing and emerging carbon initiatives. A challenging international carbon market has not stopped the development of domestic carbon pricing initiatives. Today, about 40 national and over 20 sub-national jurisdictions responsible for almost one fourth of global greenhouse gas emissions are putting a price on carbon. Together, these initiatives cover the equivalent of almost 6 gigatons of carbon dioxide, or about 12% of global emissions
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  • 11
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (74 p)
    Series Statement: South Asia Economic Focus
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: Gradual removal of stimulus policies continues as developed economies follow their expected path of slow but sustained recovery. After suffering from international portfolio rebalancing triggered by gradual removal of quantitative easing in the US announced in May 2013, India in particular and South Asia more broadly have managed to reduce external vulnerability. However, growth across the region continues to falter while formidable domestic challenges remain to be tackled. The overall short and medium term outlook for South Asia remains cautiously positive. External vulnerabilities are gradually giving way to domestic downside risks as primary concern for growth and macroeconomic stability. Hence, as previous regional economic updates have argued, any positive development in growth will depend on progress isolating domestic threats to and building buffers for macroeconomic stability, strengthening the investment climate, and removing infrastructure bottlenecks. Over the short and medium run, the economic fortunes of South Asian economies will depend in part on financial sector developments. In the short term the key question is how further monetary contraction in the US will affect them. Over the medium run it will be crucial to achieve more robust and efficient financial intermediation to ensure greater resilience to shocks and that resources are allocated to fund major remaining infrastructure gaps. This edition’s focus section attempts to answer the first question and sheds light on risks in the South Asian banking sector
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  • 12
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (54 p)
    Series Statement: Middle East and North Africa Economic Monitor
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: The economic outlook for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in 2015 is slightly more favorable than in 2013-14, when the region as a whole grew at 3 percent a year. The World Bank group’s latest MENA Economic Monitor projects MENA’s economic growth to average 5.2 percent in 2015 driven by domestic consumption, easing political tensions crowding-in investments in Egypt and Tunisia, and full resumption of oil production in Libya. However the violent conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Gaza, Yemen and Libya with their spillovers to Lebanon and Jordan could make MENA’s economic prospects bleak. The report has a special focus on the corrosive nature of the large energy subsidies in MENA. The MENA region is currently experiencing growth below potential, high unemployment, urban air pollution and congestion, and severe water scarcity that is undermining agriculture. The report shows how energy subsidies have contributed to these development challenges. Reforming these subsidies, therefore, should be one of the highest priorities of policymakers
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  • 13
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (144 p)
    Series Statement: Global Economic Prospects
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: The global economy got off to a bumpy start this year, but growth in 2015 and 2016 looks to be broadly on track. Projections for developing countries in 2014 have been down downgraded by 0.5 percentage points to 4.8 percent mainly reflecting weak first quarter growth in the US due to weather and the conflict in Ukraine. Going forward growth is projected to firm to 5.3 and 5.5 percent in 2015 and 2016 supported by easy global financial conditions and rebounding exports as high-income countries continue to recover under the influence of a reduced drag from fiscal consolidation and improving labor markets. Financial conditions will eventually tighten, and when they do there is risk of further volatility. Most developing countries are in good fiscal and financial shape, but where vulnerabilities remain countries need to tighten policy to reduce the potential impact of external shocks. Overall, growth for developing countries will be solid but not strong enough to generate the income and employment gains needed to eliminate poverty by 2013. As a result, countries need to focus on structural reform in order to lift growth in and enduring and sustainable manner
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  • 14
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (158 p)
    Series Statement: Global Economic Prospects
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: High-income economies appear to be finally turning the corner, contributing to a projected acceleration in global growth from 2.4 percent in 2013 to 3.2 percent this year, 3.4 percent in 2015, and 3.5 percent in 2016. Overall, growth in developing countries is projected to pick up modestly from 4.8 percent in 2013 to 5.3 percent this year, 5.5 percent in 2015, and 5.7 percent in 2016. In the baseline, the withdrawal of quantitative easing (and its effect on the long end of U.S. interest rates) is assumed to follow a relatively slow orderly trajectory. If, however, the taper is met with an abrupt market adjustment, capital inflows could weaken sharply—placing renewed stress on vulnerable developing economies. In a scenario where long-term interest rates rise rapidly by 100 basis points, capital inflows could decline by as much as 50 percent for several quarters
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  • 15
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (174 p)
    Series Statement: World Bank East Asia and Pacific Economic Update
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: Developing countries in the East Asia Pacific region will see stable economic growth this year, bolstered by a recovery in high-income economies and the market’s modest response so far to the Federal Reserve’s tapering of its quantitative easing, according to the East Asia Pacific Economic Update. Developing East Asia will grow by 7.1 percent this year, largely unchanged from 2013, the report says. As a result, East Asia remains the fastest growing region in the world, despite a slowdown from the average growth rate of 8.0 percent from 2009 to 2013. In China, growth will ease slightly, to 7.6 percent this year from 7.7 percent in 2013. Excluding China, the developing countries in the region will grow by 5.0 percent, slightly down from 5.2 percent last year
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  • 16
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (49 p)
    Series Statement: Africa's Pulse
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: Africa’s Pulse is a biannual publication containing an analysis of the near-term macro-economic outlook for the region. It also includes a section focusing on a topic that represents a particular development challenges for the continent. It is produced by the Office of the Chief Economist for the Africa Region.This issue is an analysis of issues shaping Africa's economic future. Growth remains stable in Sub-Saharan Africa. Some countries are seeing a slowdown, but the region's economic prospects remain broadly favorable. External risks of higher global financial market volatility and lower growth in emerging market economies weigh on the downside. In several Sub-Saharan African countries, large budgetary imbalances are a source of vulnerability to exogenous shocks and underscore the need for rebuilding fiscal buffers in these countries. The Ebola outbreak is exacting a heavy human and economic toll on affected countries and, if not rapidly contained, the risk of wider contagion grows. Without a scale-up of effective interventions, growth would slow markedly not only in the core countries (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone), but also in the sub region as transportation, cross-border trade, and supply chains are severely disrupted. In Sub-Saharan Africa, growth in agriculture and services is more effective at reducing poverty than growth in industry. Structural transformation has a role to play in accelerating poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa. Increasing agricultural productivity will be critical to fostering structural transformation. Boosting rural income diversification can facilitate this transformation, as well. Investments in rural public goods and services (for example, education, health, rural roads, electricity and ICT), including in small towns, will be conducive to lifting productivity in the rural economy. Although Sub-Saharan Africa's pattern of growth has largely bypassed manufacturing, growing the region's manufacturing base, especially by improving its fundamentals, lower transport cost, cheaper and more reliable power, and a more educated labor force, will benefit all sectors
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  • 17
    ISBN: 9780821389065
    Language: Spanish
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (450 p)
    Series Statement: Latin American Development Forum
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: This book is available directly from the publisher: Edicioners Gondo Maese Nicolas 9, 45224 Sesena, Toledo http://www.edicionesgondo.com
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  • 18
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Other Urban Study
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: Since 2004 Ethiopia has e ...
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  • 19
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Economic Updates and Modeling
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: This regular economic report records the economic activities of Armenia for the year 2013-2014. A decline in construction contributed to a significant weakening of economic growth in Armenia in 2013. The decline of the construction sector offset a dynamic expansion of industry, agriculture and services. The volume of merchandise exports rose by 7.2 percent, and net remittances exceeded 1.5 billion US dollars, a 15-percent increase over 2012. For a third year in a row, the execution of public capital spending was lower than budgeted. Tax revenues were in line with the budget because of improved tax administration, policy measures that expanded the tax base, and a one-off license fee paid by the fourth mobile phone operator. Armenia needs to further improve the business environment and competitiveness, and facilitate FDI and exports to create well-paying jobs. Some employees objected to the introduction of the new, funded pension system, and opposition parties appealed against some legal provisions in court. The government's medium-term reform agenda, supported by the ongoing Development Policy Operation supported by the World Bank reflects the priorities. It includes critical reforms to the business climate and public administration aimed at strengthening competitiveness and increasing public sector efficiency. These reforms are expected to create jobs by reducing the costs of doing business for firms, expanding access to credit to Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and increasing opportunities for employment and job creation through increased trade and connectivity. The public administration reforms, which aim to strengthen resource management and policy formulation, will also facilitate more inclusive access to services as a result of more efficient use of resources and a sounder policy formulation framework. The government plans to call a Consultative Group Meeting to seek donors' support for upgrading the country's competitiveness and addressing the country's job creation agenda
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  • 20
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Accounting and Auditing Assessment
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: This assessment of accounting and auditing practices in Slovenia is part of a joint initiative of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to prepare Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC). The assessment focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the accounting and auditing environment that influence the quality of corporate financial reporting and includes a review of both mandatory requirements and actual practice. This is the second A&A ROSC for Slovenia and based on information collected in 2013, early 2014. The first one was published in 2004. As the requirements of the EU acquis communautaire and international standards have already been adopted in the financial sector this assessment focuses on the proper application of these requirements, with the view that improved financial information raises the capacity of regulators to maintain financial stability, and improve the level of trust in the financial system, in the context of an ongoing recapitalization exercise. In the State Owned Enterprises, or SOEs, the report focuses on the requirements applicable to them and how well these are enforced, as well as to what extent the government uses the financial reporting and audit process to monitor SOEs and hold their management teams accountable. This report also considers SMEs financial reporting, including how current requirements compare with the latest revisions to the EU Accounting Directive, which further simplified requirements for smaller companies. Finally, audit oversight and quality assurance systems are assessed, including the feasibility of incorporating the audit oversight body as part of the financial sector supervisor
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  • 21
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Water and Sanitation Program
