W 0 R L D B A N K P O L I C Y A N D P E S L A R C H July-September 2000 Volume ], Number 3 6 New Research 8 Publications and Data 16 Order Form 21884 Engendering development through gender equality espite considerable advances in gender equality in recent in economic growth and to con- tribute to higher living standards for 3 decades, gender discrimination remains pervasive in their families. And they translate dimensions of life-worldwide. into greater risk and vulnerability in many dimensions of life-worldwide. the face of personal or family crises, in old age, and during economic shocks. The nature and extent of gender discrimination vary Despite recent increases in women's educational attain- considerably across countries and regions. But the patterns ment, women continue to earn less than men in the labor are striking. Gender gaps are widespread in rights, in market-even when they have the same education and years access to and control of resources, in economic opportuni- of work experience. In industrial countries women in the ties, in power and political voice. Women and girls, espe- wage sector earn 77 percent of what men earn on average; cially the poor, bear the largest and most direct costs of in developing countries, 73 percent. And only about a fifth these inequalities-but the costs cut more broadly across of the wage gap can be explained by gender differences in society, ultimately harming everyone. education, work experience, or job characteristics. In no region do women and men have equal social, Limited access to resources and weaker ability to gener- economic, and legal rights. In many countries women still ate income constrain women's power to influence resource lack independent rights to own land, manage property, allocation and investment decisions in the home. And conduct business, or even travel without their husband's unequal rights and poor socioeconomic status relative to consent. In many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa women men limit their ability to influence decisions in their com- obtain land rights chiefly through their husband, and lose munities and at the national level. Women remain vastly those rights when they are divorced or widowed. Gender underrepresented in national and local assemblies, account- disparities in rights constrain the sets of choices available ing for less than 10 percent of seats in parliament on aver- to women in many aspects of life-often profoundly limit- age (except in East Asia, where the figure is 18-19 percent). ing their ability to participate in or benefit from And in no developing region do women hold more than development. 8 percent of ministerial positions. Women still command less of a range of productive While female disadvantages are far more widespread than resources, including land, education, information, and male disadvantages, gender norms and stereotypes affect financial resources. Female-run enterprises tend to be men as well, with important impacts on their well-being. In undercapitalized, with less access to machinery, fertilizer, several countries of Latin America boys, not girls, are drop- extension information, and credit than male-run enter- ping out of school early. And in most parts of the world prises. Such disparities limit women's ability to participate women live longer than men on average, with work-related stress, unemployment, smoking, and alcohol consumption Well-being taking a toll on men's life expectancy. In the transition Foremost among the costs of gender inequalities is their toll economies of Eastern Europe in recent years, men have on human lives and on the quality of lives. A wealth of evi - experienced big increases in mortality rates-the largest reg- dence from around the world demonstrates that societies istered in peacetime-a result of growing stress and anxietv with large, persistent gender inequalities pay the price of due to rapidly worsening unemployment. more poverty, malnutrition, illness, and other deprivations.. While inequalities between women and men exist in all * China and South Asia have excessively high female mor- countries and in all socioeconomic strata within countries, tality. Why? Social norms that favor sons, plus China's one- gender disparities tend to be inversely related to income. child policy, have led to higher child mortality rates for girls For example, gender inequalities in education and health are than for boys. Some estimates indicate that there are greater in low-income than in high-income countries and, 60-100 million fewer women alive today than there woul(d w ithin countries, among the poor than among the nonpoor be in the absence of gender discrimination. (figure 1). * Mothers' illiteracy and lack of schooling directly disad- vantage their young children, through poor quality of care Gender inequialities hiarmti well-being and higher infant and child mortality and malnutrition. antd hinder development Mothers with more education are more likely to adopt Gender inequalities impose large costs on the health and appropriate health-promoting behaviors, such as having well-being of men, women, and children and affect their young children immunized. ability to improve their lives. In addition to these personal Like mothers' schooling, higher household income is costs, gender inequalities reduce the productivity of farms associated with higher child survival rates and better nutri- and enterprises and thus lower the prospects for reducing tion. But putting additional income in the hands of women poverty and achieving economic progress. Gender inequali- tends to have a larger positive impact than putting that ties also weaken a country's governance-and thus the effec- income in the hands of men. tiveness of its development policies. Productivity and economic growth Gender inequalities also impose costs on productivity, F I G U R E 1 efficiency, and economic progress. By hindering the Gender disparities tend to be greater among the poor accumulation of human capital in the home and the labor market, and by systematically excluding women or men Male to female enrollment ratio among the poor from access to resources, public services, or productive 3-0 activities, gender discrimination diminishes an economy's 2.5 capacity to grow and to raise living standards. Low investment in female education reduces a countrr', 2.0 overall output. One study estimates that if the countries iF South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East and 1.5 North Africa had started with the gender gap in average years of schooling that East Asia had in 1960 and had 1.0 closed that gender gap at the rate achieved by East Asia /.5 from 1960 to 1992, their per capita income could have 0.5 grown at an annual rate 0.5-0.9 percentage point higher 0.0 -a substantial increase over actual rates (figure 2). 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 Male to female enroilment ratio among the rich Governance Greater women's rights and more equal participation in Note: The enrollment ratio pertains to the share of children ages 6-14 enrolled in public life by women and men are associated with cleaner schooi, regardless of level. Poor households are those in the bottom 40 percent of a wealth distribution: r ch househo ds, those n the top 20 percent. business and government and better governance. Where Source: World Bank, Engendenog Development (New York: Oxford University Press. 