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: This study explores the potential of prepaid meters for serving urban poor communities. It provides urban utilities, oversight agencies, and other stakeholders in Africa with a basis for decision-making on the suitability, introduction, and management of such meters. The need for the assessment emerged from prepaid meters increasingly being utilized by water and sanitation utilities in developing countries, including World Bank clients. The technologies adopted have expanded over this period, but there has been a lack of consolidated data and analysis that capture the service delivery, operational efficiency, and access to services aspects of such systems across utilities and regions systematically. The review initially aimed to research experiences in six African countries from the perspective of their communities, as well as from water sector bodies, governments, and other investors. The number of case studies was increased to eight with the addition of Windhoek in Namibia and Nakuru in Kenya, as it became apparent that they may offer additional lessons. Windhoek, for example, is one of the prepaid water pioneers in Africa. The study specifically canvased the perspectives of customers, including market research and opinion surveys on people s experience and views of prepaid water in practice. Women and children were well represented in many of these groups. The analysis aimed to be robustly investigative, deliberately not advocating for prepaid systems in principle, or making firm recommendations, but rather offering balanced analysis and assessment, and considerations to inform policymakers and sector leaders, as well as other stakeholders who may face decisions or challenges on such systems. One of the key conceptual bases that the analysis identified was the need to differentiate between prepaid applications of prepaid system for standpipes, individual connections, and institutional and commercial customers each of which have different implications for their users, as well as for cost effectiveness. Utilities must be able to justify the investment in a prepayment system and its opportunity costs specific to the application they choose, and relative to alternative means of improving services
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  • 22
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Other papers
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. The Indonesia Corporate Governance Manual (CG Manual) was commissioned by IFC as part of the Indonesia Corporate Governance Program that IFC is implementing in Indonesia since 2012. As part of this Program, IFC has established a formal cooperation with Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK). A key product of this cooperation between IFC and OJK is the development of this Indonesia Corporate Governance Manual, which serves as a learning instrument to benchmark existing standards and practices in Indonesia with internationally recognized best practices. In this respect, this Corporate Governance Manual should be considered as a major tool for Corporate Governance in Indonesia as it targets a wide spectrum of stakeholders, such as directors and commissioners, academics, policymakers, corporate governance experts and more generally, individuals and institutions interested to know about the corporate governance framework in Indonesia. IFC is happy to be part of this initiative with OJK and remains committed to helping raise governance standards across the market and contribute to a sustainable private sector in Indonesia. The Fifteen chapters of the Manual focus on the key corporate governance issues. All issues are closely examined through Indonesian law and regulations and when applicable, internationally recognized best practices. While it is recommended to read the entire Manual to gain a full understanding of the corporate governance framework in Indonesia, it is not necessary to read all the chapters in chronological order. The reader is encouraged to begin with a topic of interest and follow the links and references included in the text for guidance to other chapters. Examples, illustrations, and checklists are included to make the Manual clear and useful
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  • 23
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (11 p)
    Series Statement: Middle East and North Africa Quarterly Economic Brief
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: While the focus has been on the recent change in government in Egypt, five countries in the Middle East and North Africa Region, including Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan and Iran are facing a growth slowdown, rising fiscal deficits and debt, and high unemployment and inflation. Continued political turmoil in Egypt and spillovers from the civil war in Syria to Jordan and Lebanon threaten to make their economic situation worse. While easing political tensions in Tunisia and post-election improvements in Iran’s international relations may help these countries, the overall macroeconomic outlook in all five countries for the rest of 2013 is grim
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  • 24
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (20 p)
    Series Statement: Middle East and North Africa Quarterly Economic Brief
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: Ongoing regional tensions, together with a challenging (albeit slightly improving) external environment, have hit the economies of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region hard. Economic growth is slowing, fiscal buffers are depleting, unemployment is rising, and inflation is mounting in seven of the region’s most vulnerable economies-- Egypt, Tunisia, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen and Libya. Short-term policy actions such as increasing public sector wages and subsidies—aimed at reducing social tensions--exacerbate the situation, which is driven by long-standing structural weaknesses, including labor market rigidities, complicated and opaque regulations, infrastructure deficiencies, regressive and inefficient subsidies, and inadequate social safety nets. While these countries face an unstable political and macroeconomic environment, the growth slowdown after the Arab Spring creates a unique opportunity to address these structural problems to both create fiscal space and restructure the economy towards job creation and inclusive growth
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  • 25
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Other Financial Accountability Study
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Abstract: This technical note is intended to assist policymakers and regulators seeking to establish a financial consumer protection supervision department (FCPSD) within the main financial regulatory body of a country. Concrete, practical information and lessons are drawn from the experiences of five countries: Armenia, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Peru, and Portugal - all of which have been operating a successful FCPSD for at least five years. The note covers the key aspects of the design process: supervisory agenda, organizational structure, supervisory activities, relationship with prudential supervision, and staffing needs. While there is no unified, orderly approach to establishing an FCPSD, many useful observations can be made from the common obstacles, including a lack of internal support, perceived conflicts of interest with prudential supervision, capacity constraints, and the inherent difficulties of starting up operations for the new (and potentially very broad) topic of financial consumer protection. How an FCPSD is established is highly dependent on country context: legal framework for the financial sector, organization of the main financial regulator, political priorities, current stage of development of financial markets, major consumer protection concerns, and other important factors. A comparative table summarizing the main elements in the establishment of FCPSDs in case study countries can be found in annex A
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  • 26
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (32 p)
    Series Statement: Middle East and North Africa Quarterly Economic Brief
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: This issue of the Quarterly Economic Brief looks at the actual growth performance of these countries and highlights the limitations of forecasting in the wake of the 2011 uprisings, at the consequences of the growth slowdown, including unemployment, where perceptions may diverge from reality. The story is told in fourteen charts
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  • 27
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (28 p)
    Series Statement: Middle East and North Africa Economic Monitor
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: Compared with the previous three years, 2014 seems hopeful and 2015 could be a turning point for the countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Many countries in MENA will start to benefit from stronger external demand in the high-income economies, as the global economy is set for a rebound in 2014. In the MENA region, higher global demand is expected to boost exports of energy and manufactured products in those countries that have trade linkages with high- income countries. Growth in MENA is expected to reach 3.3 percent in 2014 and further accelerate to 4.6 percent in 2015. Nevertheless, the prospects for growth in MENA could be threatened if long awaited structural problems remain unresolved
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  • 28
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (102 p)
    Series Statement: Middle East and North Africa Data Book
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: The MENA Little Data Book is a product of the Chief Economist Office for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region of the World Bank. The Little Data Book is based on World Development Indicators (WDI) and other sources as noted in the tables. This Book includes indicators covering macroeconomic, social and external sector for MENA and other comparator regions
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  • 29
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (186 p)
    Series Statement: World Bank East Asia and Pacific Economic Update
    Series Statement: World Bank E-Library Archive
    Parallel Title: Erscheint auch als
    Abstract: In China, growth will gradually moderate, reflecting intensified policy efforts to address financial vulnerabilities and structural constraints, and place the economy on a more sustainable growth path. In the rest of the region, growth will pick up, as exports firm in line with strengthening global activity, and the impact of domestic adjustment in large ASEAN countries eases. Significant uncertainties remain about the sustainability of the global recovery, and global financial conditions are likely to tighten. The short-term priority in several countries is to address the vulnerabilities and inefficiencies created by an extended period of loose financial conditions and fiscal stimulus. In China, the authorities need to strike a balance between containing growing risks from rising leverage and meeting the indicative growth targets. Over the longer term, the focus in most countries must be on structural reforms to enhance export competitiveness. The report’s special section focuses on education & skills development; international migration; and the policy priorities for the Pacific Island Countries
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  • 30
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource
    Series Statement: Independent Evaluation Group Studies
    Abstract: The World Bank Group's fo ...
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  • 31
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, DC : World Bank Group | Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    ISBN: 9781464804229
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (106 p)
    Edition: World Bank eLibrary
    RVK:
    Keywords: Westafrika ; Ebola-Virus ; Auswirkung ; Wirtschaft
    Abstract: Beyond its terrible toll in human lives and suffering, the Ebola epidemic has inflicted a measurable economic impact on West Africa in terms of forgone output, higher fiscal deficits, rising prices, lower real household incomes, and greater poverty. This impact results partly from the health-care costs and forgone productivity associated with being infected, but it is driven principally by the efforts of the uninfected population to avoid exposure ('aversion behavior'). The Economic Impact of the 2014 Ebola Epidemic: Short- and Medium-Term Estimates for West Africa provides a mixed methods analysis of the economic impact, combining theory on the channels of economic impact of the epidemic, economic indicators across sectors in the affected countries, and models of how these economies interact with each other and with the broader world. The result is a quantification of the potential overall magnitude of the economic impact for Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, as well as for West Africa as a whole. Ebola's short-term economic impact (2014) in the three core countries is on the order of US
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  • 32
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    ISBN: 9781464802225
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    DDC: 352.2/66
    Keywords: Corporate governance ; Government business enterprises ; Government ownership ; Corporate governance ; Government business enterprises ; Government ownership ; Corporate governance ; Government business enterprises ; Government ownership
    Note: Includes bibliographical references and index
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  • 33
    ISBN: 9781464801907 , 9781464801976
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (xxvi, 295 pages) , illustrations, maps , 23 cm
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Series Statement: Africa development forum series
    DDC: 338.47916
    RVK:
    Keywords: Economic development ; Economic development Case studies ; Tourism ; Tourism Case studies ; Economic development ; Economic development Case studies ; Tourism ; Tourism Case studies ; Economic development ; Economic development ; Tourism ; Tourism
    Note: Includes bibliographical references and index
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  • 34
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (49 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Nose, Manabu Triggers of Contract Breach
    Abstract: This paper constructs a large contract-level data set to examine factors that trigger breach of foreign investment contracts. Similar to the case of outright expropriation, political regime type is an important determinant of breach of contract. Furthermore, although investors' bargaining power becomes obsolete as contracts mature, contracts can be designed to mitigate the risk of breach of contract by involving multilateral organizations and creating buffers to absorb commodity price shocks. The paper examines the type of countries prone to contract breaches. After controlling for regional and sector fixed effects, less-democratic and resource-dependent governments are more likely to breach contracts, especially after large global shocks, notably natural disasters
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  • 35
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (27 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Yoshida, Nobuo Is Extreme Poverty Going to End?