2001i. women's influence in public life is greater, corruption is 2 World Bank Policy and Research Bulletie J]oj&4-September 2000 F I G U R E 2 toms, rights, and laws, as well as economic institutions, such Faster progress in closing gender gaps in schooling as markets. These institutions shape women's and men's would accelerate growth roles and the relationships between them, affect their rela- Average annual growth in per capita GNP, 1960-92 tive access to resources, and influence the activities they are (percent) allowed to pursue. They create incentives that can encour- 4 age or discourage prejudice. Like institutions, household decisions and the resulting 3 resource allocations shape gender roles and relations in fun- 3 ~~~~~~~~Predicted . damental ways. People make many of life's most basic decisions within their households-about having and rais- 2 Actual ing children, engaging in work and leisure, and investing in the future. These decisions can create, reinforce, or mitigate gender disparities. But families do not make decisions in a 1 vacuum; they are influenced by the incentives established by the broader institutional and policy environment. 0 - - _ | Economic policies that affect household income, the Sub-Saharan Africa South Asia Middle East distribution of income among household members, and and North Africa relative prices also affect gender relations and gender out- Note: "Predicted' represents the average predicted GNP growth rate for a region if ts comes. In fact, gender disparities in rights and resources gender gap in education had narrowed as fast as East Asia's did in 1960-92. mean that even apparently gender-neutral policies can have Source: World Bank, Engendering Development (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001). gender-differentiated outcomes. Failure to recognize this can compromise the effectiveness of policy-from the lower. This holds even when comparing countries with perspective of both efficiency and equity. similar income, civil liberties, education, and legal So, societal institutions, household decisions, and eco- institutions. Although still only suggestive, these findings nomic policies together determine women's and men's oppor- lend additional support for having more women in the tunities and life prospects. They also represent important entry labor force and in politics. points for public policy to address persistent gender disparities. Women in business are less likely to pay bribes to government officials, perhaps because women have higher A three-part strategy for promoting gender equality standards of ethical behavior or greater aversion to risk. That gender inequalities exact high human costs and con- A study of 350 firms in the republic of Georgia concludes strain countries' development prospects provides a com- that firms owned or managed by men are 10 percent more pelling case for public and private action to promote gender likely to make unofficial payments to government officials equality. The state has a critical role in improving the well- than those owned or managed by women. This result holds being of both women and men and, in doing so, in captur- regardless of the characteristics of the firm, such as its size ing the substantial social benefits associated with improving and the sector in which it operates, and the characteristics the absolute and relative status of women and girls. Public of the owner or manager, such as education. When these action is particularly important, since it is extremely diffi- factors are not controlled for, firms managed by men are cult, if not impossible, for individuals alone to change social twice as likely to pay bribes. and legal institutions that perpetuate gender inequalities. The evidence argues for a three-part strategy for promoting Why do gender disparities persist? gender equality: If gender inequalities harm people's well-being and coun- Reform institutions to establish equal rights and oppor- tries' development prospects, why do harmful disparities tunities for women and men. persist in so many countries? What factors stand in the way * Foster economic development to strengthen incentives of transforming gender relations and eliminating gender for more equal resources and participation. inequalities? One set of factors underlying gender inequali- a Take active measures to redress persistent disparities in ties is embedded in societal institutions, such as norms, cus- command over resources and political voice. July-September 2000 World Bank Policy and Research Bulletin 3 Reforming institutions cost, gender disparities in human capital tend to fall as Because legal, social, and economic institutions shape household incomes rise. When economic development women's and men's access to resources, their opportunities, expands work opporttinities, it raises the expected rate of and their relative power, a critical element in promoting return to human capital, strengthening the incentives for gender equality is establishing a level institutional "playing families to invest in girls' health and education and for field" for women and men. women to participate in the labor forcc. Legal, social, and economic rights provide an enabling Economic development leads to the emergence of labor environment in which women and men can participate pro- markets where none had existed. Where active labor mar- ductively in society, attain a basic quality of life, and take kets exist, hired labor can substitute for female family advantage of the new opportunities that development labor, whether on farms or in household activities. This affords. Greater equality in rights is consistently and system- allows households to use time more efficiently, perhaps atically associated with greater gender equality in education, reducing women's workload. Moreover, economic growth is health, and political participation-effects independent of typically accompanied by an expansion of investments in income. infrastructure-for fuel, transport, and safe water. This too The structure of economic institutions also affects gender tends to reduce the time women and girls need to dedicate equality in important ways. Markets embody a powerful set to household activities, with potential benefits for their of incentives that influence decisions and actions for work, health, their participation in income-generating activities, saving, investment, and consumption. The relative wages of and, for girls, their school attendance. men and women, the returns to productive assets, and the Together, the evidence suggests that economic develop- prices of goods and services are all determined largely by the ment and institutional change are both critical elements of a structure of markets. Evidence from Mexico and the United long-term strategy to promote gender equality. For examplc, States suggests that firms operating in competitive environ- where per capita income and gender equality in rights are ments discriminate less against women in hiring and pay low, increasing either incomes or equality in rights is associ- practices than do firms with significant market power in protected environments. n 1 1 11 r a rr r iFIG U RE 3 Similarly, the design of program delnverN-school sys- FIGURE3 Simiar thedesign of programdelivery-schoolsGreater gender equality in rights and higher national tems, health care centers, financial organizations, agricul- . . . r micome promote gender equality in education tural extension programs-can facilitate or inhibit equitable access for females and males. Involving the community in Female to male secondary enrollment ratio designing public service delivery helps to address local 1.05 demands, often with positive effects on access and use by girls and women. 