    Abstract: The World Bank has recently adopted a target of reducing the proportion of population living below US
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  • 36
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (27 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Cadot, Olivier Evaluating Aid for Trade
    Abstract: The demand for accountability in aid-for-trade is increasing but monitoring has focused on case studies and impressionistic narratives. The paper reviews recent evidence from a wide range of studies, recognizing that a multiplicity of approaches is needed to learn what works and what does not. The review concludes that there is some support for the emphasis on reducing trade costs through investments in hard infrastructure (like ports and roads) and soft infrastructure (like customs). But failure to implement complementary reform-especially the introduction of competition in transport services-may erode the benefits of these investments. Direct support to exporters does seem to lead to diversification across products and destinations, but it is not yet clear that these benefits are durable. In general, it is difficult to rely on cross-country studies to direct aid-for-trade. More rigorous impact evaluation is an underutilized alternative, but situations of clinical interventions in trade are rare and adverse incentives (because of agency problems) and costs (because of the small size of project) are a hurdle in implementation
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  • 37
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (29 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Cebeci, Tolga Impact of Export Destinations on Firm Performance
    Abstract: This paper evaluates the role of export destinations on productivity, employment, and wages of Turkish firms by comparing the performance of firms that export to low-income destinations and high-income destinations with firms that do not export. A combination of propensity score matching and difference-in-differences methods are employed on a rich set of firm observables, including sector, region, employment, total factor productivity (TFP), capital intensity, wages, support from government, ownership, and the research and development intensity of firms. Four sets of findings emerge from the analysis: i) Export entry has a positive causal effect on firm TFP and employment and this effect is strengthened as a firm continues to export. ii) In contrast, export entry has a moderate wage effect that emerges only with a lag. iii) Unlike exporting to high-income destinations, exporting to low-income destinations does not result in significantly higher firm TFP and wages. iv) The employment effect of exporting to low-income destinations is comparable to that of exporting to high-income destinations
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  • 38
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (43 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Maimbo, Samuel Munzele Financial Sector Policy in Practice
    Abstract: Policy makers use financial sector strategies to formulate a holistic policy for their national financial sectors. This paper examines and rates financial sector strategies around the world based on how well they formulate development targets, arrangements for systemic risk management, and implementation plans. The strategies are also rated on whether they consider policy trade-offs between financial development and systemic risk management. The rated strategies are then benchmarked against a wide range of country characteristics. The analysis finds that the scope and quality of national strategies for the financial sector are influenced by the country's type of legal system, its level of income and macroeconomic stability, the existing financial depth and inclusion, the share of foreign ownership in the national financial sector, and the experience of past financial crises. Giving due consideration to policy trade-offs, particularly between financial development and systemic risk management, remains the weakest part of these strategies. Countries with civil- and religious-based law and those with a higher share of foreign ownership in their financial system address the policy trade-offs more often
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  • 39
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (42 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Martins, Pedro Structural Change in Ethiopia
    Abstract: This paper investigates whether the Ethiopian economy is undergoing a virtuous process of structural change. In particular, it assesses the relative contributions of within-sector and between-sector productivity to output per capita growth. Based on data disaggregated into eight sectors for the period 1996-2011, the analysis suggests that the structure of output has changed considerably-predominantly from agriculture to services-but changes in the composition of employment have lagged behind. Labor productivity growth has been strong across most sectors, albeit mainly driven by within-sector productivity improvements. Nonetheless, the pace of structural change is accelerating and its relative contribution to output growth is increasing
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  • 40
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (36 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: de Walque, Damien Coping with Risk
    Abstract: Transactional sex is believed to be an important risk-coping mechanism for women in Sub-Saharan Africa and a leading contributor to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This paper uses data from a panel of women in rural Tanzania whose primary occupation is agriculture. The analysis finds that following a negative shock (such as food insecurity), unmarried women are about three times more likely to have been paid for sex. Regardless of marital status, after a shock women have more unprotected sex and are 36 percent more likely to have a sexually transmitted infection. These empirical findings support the claims that transactional sex is not confined to commercial sex workers and that frequently experienced shocks, such as food insecurity, may lead women to engage in transactional sex as a risk-coping behavior
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  • 41
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (50 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Badev, Anton Housing Finance across Countries
    Abstract: This paper presents new data on the depth and penetration of mortgage markets across countries. There is a large variation across both dimensions of mortgage market development, across countries, but also-in terms of depth-within countries. Mortgage markets seem to develop only at relatively high levels of gross domestic product per capita. Policies associated with financial system development are also associated with mortgage market development, including price stability and the efficiency of contractual and information frameworks. The development of the insurance sector and the stock market, sources of long-term funding, is strongly associated with mortgage market development, while government subsidies and support are not. A benchmarking exercise compares the actual values of mortgage market development to values predicted by structural country factors and shows a large variation across countries and over time in the gap between predicted and actual values, related to specific policies but also mortgage boom and bust cycles
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  • 42
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (38 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Agénor, Pierre-Richard Access to Finance, Product Innovation and Middle-Income Traps
    Abstract: This paper studies interactions between access to finance, product innovation, and labor supply in a two-period overlapping generations model with an endogenous skill distribution and credit market frictions. In the model lack of access to finance (induced by high monitoring costs) has an adverse effect on innovation activity not only directly but also indirectly, because too few individuals may choose to invest in skills. If monitoring costs fall with the number of successful projects, multiple equilibria may emerge, one of which, a middle-income trap, characterized by low wages in the design sector, a low share of the labor force engaged in innovation activity, and low growth. A sufficiently ambitious policy aimed at alleviating constraints on access to finance by innovators may allow a country to move away from such a trap by promoting the production of ideas and improving incentives to invest in skills
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  • 43
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (30 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Ali, Daniel Ayalew Credit Constraints, Agricultural Productivity, and Rural Nonfarm Participation
    Abstract: Although the potentially negative impacts of credit constraints on economic development have long been discussed conceptually, empirical evidence for Africa remains limited. This study uses a direct elicitation approach for a national sample of Rwandan rural households to assess empirically the extent and nature of credit rationing in the semi-formal sector and its impact using an endogenous sample separation between credit-constrained and unconstrained households. Being credit constrained reduces the likelihood of participating in off-farm self-employment activities by about 6.3 percent while making participation in low-return farm wage labor more likely. Even within agriculture, elimination of all types of credit constraints in the semi-formal sector could increase output by some 17 percent. Two suggestions for policy emerge from the findings. First, the estimates suggest that access to information (education, listening to the radio, and membership in a farm cooperative) has a major impact on reducing the incidence of credit constraints in the semi-formal credit sector. Expanding access to information in rural areas thus seems to be one of the most promising strategies to improve credit access in the short term. Second, making it easy to identify land owners and transfer land could also significantly reduce transaction costs associated with credit access
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  • 44
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (46 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Ali, Daniel Ayalew Is There a Farm-Size Productivity Relationship in African Agriculture?
    Abstract: Whether the negative relationship between farm size and productivity that is confirmed in a large global literature holds in Africa is of considerable policy relevance. This paper revisits this issue and examines potential causes of the inverse productivity relationship in Rwanda, where policy makers consider land fragmentation and small farm sizes to be key bottlenecks for the growth of the agricultural sector. Nationwide plot-level data from Rwanda point toward a constant returns to scale crop production function and a strong negative relationship between farm size and output per hectare as well as intensity of labor use that is robust across specifications. The inverse relationship continues to hold if profits with family labor valued at shadow wages are used, but disappears if family labor is rather valued at village-level market wage rates. These findings imply that, in Rwanda, labor market imperfections, rather than other unobserved factors, seem to be a key reason for the inverse farm-size productivity relationship
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  • 45
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (30 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Gelb, Alan Sovereign Wealth Funds and Long-Term Development Finance
    Abstract: Sovereign wealth funds represent a large and growing pool of savings. An increasing number of these funds are owned by natural resource-exporting countries and have a variety of objectives, including intergenerational equity and macroeconomic stabilization. Traditionally, these funds have invested in external assets, especially securities traded in major markets. But the persistent infrastructure financing gap in developing countries has motivated some governments to encourage their sovereign wealth funds to invest domestically. This paper proposes some basic elements of a conceptual framework to create a system of checks and balances to help ensure that the sovereign wealth funds do not undermine macroeconomic management or become a vehicle for politically driven "investments." First, the risks and opportunities of domestic investment by sovereign wealth funds are analyzed. Central issues are the relationship of sovereign wealth fund financing to the budget process and to the procurement systems of sector ministries, as well as the establishment of appropriate benchmarks and safeguards to ensure the integrity of investment decisions. The paper argues that a well-governed sovereign wealth fund, with a sound mandate and professional management and staffing, can possibly improve the quality of the public investment program. But its mandate should not duplicate that of other government institutions with investment mandates, such as the budget, the national development bank, the investment authority, and state-owned enterprises. Establishing rules on the type of investment (for example, commercial and/or quasi-commercial) and its modalities (for example, no controlling stakes, leveraging private investment) is one way to ensure separation between the activities of the sovereign wealth fund and those of other institutions. The critical issue remains that of limiting the sovereign wealth fund's investment scope to that appropriate for a wealth fund. If investments that generate quasi-market returns are permitted, the size of the home bias should be clearly stipulated and these investments should be reported separately
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  • 46
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (26 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Schady, Norbert Wealth Gradients in Early Childhood Cognitive Development in Five Latin American Countries
    Keywords: 2003-2010 ; Frühkindliche Bildung ; Bildungsertrag ; Sozialer Status ; Sprache ; Robustes Verfahren ; Lateinamerika
    Abstract: Research from the United States shows that gaps in early cognitive and noncognitive abilities appear early in the life cycle. Little is known about this important question for developing countries. This paper provides new evidence of sharp differences in cognitive development by socioeconomic status in early childhood for five Latin American countries. To help with comparability, the paper uses the same measure of receptive language ability for all five countries. It finds important differences in development in early childhood across countries, and steep socioeconomic gradients within every country. For the three countries where panel data to follow children over time exists, there are few substantive changes in scores once children enter school. These results are robust to different ways of defining socioeconomic status, to different ways of standardizing outcomes, and to selective non-response on the measure of cognitive development
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  • 47
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (48 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Lakhani, Sadaf They are Not like us
    Abstract: Negative attitudes toward groups in society are widespread and underpin systematic processes of social exclusion that marginalize people and deny them opportunities and dignity. This paper looks at the processes underlying social exclusion. It uses data covering Eastern Europe and Central Asia to study the responses to a simple hypothetical survey question about which specific groups respondents would not like to have as neighbors. Unwelcoming attitudes toward groups such as immigrants, ethnic minorities, the poor, HIV+ individuals, and others are surprisingly common. These attitudes fall into three distinct clusters: intolerance for the poor and for different lifecycle stages; intolerance toward stigmatized attributes and behaviors; and intolerance toward specific identity groups. An empirical analysis of the determinants of attitudes shows that country-specific factors are far more important than socio-economic characteristics. These findings could have important implications for theories about exclusion and for the design of appropriate social inclusion policies. The authors argue that strategies to address social exclusion need to consider ways to change social norms, attitudes, and behaviors toward disadvantaged groups. The paper explores potential entry points for change within formal and informal institutions
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  • 48
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (23 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Gutierrez, Eva Mobile Money Services Development
    Abstract: This study intends to increase understanding of how different types of mobile money services have developed in different environments. For this purpose, two countries were selected, the Republic of Korea and Uganda. From these study cases, some conclusions emerge. The development of mobile banking services can appear at different stages of financial sector development, but it requires a vibrant and competitive telecommunications sector. The regulatory environment does not need to be very sophisticated for the mobile industry to emerge. However, some elements appear to be important. The legal framework should allow (or at least not explicitly forbid) nonbank financial institutions to issue money and use banking agents or correspondents. To ensure wider use of the service by the population, it is important to educate the population on the benefits of mobile money services
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  • 49
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (40 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Cantens, Thomas Customs, Brokers, and Informal Sectors
    Abstract: Based on extensive interviews with informal importers and brokers in Cameroon, this paper explains why customs reform aimed at reducing fraud and corruption may be difficult to achieve. Informal traders and brokers (without licenses) follow various business models and practices, which are product-specific. Overall, what matters first are customs brokers' practices. Information asymmetries mark transactions between brokers and importers and are accompanied by misperceptions of the costs and risks of informal brokers working among informal importers. In a low-governance environment with widespread informal practices, blanket policies should be avoided in order to discourage activities of unprofessional and systematic bribe-taker brokers. It is also essential that customs officials disrupt information asymmetries and better disseminate information to informal importers on customs processes and official costs. Finally, customs should more strongly sanction some informal brokers in order to reduce collusion with some customs officers
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  • 50
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (22 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Yamauchi, Futoshi Wage Growth, Landholding, and Mechanization in Agriculture
    Abstract: This paper uses farm panel data from Indonesia to examine dynamic patterns of land use, capital investments, and wages in agriculture. The empirical analysis shows that an increase in real wages has induced the substitution of labor by machines among relatively large farmers. Large farmers tend to increase the scale of operation by renting in more land when real wages increase. Machines and land are complementary if the scale of operation is greater than a threshold size. In contrast, such a dynamic change was not observed among relatively small holders, which implies a divergence in the movement of the production frontier between Java and off-Java regions given that the majority of small farmers are concentrated in Java
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  • 51
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (40 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Liu, Yanyan Population Pressures, Migration, and the Returns to Human Capital and Land
    Abstract: Rapid population growth in many developing countries has raised concerns regarding food security and household welfare. To understand the consequences of population growth in a general equilibrium setting, this paper examines the dynamics of population density and its impacts on household outcomes. The analysis uses panel data from Indonesia combined with district-level demographic data. Historically, Indonesia has adapted to land constraints through a mix of agricultural intensification, expansion of the land frontier, and nonfarm diversification, with public policies playing a role in catalyzing all of these responses. In contemporary Indonesia, the paper finds that human capital determines the effect of increased population density on per capita household consumption expenditure. On the one hand, the effect of population density is positive if the average educational attainment is high (above junior high school), while it is negative otherwise. On the other hand, farmers with larger holdings maintain their advantage in farming regardless of population density. The paper concludes with some potential lessons for African countries from Indonesia's more successful rural development experiences
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  • 52
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (48 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Cordella, Tito Reserve Requirements in the Brave New Macroprudential World
    Abstract: Using a new, large data set on quarterly reserve requirements for the period 1970-2011, this paper provides new evidence on the use of reserve requirements as a countercyclical macroprudential tool in developing countries. The appeal of reserve requirements lies in the pro-cyclical behavior of the exchange rate over the business cycle in developing countries. This enormously complicates the use of interest rates as a countercyclical instrument (because of its effect on the exchange rate) and calls for a second instrument. The paper suggests that conflicts may arise between the microprudential and macroprudential policy stances
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  • 53
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (69 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Halliday, Katherine E Impact of Intermittent Screening and Treatment for Malaria among School Children in Kenya
    Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of intermittent screening and treatment of malaria on the health and education of school children in an area of low-to-moderate malaria transmission. A cluster randomized trial was implemented with 5,233 children in 101 government primary schools on the south coast of Kenya in 2010-12. The intervention was delivered to children randomly selected from classes 1 and 5 who were followed up twice across 24 months. Once during each school term, public health workers used malaria rapid diagnostic tests to screen the children. Children who tested positive were treated with a six-dose regimen of artemether-lumefantrine. Given the nature of the intervention, the trial was not blinded. The primary outcomes were anemia and sustained attention and the secondary outcomes were malaria parasitaemia and educational achievement. The data were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis. Anemia in this setting in Kenya, intermittent screening and treatment, as implemented in this study, is not effective in improving the health or education of school children. Possible reasons for the absence of an impact are the marked geographical heterogeneity in transmission, the rapid rate of reinfection following artemether-lumefantrine treatment, the variable reliability of malaria rapid diagnostic tests, and the relative contribution of malaria to the etiology of anemia in this setting
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  • 54
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (33 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Hillberry, Russell Import Dynamics and Demands for Protection
    Abstract: What kinds of changes in foreign competition lead domestic industries to seek import protection? To address this question this paper uses detailed monthly U.S. import data to investigate changes in import composition during a 24-month window immediately preceding the filing of a petition for protection. A decomposition methodology allows a comparison of imports from two groups of countries supplying the same product: those that are named in the petition and those that are not. The same decomposition can be applied to products quite similar to the imports in question, but not subject to a petition. The results suggest that industries typically seek protection when faced with a specific pattern of shocks. First, a persistent positive relative supply shock favors imports from named countries. Second, a negative demand shock hits imports from all sources just prior to domestic industries' petition for protection. The relative supply shock is a broad one; it applies both to named commodities and to the comparison product group. The import demand shock, by contrast, is narrow, hitting only named products. The latter shock is also large: import growth over the two-year window is 15 percentage points lower in named products than in reference products, with most of this gap arising in the final two quarters before the petition. The negative import demand shock appears to be a key event in the run-up to the filing of a petition. It has been missed by previous studies using more aggregated data
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  • 55
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (36 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Pratt, Richard Governance of Securities Regulators
    Abstract: This paper reviews the published work on the governance of regulatory authorities in order to identify the basic governance standards that apply and some of the factors that affect the implementation of good governance. There are four pillars of good regulatory governance: independence, accountability, transparency, and integrity. The regulator should be operationally independent from commercial and political influences in the exercise of its functions and powers. Accountability is the means whereby a regulatory authority is held responsible for the actions it takes. Transparency refers to the publication of relevant information designed to demonstrate consistency and openness. The fourth governance pillar, integrity, refers to the internal processes that the authority adopts to ensure there is discipline and consistency in its operations and to limit the risks of regulatory staff acting in their own self-interest as opposed to that of the authority and the market. These four elements are mutually reinforcing, in that accountability is necessary to provide legitimacy to independence, transparency is necessary to demonstrate that independence does not lead to abuse or improper behavior, and integrity is necessary to provide the discipline to control the exercise of independent powers. Available evidence suggests that independence and accountability are far from being universally applied in practice. The paper concludes with some practical suggestions that experience indicates are likely to enhance the effectiveness of the governance of securities regulators. Good governance of the securities regulator is necessary for effective regulation. It is also of importance in setting an example to encourage good corporate governance in the private sector
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  • 56
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (55 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: McCarthy, Nancy The Nexus between Gender, Collective Action for Public Goods, and Agriculture
    Abstract: Across the developing world, public goods exert significant impacts on the local rural economy in general and agricultural productivity and welfare outcomes in particular. Economic and social-cultural heterogeneity have, however, long been documented as detrimental to collective capacity to provide public goods. In particular, women are often under-represented in local leadership and decision-making processes, as are young adults and minority ethnic groups. While democratic principles dictate that broad civic engagement by women and other groups could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of local governance and increase public goods provision, the empirical evidence on these hypotheses is scant. This paper develops a theoretical model highlighting the complexity of constructing a "fair" schedule of individual contributions, given heterogeneity in costs and benefits that accrue to people depending, for instance, on their gender, age, ethnicity, and education. The model demonstrates that representative leadership and broad participation in community organizations can mitigate the negative impacts of heterogeneity on collective capacity to provide public goods. Nationally-representative household survey data from Malawi, combined with geospatial and administrative information, are used to test this hypothesis and estimate the relationship between collective capacity for public goods provision and community median estimates of maize yields and household consumption expenditures per capita. The analysis shows that similarities between the leadership and the general population, in terms of gender and age, and active participation by women and young adults in community groups alleviate the negative effects of heterogeneity and increase collective capacity, which in turn improves agricultural productivity and welfare
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  • 57
    Language: English
    Pages: 1 Online-Ressource (20 Seiten)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Vogt-Schilb, Adrien Long-Term Mitigation Strategies and Marginal Abatement Cost Curves
    Abstract: Decision makers facing abatement targets need to decide which abatement measures to implement, and in which order. This paper investigates the ability of marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves to inform this decision, reanalysing a MAC curve developed by the World Bank on Brazil. Misinterpreting MAC curves and focusing on short-term targets (e.g., for 2020) would lead to under-invest in expensive, long-to-implement and large-potential options, such as clean transportation infrastructure. Meeting short-term targets with marginal energy-efficiency improvements would lead to carbon-intensive lock-ins that make longer-term targets (e.g., for 2030 and beyond) impossible or too expensive to reach. Improvements to existing MAC curves are proposed, based on (1) enhanced data collection and reporting; (2) a simple optimization tool that accounts for constraints on implementation speeds; and (3) new graphical representations of MAC curves. Designing climate mitigation policies can be done through a pragmatic combination of two approaches. The synergy approach is based on MAC curves to identify the cheapest mitigation options and maximize co-benefits. The urgency approach considers the long-term objective (e.g., halving emissions by 2050) and works backward to identify actions that need to be implemented early, such as public support to clean infrastructure and zero-carbon technologies
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  • 58
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (31 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Randle, Tony Pension Risk and Risk-Based Supervision in Defined Contribution Pension Funds
    Abstract: Defined contribution pension systems have faced criticism in the wake of the financial and economic crisis for not delivering adequate and sustainable pension incomes at retirement. Much of the problem has centered around the misalignment of pension fund management companies and the interests of pension fund members, with the focus on short-term volatility rather than delivering adequate pension income over the long term. Although pension fund supervisors in emerging economies have attempted to correct for these market failures, they have not focused sufficiently on the ultimate long-term pension income objective. The paper suggests that in order to have a meaningful impact on future pensions, the supervision of defined contribution pension systems needs to take a more proactive role in minimizing pension risk. This objective would require ensuring that investment risks are aligned with the probability of achieving a target pension at retirement age. The paper also suggests that a proper institutional design of the pension fund industry and intensive use of market surveillance are efficient tools for dealing with most of the operational risks of funded pension fund schemes in emerging economies
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  • 59
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (44 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Dasgupta, Susmita River Salinity and Climate Change