1.00 0.86 Fostering economic development In most settings economic development is associated with improved circumstances for women and girls and greater gender equalitv. For example. when economic development improves the availability and quality of public services, such as schools and health clinics, it lowers the cost of invest- High ments in human capital for the household. If costs decline iXHncome more for females than for males, or if investments in females Low are more sensitive to price changes than investments in ooo Income males, as evidence suggests. females benefit more. High equality Low equality When economic development raises incomes and reduces in rights in rights poverty, gender gaps often narrow. Since low-income fami- Note: Based on simulat ons derived trom multiple regression results, controll ng for income and rights. Low- and high-income countries are grouped according to the ties are forced to ration spending on education, nutrition, median value of per capita GDP. All salues are population-weighted averages. Source: World Bank, Engendering Development (New York: Oxford University Press, and health care, with women and girls bearing much of the 2001). 4 World Bank Policy and Researclh Bulletin July--Septern ber 2000 ated with greater gender equality, whether in education or Women and men face gender-specific risks during eco- in political participation. Improving both rights and nomic shocks or policy reforms. Taking gender differences incomes is associated with even greater gains (figure 3). in risk and vulnerability into account in designing social protection is particularly important because women and Taking active policy measures men in the same household may not pool risk. Because the combined effects of institutional reform and * To protect both women and men, social protection pro- economic development usually take time to be realized, grams need to account for factors that can result in gender bias active measures are often warranted in the short to medium in participation and benefits. For example, safety net programs term. Active measures are concrete (often targeted) steps have frequently (if inadvertently) excluded women by failing aimed at redressing specific forms of gender discrimination to account for gender differences in labor supply behavior, and exclusion-in the home, the community, or the access to information, or the types of work considered workplace. appropriate. Policymakers have a broad range of policy levers to * Old age security programs that do not account for gen- increase equality in access to productive resources and earn- der differences in employment, earnings, and life ings opportunities, expand women's and girls' participation expectancy risk leaving women-especially widows-partic- outside the home, strengthen social protection for both ularly vulnerable to poverty in old age. women and men, and promote greater female political par- Institutional changes that establish gender equality in ticipation and voice. basic rights are the cornerstone of greater equality in politi- * Reducing the costs of schooling, addressing parental con- cal participation and voice. Moreover, actions that promote cerns about girls' modesty or safety, and increasing returns gender equality in education and access to information to families from investing in girls' schooling through (including legal literacy) can strengthen women's agency improvements in school quality can overcome social and and thus their capacity to participate in the political arena. economic barriers to girls' education, even in highly gender- In addition, recent experience in more than 30 countries stratified societies. suggests that political "reservation" can be effective in accel- * Designing financial institutions in ways that account for erating progress toward greater female political participation gender-specific constraints-whether by using peer groups and representation. Reservation takes different forms, but in place of traditional forms of collateral, by simplifying generally requires reserving for women a minimum number banking procedures, or by delivering financial services closer (or proportion) of the spots on political parties' slates of to homes, markets, and workplaces-can increase women's candidates or of the electoral seats in national or local access to savings and credit. assemblies. * Land reforms that provide for joint titling of husband . . and wife or that enable women to hold independent land In sumII, a substantial body of micro-level and cross- titles can increase women's control of land where statutory country evidence makes a compelling case for state law predominates. Where customary and statutory law oper- intervention to promote gender equality. Indeed, the state, ate side-by-side, their interactions must be taken into account civil society groups, and the international community all if efforts to strengthen women's access to land are to succeed. have critical roles to play in fighting gender discrimination * Selected investments in fuel, water, transport, and other and, in doing so, enabling societies to reap the considerable time-saving infrastructure can reduce the often long hours social and economic benefits of greater gender equality. women and girls spend on domestic chores, particularly in poor, rural areas-freeing girls to attend school and women This article draws on the World Banks Engendering to undertake other, more productive activities. Development-through Gender Equality in Rights, * Providing public support for out-of-home child care ser- Resources, and Voice (New York: Oxford University Press, vices can reduce the time women and adolescent girls must 2001). For ordering information, see the last page. dedicate to care, allowing greater economic participation for A stimmary of the report is available on the Web (www. women and more schooling for girls. worldbank.org/gender/prr). JulySeptember 2000 World Bank Plolicy and Research Bulletin 5 Ecopomic and Environmental more migration. In these circum- CAY lir!e s e arc nli Impacts of Lowland Agricultvral stances standard partial equilibrium Development on, Poor Upland rules for the optimal provision of locA The researchl projects described Comminjunities in Palawan, public goods no longer apply. here are directed by World Bank Philippines This study will examine how local staff and finded by the Bank's Stefano Pagiola public goods should be optimally pro- central Research Support Budget (spagiola@worldbank. org) vided in a general equilibrium frame- (RSB). Research) proposals being Environment Department work, taking into account the links prepared with RSB funding are Intensification of agricultural produc- with urban migration as well as redis- listed on page 8. For information tion is often seen as a solution to a tribution to the poor through tax and about the research projects described dual problem-the need