    Abstract: In a changing climate, saltwater intrusion is expected to worsen in low-lying coastal areas around the world. Understanding the physical and economic effects of salinity ingress, and planning adaptation, are key to the long-term development of countries for which sea level rise has been identified as a major risk from climate change. This paper presents a study conducted in Bangladesh, which quantifies the prospective relationship between climate-induced changes in sea level, temperature, rainfall, and altered riverine flows from the Himalayas, and the spread and intensity of salinization on river water in the coastal zone for 2050. The research takes into account the projected land subsidence of the Ganges Delta, as well as alternative scenarios of upstream withdrawal of freshwater. The findings indicate that climate change will cause significant changes in river salinity in the southwest coastal area of Bangladesh by 2050. These changes are likely to lead to significant shortages of drinking water in the coastal urban areas, scarcity of water for irrigation for dry-season agriculture, and significant changes in the coastal aquatic ecosystems. Changes in the availability of freshwater fish will likely affect the composition of capture fishery, although the increase in brackish water will enhance opportunities for brackish water aquaculture. Assessment of location-specific economic impacts of the changes in river salinity, identification of suitable adaptation alternatives, and costing of adaptation are high priorities for further analysis
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  • 60
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (48 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Maloney, William F Convergence to the Managerial Frontier
    Abstract: Using detailed survey data on management practices, this paper uses recent advances in unconditional quantile analysis to study the changes in the within country distribution of management quality associated with country convergence to the managerial frontier. It then decomposes the contribution of potential explanatory factors to the distributional changes. The United States emerges as the frontier country, not because of better management on average, but because its best firms are far better than those of its close competitors. Part of the process of convergence to the frontier across the development process represents a trimming of the left tail, much is movement of the central mass and, for rich countries, it is actually the best firms that lag the frontier benchmark. Among potential explanatory variables that may drive convergence, ownership and human capital appear critical, the former especially for poorer countries and that latter for richer countries suggesting that the mechanics of convergence change across the process. These variables lose their explanatory power as firm and average country management quality rises. Hence, once in the advanced country range, the factors that improve management quality are less easy to document and hence influence
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  • 61
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (58 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Fortmann, Lea Incentive Contracts for Environmental Services and Their Potential in REDD
    Abstract: Implementation arrangements for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation can be seen as contracts that could address some of the inherent problems with forest carbon credits that often lead to high transaction costs-measuring, monitoring, and verification. Self-enforcing contracts, where it is in the best interest of the environmental service providers to comply with the contracts, may be one way to reduce these costs if providers have incentives to uphold their end of the contract. While the literature on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation is extensive, there is little information available to guide policy makers or investors on what form such contracts should take. After providing an overview of the current status of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and its role as a tool for reducing carbon emissions on an international scale, the paper describes key issues regarding implementation and reviews the literature on contracts from the related area of Payments for Ecosystem Services programs, which face similar challenges. The remainder of the paper reviews various contractual mechanisms from agricultural and forestry related projects that have been proposed or are being used in practice and discusses the various implications associated with their design and implementation
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  • 62
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (40 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Timmer, Marcel P Fragmentation, Incomes, and Jobs
    Abstract: Increasing fragmentation of production across borders is changing the nature of international competition. As a result, conventional indicators of competitiveness based on gross exports are becoming less informative and new measures are needed. This paper proposes an ex-post accounting framework of the value added and workers that are directly and indirectly related to the production of final manufacturing goods. The framework focuses on manufactures global value chain income and manufactures global value chain jobs. The paper outlines these concepts and provides trends in European countries based on a recent multi-sector, input-output model of the world economy. The analysis finds that since 1995, revealed comparative advantage of the European Union 27 is shifting to activities related to the production of nonelectrical machinery and transport equipment. The workers involved in manufactures global value chains are increasingly in services, rather than manufacturing industries. The analysis also finds a strong shift toward activities carried out by high-skilled workers, highlighting the uneven distributional effects of fragmentation. The results show that a global value chain perspective is needed to inform the policy debates on competitiveness
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  • 63
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (34 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Chan, Rosanna Why Liquidity Matters to the Export Decision of the Firm
    Abstract: Under financial constraints, exporting may have less to do with productivity and more to do with financial resources. The established relationship between exporting and productivity would differ when examined through the lens of the working capital needs of the firm. The hypothesis that working capital matters in the firm's exporting decision is explored in two ways: first, by articulating a dynamic working capital model of the firm that incorporates the firm's export decision. Secondly, by testing the hypothesis empirically using a unique firm level dataset from Bangladesh, where issues of financial constraints are particularly acute. The model shows that productivity determines export status of the firm as long as it is not under financial constraints. However, under financial constraints, export status is less dependent on productivity and more dependent on the availability of working capital. Empirical results support the model's prediction. The relationship between exporting time and the need for greater liquidity is also borne out empirically as shown by a positive and significant correlation between the amount of working capital and the distance of export destination. An important policy implication from the analysis is that short term liquidity is critical in allowing productive firms to export and that access to finance may prevent the benefits of trade liberalization within a country to be fully realized
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  • 64
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (35 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Longmore, Rohan Toward Economic Diversification in Trinidad and Tobago
    Abstract: This paper contributes to the predominant diversification debate that has been ongoing in Trinidad and Tobago for more than three decades. The paper makes a determination of the key impediments to the country's attempts at diversification. Econometric techniques are applied on panel data to identify the most significant obstacles to economic diversification for a set of 183 countries. The results indicate that openness to foreign direct investment inflows is the most fundamental driver of diversification. The findings are then applied to the specific case of Trinidad and Tobago through a detailed analysis of the links in the trends followed by foreign direct investment and diversification between 1980 and 2011. Greater openness to foreign direct investment and improving the business climate appear to be key policies the twin-island republic could implement further in order to expand the range of activities of its economic structure
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  • 65
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (33 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Prennushi, G Women's Empowerment and Socio-Economic Outcomes
    Abstract: The paper explores whether one of the largest programs in the world for women's empowerment and rural livelihoods, the Indira Kranti Patham in Andhra Pradesh, India, has had an impact on the economic and social wellbeing of households that participate in the program. The analysis usespanel data for 4,250 households from two rounds of a survey conducted in 2004 and 2008 in five districts. Propensity score matching was used to construct control groups and outcomes are compared with differences-in-differences. There are two major impacts. First, the Indira Kranti Patham program increased participants' access to loans, which allowed them to accumulate some assets (livestock and durables for the poorest and nonfarm assets for the poor), invest in education, and increase total expenditures (for the poorest and poor). Women who participated in the program had more freedom to go places and were less afraid to disagree with their husbands; the women participated more in village meetings and their children were slightly more likely to attend school. Consistent with the emphasis of the program on the poor, the impacts were stronger across the board for the poorest and poor participants and were more pronounced for long-term Scheduled Tribe participants. No significant differences are found between participants and nonparticipants in some maternal and child health indicators. Second, program participants were significantly more likely to benefit from various targeted government programs, most important the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, but also midday meals in schools, hostels, and housing programs. This was an important way in which the program contributed to the improved wellbeing of program participants. The effects captured by the analysis accrue to program participants over and above those that may accrue to all households in program villages
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  • 66
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (41 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Osborne, Theresa What Drives the High Price of Road Freight Transport in Central America?
    Abstract: In Central America, like many other developing regions, high transport costs are cited as an impediment to trade and economic growth. Prices for road freight transport-a key mode of transport comprising a significant share of total transport costs for intra- and extra-regional trade, are particularly high. Averaging 17 cents per ton-kilometer on main trading routes, these rates stand out even relative to other inefficient developing country markets (e.g., central and west Africa). However, the policy and other factors associated with increased prices have not been well understood. This paper uses data from a survey of trucking companies operating on the region's main trade corridors to analyze the determinants of firms' costs of providing service, as well as the effect of market structure and competition on prices. The analysis finds that whereas improved cost efficiencies could reduce prices by 3 cents per ton-kilometer, increased competition on national routes-those entirely within a nation's borders-would reduce prices by significantly more. Although there are many trucking companies, including small and somewhat informal operators, the degree of competition varies by route because of domestic restraints on competition and the prohibition on international competition on national routes. The paper shows empirically that imperfect competition accounts for at least 35 percent of mean prices on national routes. In addition, a lack of competition is likely to explain the persistence of an inefficient market structure, as well as a lack of innovation to reduce costs and enhance the quality of service
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  • 67
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (34 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Doemeland, Doerte Which World Bank Reports are Widely Read?
    Abstract: Knowledge is central to development. The World Bank invests about one-quarter of its budget for country services in knowledge products. Still, there is little research about the demand for these knowledge products and how internal knowledge flows affect their demand. About 49 percent of the World Bank's policy reports, which are published Economic and Sector Work or Technical Assistance reports, have the stated objective of informing the public debate or influencing the development community. This study uses information on downloads and citations to assesses whether policy reports meet this objective. About 13 percent of policy reports were downloaded at least 250 times while more than 31 percent of policy reports are never downloaded. Almost 87 percent of policy reports were never cited. More expensive, complex, multi-sector, core diagnostics reports on middle-income countries with larger populations tend to be downloaded more frequently. Multi-sector reports also tend to be cited more frequently. Internal knowledge sharing matters as cross support provided by the World Bank's Research Department consistently increases downloads and citations
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  • 68
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (53 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Cunningham, Wendy Employer Voices, Employer Demands, and Implications for Public Skills Development Policy
    Abstract: Educators believe that they are adequately preparing youth for the labor market while employers lament the lack of skills. A possible source of the mismatch in perceptions is that employers and educators have different understandings of the types of skills valued in the labor market. This paper uses economics and psychology literature to define four skills sets: socio-emotional, higher-order cognitive, basic cognitive, and technical skills. The paper reviews the literature that quantitatively measures employer skill demand, as reported in preference surveys. A sample of 28 studies reveals remarkable consistency across the world in the skills demanded by employers. Although employers value all skill sets, there is a greater demand for socio-emotional and higher-order cognitive skills than for basic cognitive or technical skills. These results are robust across economy size and level of development, sector, export-orientation, and occupations. Employers perceive that the greatest skills gaps are in socio-emotional and technical skills. These findings suggest the need to re-conceptualize education and training systems. Taking into consideration the developmental process to acquire the skills identified by employers, this implies the need to recognize that (a) the job-skills development process necessarily begins at birth and continues throughout the life cycle so skills policy should, as well; (b) schools play a relevant, but limited, role in skills development and the role of parents, mentors, and the work place must be defined and enhanced; and (c) the skills most demanded by employers-higher-order cognitive and socio-emotional skills-are largely taught (the former) or refined in secondary school, which argues for a general education until these skills are formed
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  • 69
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (51 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Clemens, Michael A Why Don't Remittances Appear to Affect Growth?
    Abstract: Although measured remittances by migrant workers have soared in recent years, macroeconomic studies have difficulty detecting their effect on economic growth. This paper reviews existing explanations for this puzzle and proposes three new ones. First, it offers evidence that a large majority of the recent rise in measured remittances may be illusory-arising from changes in measurement, not changes in real financial flows. Second, it shows that even if these increases were correctly measured, cross-country regressions would have too little power to detect their effects on growth. Third, it points out that the greatest driver of rising remittances is rising migration, which has an opportunity cost to economic product at the origin. Net of that cost, there is little reason to expect large growth effects of remittances in the origin economy. Migration and remittances clearly have first-order effects on poverty at the origin, on the welfare of migrants and their families, and on global gross domestic product; but detecting their effects on growth of the origin economy is likely to remain elusive
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  • 70
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (41 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Lederman, Daniel The Price is Not Always Right
    Abstract: This paper provides an overview of the impact of once-and-for-all changes in commodity prices and other prices on household welfare. It begins with a collection of stylized facts related to commodities based on household survey data from Latin America and Africa. The data uncover strong commodity dependence in both continents: households typically allocate a large fraction of their budget to commodities and they often depend on commodities to earn their income. This income and expenditure dependency suggests sizable impacts and adjustments following commodity-price shocks. The paper explores these effects with a review of the literature. It studies consumption and income responses, labor-market responses, and spillovers across sectors. It ends up providing evidence on the relative magnitudes of various mechanisms through which commodity prices affect household (and national) welfare in developing economies
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  • 71
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (38 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Kelleher, Sinéad Technical Measures to Trade in Central America
    Abstract: Despite the widespread tariff reductions sparked by the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, borders in the region remain thick, with many hurdles standing in the way of regional trade. Although anecdotal evidence suggests that nontariff measures raise trade costs and inhibit trade in the region, little is known about the magnitude of these economic effects. This paper uses a newly collected data set to quantify the incidence of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade in the region and benchmarks it with other parts of the world. The results indicate that the Central American region has the lowest prevalence of technical nontariff measures in the world. However, there is significant heterogeneity of trade-related regulations in Central America; for instance, 48 percent of Salvadoran imports are subject to at least one nontariff measure, compared with just 16 percent of Honduran imports. The paper estimates the impact of these technical measures on border prices and finds that the price impact of sanitary and phytosanitary measures is equivalent to an ad-valorem tariff of 11.6 percent. This price-rising effect is further investigated by looking in detail at the impact of sanitary and phytosanitary measures on the prices of beef, chicken meat, bread, and dairy products in Guatemala. The impact is estimated to be equivalent to an ad-valorem tariff of 68.4 percent, 51.4 percent, 22.0 percent, and 5.0 percent, respectively. The paper shows that efforts to streamline key sanitary and phytosanitary measures affecting these products by, for example, reducing the cost and time required to obtain sanitary registries, would likely reduce the Guatemalan urban extreme poverty rate from 5.07 percent to 4.91 percent
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  • 72
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (42 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Cho, Yoonyoung Sub-Saharan Africa's Recent Growth Spurt
    Abstract: Since the mid-1990s, Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced unprecedented levels of high economic growth. A key question follows: What accounts for the turnaround of the growth performance in the mid-1990s? The answer can provide insight into whether the recent growth spurt in Sub-Saharan Africa is merely temporary or the beginning of a sustainable takeoff. This paper examines the sources of growth of 32 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in a growth accounting framework. The findings suggest that the recent growth spurt is largely associated with an increase in the share of working-age population, capital accumulation, and total factor productivity, unlike previous periods. Resources play a role by attracting capital inflows, particularly from foreign direct investment and shifting labor away from agriculture. However, the growth prospects for Sub-Saharan Africa seem promising beyond resources, with steady progress in decreased fertility, increased foreign direct investment, political stability, and structural transformation
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  • 73
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (46 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Milazzo, Annamaria Son Preference, Fertility and Family Structure
    Abstract: Strong boy-bias and its consequences for young and unborn girls have been widely documented for Asia. This paper considers a country in Sub-Saharan Africa and finds that parental gender preferences do affect fertility behavior and shape traditional social institutions with negative effects on adult women's health and well-being. Using individual-level data for Nigeria, the paper shows that, compared to women with first-born sons, women with first-born daughters have (and desire) more children and are less likely to use contraceptives. Women with daughters among earlier-born children are also more likely to have shorter birth intervals, a behavior medically known to increase the risk of child and maternal mortality. Moreover, they are more likely to end up in a polygynous union, to be divorced, and to be head of the household. The preference for sons is also supported by child fostering patterns in which daughters are substitutes for foster girls, while the same does not hold for sons and foster boys. These results can partly explain excess female mortality among adult women in Sub-Saharan Africa
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  • 74
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (48 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Rijkers, Bob All in the Family
    Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between regulation and the business interests of President Ben Ali and his family, using firm-level data from Tunisia for 1994-2010. Data on investment regulations are merged with balance sheet and firm-level census data in which 220 firms owned by the Ben Ali family are identified. These connected firms outperform their competitors in terms of employment, output, market share, profits, and growth and sectors in which they are active are disproportionately subject to authorization requirements and restriction on foreign direct investment. Consistent with theories of capture, performance differences between connected firms and their peers are significantly larger in highly regulated sectors. In addition, the introduction of new foreign direct investment restrictions and authorization requirements in narrowly defined five-digit sectors is correlated with the presence of connected firms and with their startup, suggesting that regulation is endogenous to state capture. The evidence implies that Tunisia's industrial policy was used as a vehicle for rent creation for the president and his family
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  • 75
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (16 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Fuller, Brandon Urbanization as Opportunity
    Abstract: Urbanization deserves urgent attention from policy makers, academics, entrepreneurs, and social reformers of all stripes. Nothing else will create as many opportunities for social and economic progress. The urbanization project began roughly 1,000 years after the transition from the Pleistocene to the milder and more stable Holocene interglacial. In 2010, the urban population in developing countries stood at 2.5 billion. The developing world can accommodate the urban population growth and declining urban density in many ways. The most important citywide projects-successes like New York and Shenzhen-show even more clearly how influential human intention can be. The developing world can accommodate the urban population growth and declining urban density in many ways. One is to have a threefold increase in the average population of its existing cities and a six fold increase in their average built-out area. Another, which will leave the built-out area of existing cities unchanged, will be to develop 625 new cities of 10 million people-500 new cities to accommodate the net increase in the urban population and another 125 to accommodate the 1.25 billion people who will have to leave existing cities as average density falls by half
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  • 76
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (23 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Keith, Michael The Great Migration
    Abstract: The great 21st-century migration into cities will present both a great challenge for humanity and a significant opportunity for global economic growth. This paper describes the diverse patterns that define this metropolitan migration. It then lays out a framework for understanding the costs and benefits of new arrivals through migration's externalities and the challenges and policy tradeoffs that confront city stakeholders. The paper concludes by suggesting ways municipalities, by optimizing flexibility, can make migration more productive and less destructive in shaping the ‘good city’ and the ‘smart city.’ There are few paths to global economic growth that do not run through cities, and even fewer that do not depend on growing the city in population size, scale, and economic exchange. Historically, cities have grown by concentrating the economic advantages of number and density, the social potential of innovation, and the cultural possibilities of newness. By bringing together the factors of production, land, labor, capital, and enterprise, in ever more recombinant forms, cities offer the possibility of securing new economic advantages and scaling them up
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  • 77
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (28 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Moretti, Enrico Are Cities the New Growth Escalator?