to increase subsidy policies. Optimal provision here, conitact the researchers by email food production and rural incomes will be compared in three settings: ful I or at the Banzks main address (see while preserving remaining forests. decentralization (with services pro- back page). But the overall impact of agricultural vided and financed by the city govern- intensification is ambiguous. While it ment), partial decentralization (partial Pesticide Use in Brazil can increase labor demand, it can also financing by the central government). Ssrsmita Dasgupta lead to a shift toward labor-saving and full centralization (provision and (sdasgupta@worldbank.org) production practices. And while it financing by the central government). Development Research Group might concentrate efforts into a RSBfiunding: $39,900 Heavy use of chemical pesticides smaller area by increasing returns, and Staff weeks: 3 causes serious damage to human thus spare forests, it might also lead to health and the environment, especially expansion of cultivated areas by The AAntiexpo.t BMa: in developing countries. But lack of increasing profitability. 10 Duty Drawhac s reliable information on pesticide This research will undertake a case Marcelo Olarreaga application, related damage, and the study of how agricultural intensifica- (rniolarreaga@worldbank.org) responsiveness of pesticide use to tion affects patterns of labor demand Development Research Group regulation has hampered a policy and pressures on forest areas in a rice- Duty drawbacks, which provide duro- response in these countries. growing area of the Philippines. The free entry for imported inputs used in This study aims to help fill that analysis will draw on a household producing exports, are commonly used information gap. Using new data panel data set covering three periods. for correcting the antiexport bias of from Brazil, the study will compile RSB funding: $23,750 protectionist trade regimes. This study, a comprehensive database on Staff weeks: 4 by looking at the political economy county-level pesticide application effects of duty drawbacks, aims to in that country. It will then use the Migration, Decentralization, and deepen the understanding of how they database to identify "hot spots"- Public Good Provision to the Poo=r affect trade protection. By reducing areas with intense pesticide applica- Maiareen Cropper exporters' incentives to lobby against tion where targeted monitoring (mcropper@worldbank.org) protection, they may lead to higher and intervention can yield maximum Development Research Grouip rather than lower levels of protection. social benefits. For the hot spots, High rates of migration from rural to Using political economy models, the studv will also develop a urban areas in developing countries the study will explore the conditions preliminary socioeconomic and strain urban systems for providing under which duty drawbacks correct agricultural profile, including such such public goods as water and sanita- the antiexport bias of trade policy information as farm sizes and land tion, health care, and education, par- when it is subject to lobbying, extend- use patterns. ticularly when these are subsidized or ing the analysis to trade policy RSBfninding: $38, 000 provided free to the poor. But improv- determination in regional trade Staff weeks: 16 ing these systems may encourage even arrangements. It will also investigate 6 World Bank Policy and Researcl BuIlettn July-Septemher 2000 whether eliminating drawbacks in Public Default and Corruption in While developing countries have intraregional trade helps explain the Public Markets: The Russian Case had little experience in using eco- unilateral tariff reduction that came Randi Ryterman nomic instruments for land manage- with Mercosur. (rryterman@worldbank.org) ment, some have begun to experiment RSB funding: $18, 000 Europe and Central Asia Region, with such tools, such as Brazil (see Staff weeks: 5 Poverty Reduction and Economic description of Fiscal Incentives for Management Sector Unit Conservation in Brazil on this page), Fiscal Incentives for Conservation Delays and uncertainty in public pay- Costa Rica, and South Africa. The in Brazil: A Political Economy ments have become a common prob- experiments are relatively new, how- Analysis lem in the transition economies of ever, and the results have not yet been Kenneth Chomitz Europe and Central Asia. This has cre- synthesized. (kchomitz@worldbank.org) ated scope for discretionary decision- This research project will survey Development Research Group making-with public officials able to government, academic, and private There has been growing interest in solicit bribes from suppliers to guaran- sector specialists to gather information using direct and indirect incentives tee payment. Moreover, this situation on innovative uses of economic instru- for land protection as a means of can be self-perpetuating-creating an ments for land management in devel- promoting habitat conservation. But "extortion bubble"-as the probability oping countries. Once the infor- experience with them in the develop- of default leads suppliers to charge mation has been compiled, the study ing world has been limited, and their higher prices than they otherwise will identify policy lessons based on feasibility in this setting remains open would, which in turn increases public the experience and propose in-depth to question. spending and thus the likelihood of investigations where appropriate. The largest and longest-running default. This research is related to a larger conservation incentive programs in This study will explore links project, Economic Instruments for the developing world are the ICMS between corruption and public default Conservation (see the April-June Ecol6gico programs in Brazil. Under in the Russian Federation using a 1999 issue). these programs several Brazilian states model based on auction and game RSBfunding: $18,000 have modified their revenue sharing theory. Based on the findings, it will Staff weeks: 1 arrangements to provide incentives for recommend reforms to reduce corrup- municipios (counties) to create and tion in the Russian procurement The Impact of Changes maintain protected areas. system. in Prices, Taxes, Subsidies, Using quantitative and qualitative RSB funding: $39,500 and Stipends on Poverty methods, this research project will Staff weeks: 1 Quentin Wodon examine experience with the programs (qwodon @worldbank. org) in two states, Minas Gerais and Survey and Review of Economic Latin America and the Caribbean Parana, to assess whether they have Instruments for Land Management Region, Poverty Sector Unit created effective incentives for protect- in the Developing World Policies affecting the prices of goods- ing land and, if so, through what Kenneth Chomitz through import tariffs, sales and other channels these incentives work. It will (kchomitz@worldbank.org) indirect taxes, price subsidies, and also look at how the programs have Dezvelopment Research Group stipends-have important effects on affected distribution. In developed countries governments as the poor. Policymakers need to know This research is related to a larger well as private groups are using eco- what these effects are. But the tools project, Economic Instruments for nomic instruments-such as direct available for evaluating them have Conservation (see the April-June incentives and disincentives for land- limits. 