    Keywords: Wirtschaftswachstum ; Erwerbstätigkeit ; Wirtschaftspolitik ; Kommunalverwaltung ; Stadt ; Entwicklung ; Agglomerationseffekt
    Abstract: Urban areas tend to have much more productive labor and higher salaries than rural areas, and there are vast differences across urban areas. Areas with high salaries and high productivity tend to have employers that invest in much more research and development than areas with low salaries and low productivity. This paper addresses two questions. First, it discusses the causes of these vast geographical differences in wages, human capital, and innovation. The second part of the paper discusses regional economic development policies. The European Union has an even more ambitious program transferring its development funds to regions with below average incomes. Asian countries, especially China, have a variety of special economic zones, designed to attract foreign investment to specific areas. Such regional development policies, often called place-based economic policies, are effectively a form of welfare, targeting cities or regions, not individuals. While such policies are widespread, the economic logic behind them is rarely discussed and even less frequently understood. This paper clarifies when these policies are wasteful, when they are efficient, and who the expected winners and losers are. Understanding when government intervention makes sense and when it does not is a crucial first step in setting sound economic development policies. Local governments can certainly lay a foundation for economic development and create all the conditions necessary for a city's rebirth, including a business climate friendly to job creation
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  • 78
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (59 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Bergkvist, Sofi What a Difference a State Makes
    Abstract: In the mid-2000s, India began rolling out large-scale, publicly-financed health insurance schemes mostly targeting the poor. This paper describes and analyzes Andhra Pradesh's Aarogyasri scheme, which covers against the costs of around 900 high-cost procedures delivered in secondary and tertiary hospitals. Using a new household survey, the authors find that 80 percent of families are eligible, equal to about 68 million people, and 85 percent of these families know they are covered; only one-quarter, however, know that the benefit package is limited. The study finds that, contrary to the rules of the program, patients incur quite large out-of-pocket payments during inpatient episodes thought to be covered by Aarogyasri. In the absence of data and program design features that would allow for a rigorous impact evaluation, a comparison is made between Andhra Pradesh and neighboring Maharashtra over an eight-year period spanning the scheme's introduction. During this period, Maharashtra did not introduce any at-scale health initiative that was not also introduced in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh other health initiatives were considerably less ambitious and costly than Aarogyasri. The paper finds that Andhra Pradesh recorded faster growth than Maharashtra (even after adjusting for confounders) in inpatient admissions per capita (for all income groups) and in surgery admissions (among the poor only), slower growth in out-of-pocket payments for inpatient care (in total and per admission, but only among the better off), and slower growth in transport and outpatient out-of-pocket costs. The paper argues that these results are consistent with Aarogyasri having the intended effects, but also with minor health initiatives in Andhra Pradesh (especially the ambulance program) playing a role
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  • 79
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (36 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Benjamin, Nancy Informal Economy and the World Bank
    Abstract: Many countries have expressed an interest in the size, performance and motivation of the informal sector, especially where the informal sector provides the livelihood and employment for a critical segment of the population. This essay reviews recent literature, methodologies, and relevant Bank studies as a way to share information with country teams interested in expanding their knowledge of the informal sector and related policy debates. Research in a number of regions points to four main areas where development policy can be improved by taking the informal sector into account. First, improvements should be made along a continuum; the heterogeneity among informal firms points to different policy approaches for different types of firms. Second, there should be public-private collaboration on mutual reforms. Many efforts to improve firm performance focus on elements of the production function (labor skills, credit) while treating government mainly as a cost (taxes, cost of compliance with regulations). Yet research reveals that many characteristics of the public regime strongly influence the decisions of firms regarding informality. Third, research indicates a strong relation between basic skills and labor outcomes, particularly in the informal sector, despite the sector's lower average returns. Research also indicates the benefits of targeted training programs. Business services programs have a decidedly mixed record, yet ongoing research is refining results on what works best. Fourth, informal trade is pervasive in developing countries and the networks developed in informal trade-wholesalers, credit suppliers and money-changers, transporters-are a strong presence in the informal sector. Yet these kinds of complex and nontransparent trading systems can be discouraging to foreign investors and can otherwise undermine trade policy and the international competitiveness of developing countries. The paper concludes with recommendations
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  • 80
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (33 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Sun, Xiaojie The Impact of a Pay-for-Performance Scheme on Prescription Quality in Rural China
    Abstract: In China, health care providers have traditionally been paid fee-for-service and overprescribing and high out-of-pocket spending are common. In this study, township health centers in two counties were assigned almost randomly to two groups: in one, fee-for-service was replaced by a global capitated budget; in the other, by a mix of global capitated budget and pay-for-performance. Performance captured inter alia "irrational" drug prescribing; 20 percent of the global capitated budget was withheld each quarter, points were deducted for failure to meet targets, and some of the withheld budget was returned in line with the points deducted. Outcomes included appropriate prescribing and prescription cost, data on which were obtained by digitizing prescriptions from a month just before the reform and from the same month a year later. Impacts were assessed via multivariate differences-in-differences with township health center fixed effects. To reduce bias from non-randomness in assignment, the sample was trimmed by coarsened exact matching. Pay-for-performance reduced inappropriate prescribing significantly and substantially in the county where the initial level was above the penalty threshold, but end-line rates were still appreciable; no effects were seen in the county where initial levels were around or below the threshold, or on out-of-pocket spending in either county
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  • 81
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (26 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: De Arcangelis, Giuseppe Directing Remittances to Education with Soft and Hard Commitments
    Abstract: This paper tests how migrants' willingness to remit changes when given the ability to direct remittances to educational purposes using different forms of commitment. Variants of a dictator game in a lab-in-the-field experiment with Filipino migrants in Rome are used to examine remitting behavior under varying degrees of commitment. These range from the soft commitment of simply labeling remittances as being for education, to the hard commitment of having funds directly paid to a school and the student's educational performance monitored. The analysis finds that the introduction of simple labeling for education raises remittances by more than 15 percent. Adding the ability to directly send this funding to the school adds only a further 2.2 percent. The information asymmetry between migrants and their most closely connected household is randomly varied, but no significant change is found in the remittance response to these forms of commitment as information varies. Behavior in these games is shown to be predictive of take-up of a new financial product called EduPay, designed to allow migrants to pay remittances directly to schools in the Philippines. This take-up seems largely driven by a response to the ability to label remittances for education, rather than to the hard commitment feature of directly paying schools
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  • 82
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (65 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Özden, Çaglar Immigrant versus Natives?
    Abstract: The impact of immigration on native workers is driven by two countervailing forces: the degree of substitutability between natives and immigrants, and the increased demand for native workers as immigrants reduce the cost of production and output expands. The literature so far has focused on the former substitution effect, while ignoring the latter scale effect. This paper estimates both of these effects using labor force survey data from Malaysia (1990-2010), a country uniquely suited for understanding the impact of low-skilled immigration. The instrumental variable estimates imply that the elasticity of labor demand (3.4) is greater than the elasticity of substitution between natives and immigrants (2.5). On average the scale effect outweighs the substitution effect. For every ten additional immigrants, employment of native workers increases by 4.1 in a local labor market. These large reallocation effects are accompanied by negligible relative wage changes. At the national level, a 10 percent increase in immigrants, equivalent to 1 percent increase in labor force, has a small positive effect on native wages (0.14 percent). The impact of immigration is highly heterogeneous for natives with different levels of education, resulting in substantial changes in skill premiums and hence inequality. Immigrants on net displace natives with at most primary education; while primarily benefiting those with a little more education, lower secondary or completed secondary education
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  • 83
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (47 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Emerson, Patrick M Child Labor and Learning
    Keywords: Schüler ; Kinderarbeit ; Mikrodaten ; Lernen ; Panel ; Brasilien
    Abstract: This paper uses a unique micro panel dataset of Brazilian students to investigate the impact of working while in school on learning outcomes. The potential endogeneity is addressed through the use of difference-in-difference and instrumental variable estimators. A negative effect of working on learning outcomes in math and Portuguese is found. The effects of child work range from 3 to 8 percent of a standard deviation decline in test score, which represents a loss of about a quarter to a half of a year of learning on average
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  • 84
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (37 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Ali, Daniel Ayalew The Price of Empowerment
    Keywords: Bodenreform ; Bodenrecht ; Geschlecht ; Feldforschung ; Tansania
    Abstract: This paper reports on a randomized field experiment that uses price incentives to address economic and gender inequality in land tenure formalization. During the 1990s and 2000s, nearly two dozen African countries proposed de jure land reforms extending access to formal, freehold land tenure to millions of poor households. Many of these reforms stalled. Titled land remains the de facto preserve of wealthy households and, within households, men. Beginning in 2010, the study tested whether price instruments alone can generate greater inclusion by offering formal titles to residents of a low-income, unplanned settlement in Dar es Salaam at a range of subsidized prices, as well as additional price incentives to include women as owners or co-owners of household land. Estimated price elasticities of demand confirm that prices-rather than other implementation failures or features of the titling regime-are a key obstacle to broader inclusion in the land registry, and that some degree of pro-poor price discrimination is justified even from a narrow budgetary perspective. In terms of gender inequality, the study finds that even small price incentives for female co-titling achieve almost complete gender parity in land ownership with no reduction in demand
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  • 85
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (40 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Bussolo, Maurizio The Long-Awaited Rise of the Middle Class in Latin America is Finally Happening
    Abstract: In many developing countries, the supply of skilled workers is likely to continue to be stronger than demand, and this should drive down the skill premium and reduce inequality. Within the limitations of any exercise based on simulations, this paper finds that the recently observed reduction in inequality in Latin America may continue. Building on counterfactual scenarios projecting economic and demographic (including age and education) growth, the paper also highlights that by 2030 the long-awaited rise of the middle class in Latin America will be in full swing, as its share will be 43 percent of the total population, twice the value in 2005. This achievement is not guaranteed, as countries with large initial inequalities will have to achieve very high rates of inclusive growth. At the same time, a larger middle class is likely to exert a stronger influence on international and domestic policy making
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  • 86
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (12 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Islam, Asif Do Government Private Subsidies Crowd Out Entrepreneurship?
    Abstract: Although several studies have found a negative relationship between government spending and entrepreneurship, much debate remains regarding the components of government spending responsible for this association. This paper contributes to the literature by specifically exploring the relationship between government private subsidies and entrepreneurship. By combining macroeconomic government spending data with individual level entrepreneurship data, the paper finds a negative association between the share of private subsidies and entrepreneurship. However, findings are less straightforward when the analysis delves deeper into the components of private subsidies and their association with different kinds of entrepreneurship
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  • 87
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (49 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Ghani, Ejaz Regional Diversity and Inclusive Growth in Indian Cities
    Abstract: This paper examines the employment growth of Indian districts from 2000 to 2010 in the manufacturing and services sectors. Specialization and diversity metrics that combine industries in both sectors are calculated and related to subsequent job growth. The analysis finds robust and consistent evidence that the diversity of industries in the district across the two sectors links to subsequent job growth. Somewhat surprisingly, this link finds its strongest expression outside typical stories about the role of diversity. For example, the growth is strongest in rural areas of districts and in districts with low population density. Diversity correlates with disproportionately higher employment growth in the informal sector and plays a role in generating employment in the district's smaller industries. These findings point toward the "inclusive" nature of diversity-driven growth and highlight a potentially important agenda item for policy makers concerned with inclusive development
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  • 88
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (37 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Hochman, Gal Why Has Energy Efficiency Not Scaled-up in the Industrial and Commercial Sectors in Ukraine?