1999 issue). holders-to promote land conserva- Most important, the tools do not RSBfunding: $39,500 tion. Are these instruments suitable provide tests for the robustness of Staff weeks: 10 for developing countries? the analysis-and thus the policy July September 2000 World Bank Policy and Research Bulletin 7 conclusions-to different concepts income growth, which components of 1 1 and measures of povertv. Without their income increased most quickly, 1J jJ catio s such tests, analysts risk suggesting pol- and which policies brought about icy changes that hurt rather than ben- these changes. It will also examine efit the poor. how the income growth affected This research project aims to household living standards as reflected For injormation on howv to order the develop new analytical tools that can in such indicators as child nutrition, World Bank publications revliewed io contribute to the design of robust school enrollment, fertility, and infant this issue, see page 16 policies relating to prices, taxes, subsi- and child mortality. dies, stipends, and related instru- RSBfiinding: $100,000 B 0 0 K S ments. It will develop these new tools Staff weeks: 55 theoretically and apply them empiri- Making Transition Work for callv to household-level data for sev- Everyone: Poverty and eral Latin American countries. R E S E A R C H P R 0 P 0 S A L S Inequality in Europe and RSBfiinding: $39,000 U N D E R P R E P A R A T I O N Central Asia The transition economies of Europe Economic Growth and Household Transparency in the Public Sector: and Central Asia experienced a Welfare: Policy Lessons from An Empirical Investigation of Its dramatic rise in poverty and VIietnam Causes and Consequences inequality in the past decade. David Dollar and Paul Glewive Daniel Kaufinann Drawing on new household survey (ddollar@ivorldbank.org or World Bank Institute, Governance, data and extensive qualitative studies, pglewwe@it'orldbank.org) Regu7lation, and Finance Division this volume brings together the latest Development Research Group RSB funding: $10,000 findings on the nature and evolution Most economists would agree that of povertv and inequality in the economic growth is essential for Pollution-Free Agriculture: region. reducing poverty-and that the form The Economics of Organic The book explores the different of that growth matters. But what poli- Farming in Developing responses to the collapse in economic cies promote the right kind of growth? Countries output in the initial years of the And what policies ensure that growth Susnzita Dasgupta transition and their implications for reduces poverty quicklv? Development Research Group poverty and inequality. And it looks This research project will shed light RSBffunding: $11,900 at the policv actions needed to on these questions by examining the reduce poverty and create inclusive experience of Vietniam, which has had Local Governance and Economic societies. First and foremost is to marked success in promoting eco- Well-Being: Evidence from the foster institutions at the communitv, nomic growth, reducing poverty, and Indian Panchayat Reforms local, and national level that are raising living standards. Through Vij/ayendra Rao accountable to and inclusive of all macroeconomic analvsis, based on Developnient Research Group parts of society. These institutions time-series data from Vietnam and RSBfunding: $15,000 provide the foundation for function- cross-country data from a large num- ing democratic societies, good gover- ber of developing countries, it will Start-Up of Indonesian nance, and shared economic growth. identify the policies that led to Local-Level Institutions Study Sustained growth will also require Vietnam's high growth. Using house- Scott Guggenheim completing reforms and building hold survey data from Vietnam and East Asia and Pacific Region, open and competitive markets, with other developing countries, the Environment and Social Development adequate safeguards where markets research will detcrmine which Sector Unit may fail. Vietnamese households experienced RSB finding: $28,200 8 Wlild Bank Policy and Research Butlletini july-Septemher 2000 Trade Blocs Achievements and Challenges local assistance, and requirements for Policy Research Report of Fiscal Decentralization: implementing the new strategy. And A copublication of the World Bank Lessons from Mexico it looks at how local governments- and Oxford University Press Steven B. Webb and Marcelo Giugale, in partnership with other public This book analyzes both the political editors agencies, the private sector, and local and the economic benefits of trade Democratization, decentralization, residents-can ensure the delivery blocs. It looks at the implications of and development have swept the and financing of essential services and these trading arrangements and at the world over the past decade, redrawing promote the welfare and productivity policy options for countries today. the maps of politics, power, and pros- of the urban society. The book comes to these conclusions, perity. Mexico is a rich case study of among others: For developing coun- the effects of these forces. In recent The World Bank Research Program tries, selecting high-income countries years enhanced political competition 2000: Abstracts of Current as partners may be the best option in has redistributed decisionmaking Studies terms of the potential for income con- across all levels of government, mak- This volume is a compilation of vergence over time. And there is no ing it more accountable to the average abstracts on research projects initiated, evidence to suggest that regional citizen-and has given subnational under way, or completed in fiscal agreements either aid or impede trade governments a renewed role as eco- 2000 (July 1, 1999, through June 30, liberalization efforts under the World nomic agents. State and municipal 2000). For each project an abstract Trade Organization. taxation, spending, borrowing, and describes the questions addressed, the institutions are increasingly subject to analytical methods used, the findings Local Dynamics in an Era market discipline. And closer scrutiny to date, their policy implications, and of Globalization: 21st Century by voters and financiers is creating a any reports produced. The volume Catalysts for Development new incentive framework for policy- covers more than 170 projects, Shahid Yusuf Simon J Evenett, makers. grouped by theme, that have been car- and Weiping Wu This book, the product of analyti- ried out by units throughout the A copublication of the World Bank cal work by many experts-Mexican Bank. and Oxford University Press and foreign-documents decentraliza- Even as globalization eliminates tion in Mexico and compares it with J 0 U R N A L distance and joins countries, pressures international experience. It distills for local autonomy and toward critical lessons and challenges relevant The articles summarized below urbanization are diffusing economic for Mexico, for Latin America, and appear in the August issue of the and political power within countries. for all countries embarking on far- World Bank Research Observer, These changes are transforming the reaching decentralization efforts. vol. 15, no. 2. role of governments and expanding that of private and nongovernmental Cities in Transition: A Strategic International Approaches actors. This volume, a collection of View of Urban and Local to Global Climate Change papers by leading authorities in Government Issues Richard N Cooper different fields, discusses some of the Within a generation the developing This article surveys the issues in slow- major aspects of decentralization world will be predominantly urban. ing the climate change induced by and urban change in the context of Unprecedented in scale, the urbaniza- global emissions of greenhouse gases. globalization, drawing on the experi- tion that is occurring offers countries It addresses the possible social and ences of both developing and indus- opportunities to improve the quality economic impacts of global warming, trial countries. The book offers a of life for their citizens. the elements involved in evaluating wide-ranging analysis of key trends This book discusses a vision of sus- steps to reduce those impacts, and the over the coming decades, with a focus tainable cities, the need for a renewed issues in engaging most states in a on the Pacific Basin. World Bank strategy for urban and cooperative endeavor to reduce emis- Julj-September 2000 World Bank Policy and Research Bulletin 9 sions. Kenneth J. Arrow responds in a research as it pertains to economic this system-its origins, its evolution, comment on the article. development and identifies four the factors that perpetuate it, and its approaches the research has taken: costs-and identifies a minimum set What Shouild the World Bank communitarian, networks, institu- of economic reforms needed to dis- Thwnk aboout the Washington tional, and synergv. It argues that the mantle it. C ,;nsensus5 synergy view has the greatest empirical John Williamson support. Agricultural Support Policies The phrase Washington Consensus has in Transition Economies bccome a familiar term in develop- Contagion: Understanding How Alberto Valdes, editor ment policy circles but is now used in It Spreads Technical Paper 470 several different senses, causing confu- Rudiger Dornbusclh, Yang Chul Park, Before the recent reforms, agriculture sion. In this article the author distin- and Stijn Claessens was heavily subsidized in most coun- guishes between his original meaning Much of the debate on reforming the tries of Eastern Europe. As countries as a summary of the lowest common international financial architecture is began to open their markets, liberalize denominator of policy advice by the aimed at reducing the risks of conta- prices, and reduce subsidies, the sup- V'dshington-based institutions and gion. During a crisis the ways in port to agriculture declined drasticall.,t subsequent use of the term to signify which shocks are transmitted seem to But since the mid-I 990s this trend has neoliberal or market-fundamentalist differ, and these differences appear to been reversed in most Eastern policies. T. N. Srinivasan provides a be important. Empirical research has European countries. comment on the article. helped to identifv the countries at risk This report analyzes the agricul- of contagion as well as some general tural sector in these countries, estima:- n;Pak inks irn la Chainr policv interventions that can reduce ing indicators of agricultural support A Diaguousis of Health Policy risk. and looking at the impact of trade and ii-; Poor Countries price policies. It also examines the Deon Filmner, Jeffrey S. Hammer, D I S C U S S I 0 N, extent to which those policies have and Lanlt H. Pritchett T E C H N I C A L . A N D provided for a more internationally Recent theoretical and empirical liter- R E L A T E D P A P E R S competitive agricultural sector. ature sheds light on the disappointing experience with implementing pri- Dismantling Russia's Nonpayments Poverty and Policy in Latin mary health care programs in develop- System: Creating Conditions America and the Caribbean ing countries. This article focuses on for Growth Quentin T Wodonz, with the evidence showing two weak links Brian Pinto, Vladimnir Drebentsov, and contributionsfromn others in the chain berxveen government Alexander Morozov Technical Paper 467 spending for health services and actual Technical Paper 471 Many dimensions of social welfare improvements in health: inadequate A question preoccupying many schol- show signs of improvement in Latin institutional capacity and market ars and practitioners is this: How can America and the Caribbean. Life failures. economic growth be reinvigorated in expectancy at birth, the share of the the Russian Federation? This paper population with access to safe water, .Soc;at Canital: Implications aims to contribute to the debate and adult literacy and school enroll- tor Development Thleory, by focusing on the problem of ment rates are all improving. So are Resealr.h, andt Policy nonpayments. nutrition indicators. But progress in Alich7ael Woolcock and Deepa Narayan Nonpayments in Russia evolved reducing poverty and inequality In the 1990s the concept of social cap- into a complex, interlinked system in remains sluggish. ital rose to prominence across all the the second half of the 1 990s, becom- This report analyzes the evolution social science disciplines. This article ing one of the most critical issues fac- of poverty and inequality in the region traces the evolution of social capital ing policymakers. The paper analyzes over the period 1986-96, with projec- 10 Wor&l Bank Policy and Research/ Bulletin July-September 2000 tions to 1998, and reviews the policies Determinants of Current Account The Distribution of Mexico's Public that have been advocated or imple- Deficits in Developing Countries Spending on Education mented to reduce poverty. It combines Cesar Caldero'n, Alberto Chong, Gladys Lopez-Acevedo andAngel Salinas the results of new empirical work and Norman Loayza WPS 2404 * Contact Michael Geller, based on household survey data from WPS 2398 * Contact Hazel room I4-142, fax 202-522-2093. 12 countries, theoretical developments Vargas, room I8-138, fax 202- Marginal Willingness to Pay for (including new research techniques), 522-2119. Education and the Determinants and a review of the literature on Managers, Investors, and Crises: of Enrollment in Mexico povtherty,gionequality, andsocialpolicy Mutual Fund Strategies in Gladys Lopez-Acevedo andAngel Salinas In the region. Emerging Markets WPS 2405 * Contact Michael Geller, Graciela Kaminsky, Richard Lyons, room 4-142, fax 202-522-2093. POLICY RESEARCH andSergio Schmukler ,r Xr W OR K ING PAPERS How Mexico's Financial Crisis W/PS 2399 * Contact Emily Affected Income Distribution Working Papers disseminate the Khine, room MC3-347, fax 202- Gladys Lopez-Acevedo andAngel Salinas findings of work in progress and WPS 2406 * Contact Michael Geller, encourage the exchange of ideas Child Care and Women's Labor room I4-142, fax 202-522-2093. among Bank staff and all others Force Participation in Romania Utility Privatization and the Needs of interested in development issues. Monica Fong and Michael Lokshin Working Papers can be down- WPS 2400 * Contact Patricia Learned Enouhto Get ItvRght loadedfrom the Web at econ.world Sader, room MC3-632, fax 202- vantn Estach Ar Gez-toiot bank.org or requestedfrom the con- 522-1153. and Danny Leipziger tact person indicated at the Bank~ n an epie maicn address. Telecom Traffic and Investment WPS 2407 * Contact Gabriela in Developing Countries: The Effects Chenet-Smith, room J3-147, fax Decentralizing the Provision of Health of International Settlement Rate 202-676-9874. Services: An Incomplete Contracts Reductions W Approach ScottJ. Wallsten Wha Mae'aksSeil A Study of Banking, Finance, William Jack WPS 2401 * Contact Paulina Sintim- ' . D and Economic Development WPS 2395 * Contact Hedy Aboagye, room MC3-422, fax 202- . B Sladovich, room MC2-609, fax 522-1155. BIai Bossone W/PS 2408 * Contact Elena Mekhova, 202-522-1154. Debt Management in Brazil: room MC9-622, fax 202-522-2031. Aid Dependence and the Quality Evaluation of the Real Plan and . D of Governance: A Cross-Country Challenges Ahead Fare in the 1990s P Empirical Analysis Afonso S. Bevilaqua and Mdrcio Shaohua Chen andMartin Ravalion Stephen Knack G. I? Garcia WPS 2409 * Contact Patricia WPS 2396 * Contact Paulina Sintim- WPS 2402 * Contact Suman Bery, Sader. room MC3-556, fax 202- Aboagye, room MC3-422, fax 202- room I4-173, fax 202-522-3130. 