    Abstract: Improvement of energy efficiency is one of the main options to reduce energy demand and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Ukraine. However, large-scale deployment of energy efficient technologies has been constrained by several financial, technical, information, behavioral, and institutional barriers. This study assesses these barriers through a survey of 500 industrial and commercial firms throughout Ukraine. The results from the survey were used in a cumulative multi-logit model to understand the importance of the barriers. The analysis shows that financial barriers caused by high upfront costs of energy efficient technologies, higher costs of finance, and higher opportunity costs of energy efficiency investment are key barriers to the adoption of energy efficiency measures in Ukraine. Institutional barriers particularly lack government policies, which also contributes to the slow adoption of energy efficient technologies in the country. The results suggest targeted policy and credit enhancements could help trigger adoption of energy efficient measures. The empirical analysis shows strong inter-linkages among the barriers and finds heterogeneity between industrial and commercial sectors on the realization of the barriers
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  • 89
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Washington, D.C : The World Bank
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (37 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Smets, Lodewijk World Bank Lending and the Quality of Economic Policy
    Keywords: Weltbank ; Internationale Organisation ; Entwicklungshilfe ; Wirtschaftspolitik ; Wirtschaftliche Anpassung ; Entwicklungsländer
    Abstract: This study investigates the impact of World Bank development policy lending on the quality of economic policy. It finds that the quality of policy increases, but at a diminishing rate, with the cumulative number of policy loans. Similar results hold for the cumulative number of conditions attached to policy loans, although quadratic specifications indicate that additional conditions may even reduce the quality of policy beyond some point. The paper measures the quality of economic policy using the World Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessments of macro, debt, fiscal and structural policies, and considers only policy loans targeted at improvements in those areas. Previous studies finding weaker effects of policy lending on macro stability have failed to distinguish loans primarily intended to improve economic policy from other loans targeted at improvements in sector policies or in public management. The paper also shows that investing in economic policy does not "crowd out" policy improvements in other areas such as public sector governance or human development. The results are robust to using alternative indicators of policy quality, and correcting for endogeneity with system generalized methods of moments and cross-sectional two-stage least squares. The more positive results in the study relative to some previous studies based on earlier loans are consistent with claims by the World Bank that it has learned from its mistakes with traditional adjustment lending
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  • 90
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (87 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Steinbuks, Jevgenijs Confronting the Food-Energy-Environment Trilemma
    Abstract: Economic, agronomic, and biophysical drivers affect global land use, so all three influences need to be considered in evaluating economically optimal allocations of the world's land resources. A dynamic, forward-looking optimization framework applied over the course of the coming century shows that although some deforestation is optimal in the near term, in the absence of climate change regulation, the desirability of further deforestation is eliminated by mid-century. Although adverse productivity shocks from climate change have a modest effect on global land use, such shocks combined with rapid growth in energy prices lead to significant deforestation and higher greenhouse gas emissions than in the baseline. Imposition of a global greenhouse gas emissions constraint further heightens the competition for land, as fertilizer use declines and land-based mitigation strategies expand. However, anticipation of the constraint largely dilutes its environmental effectiveness, as deforestation accelerates prior to imposition of the target
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  • 91
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (55 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Do, Quy-Toan Comparative Advantage, International Trade, and Fertility
    Abstract: This paper analyzes theoretically and empirically the impact of comparative advantage in international trade on fertility. It builds a model in which industries differ in the extent to which they use female relative to male labor and countries are characterized by Ricardian comparative advantage in either female labor or male labor intensive goods. The main prediction of the model is that countries with comparative advantage in female labor intensive goods are characterized by lower fertility. This is because female wages and therefore the opportunity cost of children are higher in those countries. The paper demonstrates empirically that countries with comparative advantage in industries employing primarily women exhibit lower fertility. The analysis uses a geography-based instrument for trade patterns to isolate the causal effect of comparative advantage on fertility
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  • 92
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (57 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Steinbuks, Jevgenijs Assessing Energy Price Induced Improvements in Efficiency of Capital in OECD Manufacturing Industries
    Abstract: To assess how capital stocks adapt to energy price changes, it is necessary to account for the impacts on different vintages of capital and to account separately for price-induced and autonomous improvements in the energy efficiency of capital stock. The results of econometric analysis for five manufacturing industries in 19 OECD countries between 1990 and 2005 indicate that higher energy prices resulted in smaller energy use due to both improved energy efficiency of capital stock and reduced demand for the energy input. The investment response to energy prices varied considerably across manufacturing industries, being more significant in energy-intensive sectors. The results of policy simulations indicate that a carbon tax can deliver significant reductions in energy consumption in the medium run with modest declines in energy-using capital stock
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  • 93
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (32 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Parandekar, Suhas D Benchmarking Public Policy
    Abstract: This working paper presents a benchmarking analysis of School Based Management (SBM) using empirical data from the Philippines. School based management is widely used as a policy tool in many countries that seek to improve the quality of service delivery through decentralization. School based management typically takes many years to have an impact on educational outcomes, but policy makers need to know sooner how well the policy is being implemented. The paper extends the well-known Rasch methodology from the literature on student achievement, including the Programme for International Student Assessment, to the measurement of the implementation of school based management by computing a Rasch measure of the implementation of school based management. To test whether the resulting benchmarked measure is plausible and has practical policy value, the measure is tested for correlations with standardized measures of personality and political skills of school principals, developed in the psychology and political science literatures. The paper will be useful for readers interested in studying school based management as well as those interested more generally in the methodology of benchmarking implementation of public policy where the ultimate results are subject to long implementation periods. The methodology presented in this paper can be applied to enhance the rigor of the ongoing Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) exercise to benchmark educational policies in various domains. That exercise is set to become one of the flagship policy analytical tools being developed by the World Bank and partner agencies
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  • 94
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (29 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Timilsina, Govinda R Economics of Transiting to Renewable Energy in Morocco
    Abstract: Morocco has set an ambitious target of supplying 42 percent of electricity through renewable sources, 14 percent each through hydro, wind, and solar, by 2020. To analyze the economic and environmental implications of implementing this target, this study uses a dynamic computable general equilibrium model with foresight that includes explicit representation of various electricity generation technologies. Two types of policy instruments, a production subsidy financed through fossil fuel taxation and a renewable energy mandate financed through increased electricity prices, have been considered to attract investment in renewable energy. The study shows that meeting the renewable target would achieve up to 15 percent reduction of national greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 compared with a situation in the absence of the target, or the baseline. However, meeting the target would decrease household consumption of goods and services, thereby worsening household welfare. The study also shows that the renewable production subsidy financed through fossil fuel taxation is superior to the mandate policy to meet the renewable energy target in Morocco, as the former would cause a lower loss in economic welfare and a larger reduction of greenhouse gas emissions than the latter
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  • 95
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (32 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Azevedo, João Pedro Fiscal Adjustment and Income Inequality
    Abstract: The paper combines state-level fiscal data with household survey data to assess the links between sub-national fiscal policy and income inequality in Brazil over the period 1995-2011. The results indicate that a tighter fiscal stance at the sub-national level is not associated with a deterioration in inequality measures. This finding contrasts with the conclusions of several papers in the burgeoning literature on the effects of fiscal consolidation on inequality using national data for OECD economies. In addition, the authors find that a tighter stance is typically positively associated with a measure of "shared prosperity". Hence, the results caution against extrapolating policy implications of the literature focusing on advanced economies to other settings
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  • 96
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (18 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Golub, Alexander Climate Change, Industrial Transformation, and "Development Traps
    Abstract: This paper examines the possibility of environmental "development traps," or "brown poverty traps," caused by interactions between the impacts of climate change and increasing returns in the development of "clean-technology" sectors. A simple specification is used in which the economy can produce a single homogeneous consumption good with two different technologies. In the "old" sector, technology has global diminishing returns to scale and depends on the use of fossil energy that gives rise to long-lived, damaging climate change. In the "new" sector, the technology has convex-concave production and is not dependent on the polluting energy input. If the new sector does not grow fast enough to move through the phase of increasing returns, then the economy may linger at a low level of income indefinitely or it may achieve greater progress but then get driven back down to a lower level of income by environmental degradation. Stimulating growth in the new sector thus may be a key element for avoiding an environmental poverty trap and achieving higher, sustained income levels
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  • 97
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (36 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Forgia, Gerard La Parallel Systems and Human Resource Management in India's Public Health Services
    Abstract: There is building evidence in India that the delivery of health services suffers from an actual shortfall in trained health professionals, but also from unsatisfactory results of existing service providers working in the public and private sectors. This study focusses on the public sector and examines de facto institutional and governance arrangements that may give rise to well-documented provider behaviors such as absenteeism, which can adversely affect service delivery processes and outcomes. The paper considers four human resource management subsystems: postings, transfers, promotions, and disciplinary practices. The four subsystems are analyzed from the perspective of front line workers, that is, physicians working in rural health care facilities operated by two state governments. Physicians were sampled in one post-reform state that has instituted human resource management reforms and one pre-reform state that has not. The findings are based on quantitative and qualitative measurement. The results show that formal rules are undermined by a parallel modus operandi in which desirable posts are often determined by political connections and side payments. The evidence suggests an institutional environment in which formal rules of accountability are trumped by a parallel set of accountabilities. These systems appear so entrenched that reforms have borne no significant effect
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  • 98
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (26 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Dobronogov, Anton Containing Volatility
    Abstract: An abundance of natural resources is both an opportunity and a challenge for developing countries. Several resource-rich, low-income countries receive amounts of foreign aid that are similar to or larger than their actual or potential revenues from natural resources. In such countries, the donors may have an opportunity to help a government to use its resource revenues productively and minimize the magnitude of risks created by resource rents. Development of aid instruments tailored for such purposes might be helped by model-based analysis of the effects of foreign aid on resource-rich, low-income economies and its interactions with the flows of natural resource revenues. This paper develops a growth model a la Barro in which the government receives windfalls (from natural resources and foreign aid) and rent-seeking agents contest for public funds. The key conclusion is that making aid countercyclical helps to achieve higher economic growth, and so does conditioning disbursements on enhancement of public capital. Introducing elements of insurance in the design of both aid products financing investments in infrastructure and social services and supporting policy and institutional reforms may help to achieve both of these objectives
    URL: Volltext  (Deutschlandweit zugänglich)
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  • 99
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (35 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Newhouse, D How Survey-to-Survey Imputation Can Fail
    Abstract: This paper proposes diagnostics to assess the accuracy of survey-to-survey imputation methods and applies them to examine why imputing from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey into the Labor Force Survey fails to accurately project poverty trends in Sri Lanka between 2006 and 2009. Survey-to-survey imputation methods rely on two key assumptions: (i) that the questions in the two surveys are asked in a consistent way and (ii) that common variables of the two surveys explain a large share of the intertemporal change in household expenditure and poverty. In addition, differences in sampling design can lead validation tests to underestimate the accuracy of survey-to-survey predictions. In Sri Lanka, the causes of failure differ across sectors. In the urban sector, the primary culprit is differences between the two surveys in the design of the questionnaire. In the rural and estate sectors, the set of common variables in the prediction model does not adequately capture changes in poverty. The paper concludes that in Sri Lanka, survey-to-survey imputation between the Household Income and Expenditure Survey and the Labor Force Survey cannot produce accurate poverty estimates unless the Labor Force Survey adds additional questions on assets and is redesigned to use a questionnaire that is compatible with the Household Income and Expenditure Survey. Alternatively, a new welfare-tracking survey that satisfies these conditions could be established
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  • 100
    Language: English
    Pages: Online-Ressource (36 p)
    Edition: 2014 World Bank eLibrary
    Parallel Title: Tang, Heiwai The Domestic Segment of Global Supply Chains in China under State Capitalism
    Abstract: This paper proposes methods to incorporate firm heterogeneity in the standard input-output table-based approach to portray the domestic segment of global value chains in a country. The analysis uses Chinese firm census data for the manufacturing and service sectors, along with constrained optimization techniques. The conventional input-output table is split into sub-accounts, which are used to estimate direct and indirect domestic value added in exports of different types of firms. The analysis finds that in China, state-owned enterprises and small and medium domestic private enterprises have much higher shares of indirect exports and ratios of value-added exports to gross exports compared with foreign-invested and large domestic private firms. Based on input-output tables for 2007 and 2010, the paper finds increasing value-added export ratios for all firm types, particularly for state-owned enterprises. It also finds that state-owned enterprises are consistently more upstream while small and medium domestic private enterprises are consistently more downstream within industries. These findings suggest that state-owned enterprises still play an important role in shaping China's exports
    URL: Volltext  (Deutschlandweit zugänglich)
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