522-1153. 522-1155. Can the World Cut Poverty in Half? Is Functional Literacy a Prerequisite Verifying Exchange Rate Regimes How Policy Reform and Effective fo Enting teLabo aret?iAn Jeffrey Frankel, Eduardo Fajnzylber, Aid Can Meet International Analyis oDterMantsto Ad Sergio Schmukler, and Luis Serve'n Development Goals . ' WVPS 2397 * Contact Emily Khine, Paul Collier and David Dollar Literacy and Earnings in Ghana Niels-Hugo Blunch and Dorte Verner room MC3-347, fax 202-522-3518. WVPS 2403 Contact Emily Khine, /PS 2410 Contact Hazel Vargas, room MC3-347, fax 202-522-3518. room I8-138, fax 202-522-2119. July-September 2000 World Bank Policy and Research Bulletin 11 Natural Openness and Good Polarization, Politics, and Property Are Returns to Investment Lower Government Rights: Links between Inequality for the Poor? Human and Physical Shang-Jin Wei and Growth Capital Interactions in Rural Vietnam WPS 2411 * Contact Hedy Philip Keefer and Stephen Knack Dominique van de Walle Sladovich, roormz MC2-609, fax WPS 2418 * Co ntact Paulina Sintim- WPS 2425 * Coontact Hedy Sladovich, 202-522-1154. Aboagye, room MC3-422, fax 202- roon MC2-609, fax 202-52-7-1154. UIrbanization without Growth: 522-1155. Commodity Price Uncertainty A Not-So-Uncommon Phenomenon The Savings Collapse during the in Developing Countries Alarianne Fay and Charlotte Opal Transition in Eastern Europe Jan Dehn WPS 2412 * Contact Awatif Cevdet Denizer and Holger C. Wolf WPS 2426 - Contact PTanos Varangis, Abuzeid, room F4K-332. fax 202- WPS 2419 * Con tact Irina Partola, room MC3-535, fax 202-522-1151. 522-3232. roomn H4-346, fax 202-522-2751. Public Officials and Their Foreign Direct Investment Public versus Private Ownership: Institutional Environment: in Services and the Domestic The Current State of the Debate An Analytical Model for Assessing Mtarket for Expertise Mary Shirley and Patrick Walsh the Impact of Institutional Change James Markusen, Thomas F Rutherfird, WPS 2420 * Contact Zeny Kranzer, on Public Sector Performance aud David Tarr roomn MC3-439, fax 202-522-1155. Nick Manning, Ranjana Mukherjee, Wl'S 2413 * C(ontact Lili Tabada, and Omer Gokcekus Contractual Savings or Stock Market room MC3-33.3, fix 202-522-1159. Deeopment-Which Leads? WPS 2427 * Contact Claudia Nolan, Dceomnrhc Leds row7n MC4-562, fa-v202-522-7132. Pension Reform and Capital Market Mario Catalan, Gregorio Impavido, Developmcnt: "Feasibility" and and Alberto R. Musalem The Role of Foreign Investors in Debt "Impact" Preconditions WPS 2421 * Contact Patricia Bra. ton, Market Development: Conceptual Dimitri Vittas room MC9-704, fax 202-522-7105. Frameworks and Policy Issues WP7)5 2414 * Con tact Ag7nes Private Provision of a Public Good: Jeong Yeon Lec Yaptenco, room MC3-446, fax Sc Ci a PS 2428 * Coontact Agncs Yaptenco, 202-52-1-1155. S~~~~ocial Capital andl Solid Waste ro C346 1~ 0-2-15 Management in Dhaka, Bangladesh Inirastructure Restructuring and Sheoli Pargal, Daniel Gilligan, Corruption, Composition of Capital Regulation: Building a Base for and Mainul Huq Flows, and Currency Crises Sustainable Growth WPS 2422 * Contact Sheoli Pa7gal. Shang-Jin Wei Ian Alexander and Antonio Estache room I5-039, fax 202-522-2106 WPS 2429 * C(ontact Hedy Sladovich, WPS 2415 * Contact Mina Salehi, Financial Structure and Economic room MC'2-609, fax 202-522-1154. roomi I9-240, fax 202-522-3481. Development: Firm, Industry, Financial Structure and Bank The Swiss Multi-Pillar Pension and Country Evidence Profitability System: Triumph of Common Sense? Thorsten Beck, Asli Demirgfif-Kunt, Asli Demirgii(-Kunttand fon ika Queisscr and Dimitri Vittas Ross Levine, and Vojislav A'laksimovic Harry Huizinga W175 2416 * Contact Agnes WPS 2423 * Contact Kari Labrie, WPS 2430 * Contact Kari Labrie, )iptenco, room MC3-446. fix roon MC3-456, fax 202-522-1155. 7r00oo MC3-456, fax 202-522-1155. 202-522-1155. Global Transmission of Interest Rates: Inside the Crisis: An Empirical The Indirect Approach Monetary Independence and the Analysis of Banking Systems Currency Regime in Distress DaWid 2tllerita t B oJrey l,egio Asli Deimirgfii-Kunut, Fnrica W7INS 241, - Con7ltact Bezazvork Jeffry Fiankel, Sergi'o Schmukler, Detragiache, and Poonam Gupta AMekuria, room MC4-328, faiY and Luis Serven WPS 2431 * Contact Kari Labrie, 202-522-1 158. WPS 2424 * Contact Emily Khine, roomn MC3-456, fax 202-522-1155. roomn MC3-34.7 f ix 202-522-3518. 12 World Bank Polict' annd Research Bulletin july September 2000 Funding Growth in Bank-Based and State-Community Synergies Forecasting the Demand for Privatized Market-Based Financial Systems: in Development: Laying the Basis Transport: What Economic Regulators Evidence from Firm-Level Data for Collective Action Should Know, and Why Aslh Demirgui,-Kunt and Vojislav Monica Das Gupta, Helene Lourdes Trujillo, Emile Quinet, Maksimovic Grandvoinnet, and Mattia Romani and Antonio Estache room MC3 -456, fax 202-522-1155. WPS 2439 * Contact Monica Das WPS 2446 * Contact Gabriela Chenet- Gupta, room MC3-633, fax 202- Smith, room J3-147, fax 202-676- External Interventions and the 522-1153. 9874. Duration of Civil Wars Ibra him A. Elbadawi and Nicholas Lessons from Uganda on Strategies Attrition in Longitudinal Household Sambanis to Fight Poverty Survey Data: Some Tests for Three WPS 2433 * Contact Hedy Sladovich, John Mackinnon and Ritva Reinikka Developing-Country Samples room MC2-609, fax 202-522-1154. W/PS 2440 * Contact Hedy Sladovich, Harold Alderman, Jere R. Behrman, room MC2-609, fax 202-522-1154. Hans-Peter Kohler, John A. Maluccio, Socioeconomic Inequalities in Child and Susan Cotts Watkins .. . . ~~~~~Controlling the Fiscal Costs of Malnutrition in the Developing World P WTS 2447 * Contact Patricia Sader, Adam Wagstaff and Naoko Watanabe Patrick Honohan and Dani'ela room MC3-556, fax 202-522-1153. WPS 2434 * Contact Anna Marafion, Klingehi Oi room MC3-558,fax202-522-1153. KlingebielOn "Good" Politicians and "Bad" WPS2441 * ContactAgnes Yaptenco, Policies: Social Cohesion, The Evolution of Poverty during room MC3-446, fax 202-522-1155. Institutions, and Growth the Crisis in Indonesia, 1996-99 Jo Ritzen, William Easterly, and Suryahadi, ~~~~A Firm's Eye View of Policy and Fiscal Asep Suryahadi, Sudarno Sumarto, Michael Woolcock YusufSuharso, and Lant Pritchett Refrms inuCaieroon o/WPS 2448 * Contact Anne Joy WVPS 2435 * Contact Patricia Sader, Bnard The, 'r o Kibutu, room MC4-320, fax 202- room MC3-556, fax 202-522-1153. and James Tyadout 522-1158. V/PS 2442 * Contact Li/i Tabada,52-18 Safety Nets and Safety Ropes: Who room MC3-333, fax 202-522-1159. Pricing Irrigation Water: Benefited from Two Indonesian Crisis A Literature Survey Programs-the "Poor" or the "Shocked?" Te it ofvecono Policy Robert C Johansson Reform in Developing Countries Sudarno Sumarto, Asep Suryahadi, Richard H Adams Jr. WiliS, ConoMct Melissa and Lant Pritchett Williams, room MC5-724, fax WPS 2436 * Contact Patricia Sader, 202-522-3308. room MC3 -556, fax 202-522-1153. Taylor, room MC4-554, fax 202-522- 3283. Which Firms Do Foreigners Buy? Quantifying Vulnerability to Poverty: "Seize the State, Seize the Day": Evidence from the Republic of Korea A Proposed Measure, Applied to State Capture, Corruption, and Caroline Freund and Simeon Influence in Transition Djankov Lant Pritchett, Asep Suryahadi, and /WPS 2450 * Contact Rose Vo, room Sudarno Sumarto JeS Han, Geraint MC9-626, fax 202-522-2031. WVPS 2437 * Contact Patricia Sader, room MC3-556, fax 202-522-1153. WVPS 2444 * Contact Diane Billups, Can There Be Growth with Equity? room J3-131, fax 202-334-8350. An Initial Assessment of Land Measurements of Poverty in Reform in South Africa Indonesia: 1996, 1999, and Beyond Subsidies Klaus Deininger andJulian May Menno Pradhan, Asep Suryahadi, ra WPS2451 ContactMaria Sudano Smart, ad Lat Prtchet VPS 2445 * Contact GabrielaV/S25 CotcMai Sudarno Sumarto, and Lant Pritchett Chenet-Smith, room J3-147, fax Fernandez, room MC3-508, fax WPS 2438 * Contact Patricia Sader, C r 202-522-1151. room MC3-556, fax 202-522-1153. 202-676-9874. July-September 2000 World Bank Policy and Research Bulletin 13 Trends in Private Sector Development Labor Redundancy, Retraining, and Does Financial Liberalization Relax in World Bank Education Projects Outplacement during Privatization: Financing Constraints on Firms? Shobhana Sosale The Experience of Brazil's Federal Luc Laeven WPS 2452* Contact Shohhana Sosale, Railway WPS 2467 Contact Rose Vo, room room G8-05.7, fax 202-522-3233. Antonio Estache andJose Antonio MC9-624, fax 202-522-2031. Designing Financial Safety Nets Schmitt de Azevedo Pricing, Subsidies, and the Poor: to Fir Country Circumstances WPS 2460 * Contact Gabriela Demand for Improved Water Edward J Kane Chenet-Smith, room J3-147, fax Services in Central America WPS 2453 * Contact Kari Labrie, 202-676-9874. Ian Walker, Fidel OrdoBez, Pedro rogom MC3-456, fax 2 02-522-]155. Vertical Price Control and Parallel Serrano, andJonathan Halpern Political Cvcles in a Developing Imports: Theory and Evidence WPS 2468 * Contact Silvia Economy: Effect of Elections in Keith E. Maskus and Yongmin Chen Delgado, room 15-196, fax 202- Indian States WPS 2461 * Contact Lili Tabada, 676-1821. Stuti Khemani room MC3-333. fax 202-522-1159. Risk Shifting and Long-Term WPS 2454 * Contact Hedy Sladovich, room MC2-609, fax 202-522-1154. Foreign Entry i Turkey's Bankig Contracts: Evidence from the Sector, 1980-97 Ras Gas Project The Effects on Growth of Commodity Cevdet Denizer Mansoor Dailami and Robert Price Uncertainty and Shocks WPS 2462 * Contact Irina Partola, Hauswald Jan Dehn room H4-346, fax 202-522-2751. WPS 2469 * Contact William WPS 2455 * Contact Panos Varangis. Nedro, room J3-283, fax 202- room MC3-535, fax 202-522-1151. Personal Pension Plans and Stock 334-8350. room~~~ Market Volatility Geography and Development Max Alier and Dimitri Vittas Are Larger Countries Really J. Vernon Henderson, Zmarak Shalizi, WPS 2463 * Contact Agnes Yaptenco, More Corrupt? andAnthonyJ. Venables room MC3-444, fax 202-522-1155. Stephan Knack and OmarAzfar WPS 2456 * Contact Rorula Yazigi, WPS 2470 * Contact Paulina room C2-5S, fx 202522-230. The Decumularion (Payout) Phase of Sintim-Aboagye, room MC3 -422, room MC2 -533, fax 202-522-3230. Defined Contribution Pillars: Policy fax 202-522-1155. Lrrban and Regional Dynamics Issues in the Provision of Annuities irt Poland and Other Benefits Validating Operational Food LUwe Deichmann and Vernon Estelle James and Dimitri Vittas Insecurity Indicators against a Henderson WPS 2464 * Contact Agnes Yaptenco, Dynamic Benchmark: Evidence WPS 2457 * Contact Roula Yazigi, room MC3-446, fax 202-522-1155. from Mali room MC2-533, fax 202-522-3230. , Lucj Christiaensen, Richard N. Reforming Tax Expenditure Programs Bior,adJh odnt Choosing Rural Road Investments in Poland BiS 2471 * Ceontact Luc to Help Reduce Poverty Carlos B. Cavalcanti and Zhicheng LI C room 80f Dominique van de Walle WPS 2465 * Contact Anita Correa, 202-473-7913. WPS 2458 * Contact Hedy Sladovich, room H4-318, fax 202-522-2755. room MC2-609, fax 202-522-1154. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan: El Ninto or El Peso? Crisis, Poverty, A Tale of Two Transition Paths Short-Lived Shocks with Long-Lived and Income Distribution in the A Aam andArio Pane s Asad Alam and Arup Banerj' Irnpacts? Household Income Philippines WPS 2472 * Contact Lone Dynamics in a Transition Economy Gaurav Datt and Hans Hoogeveen Henson, room H4-347, fax 202- Mlichael Lokshin and Martin Ravallion WPS 2466 * Contact Taranaki 522-2751. WPS 2459 * Contact Patricia Sader, Mailei, room MC8-142, fax 202- room MC3-556, fax 202-522-1153. 522-1557. 14 World Bank Policy and Research Bulletin July-September 2000 Banking Risks around the World: The Productivity Growth and Resource E L E C T R 0 N I C Implicit Safety Net Subsidy Approach Degradation in Pakistan's Punjab: I N F O R M A T IO N A N D D A T A Luc Laeven A Decomposition Analysis WIPS 2473 * Contact Rose Vo, room Mubarik Ali and Derek Byerlee Crisis and recovery in East Asia MC9-624, fax 202-522-2031. WPS 2480 * Contact Derek Byerlee, Researchers examining the East Asian Exports and Information Spillovers room MC5-759, fax 202-614-0065. crisis-what caused it, how it has .. . . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~affected firms and their employees Alessandro Nicita and Marcelo Foreign Direct Investment in Africa: t y (and thus poverty), and how firms are Olarreaga Policies Also Matterreoeighvhatoelongr- W/PS 2474 * Contact Lili Tabada, Jacques Morisset recovermg-have had to rely on aggre- room MC3-333, fax 202-522-1159. WPS 2481 * Contact Nessa Busj eet, gate data or case studies. But a rich new database containing detailed firm- Quality room 19-107, fax 202-974-4303. Industrial Growth and the Qualty level information from five East Asian of Institutions: What Do (Transition) Can Institutions Resolve countries provides insights into the Economies Have to Gain from the Ethnic Conflict? financial crisis at the microeconomic Rule of Law? William Easterly level. DavidA. Grigorian andAlbert Martinez WPS 2482 * Contact Kari Labrie, The data were collected through WPS 2475 * Contact Anne Nelson, room MC3-456, fax 202-522-3518. surveys of 4,000 firms-in Indonesia, room H6-393, fax 202-522-0073. The Credit Crunch in East Asia: the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Measuring Banking Efficiency What Can Bank Excess Liquid Philippines, and Thailand. Similar in the Pre- and Post-Liberalization Assets Tell Us? survey instruments and sampling methods were used to allow compara- Environment: Evidence from Pierre-Richard Agenor, Joshua bityoss cures. th ata cover the Turkish Banking System Aizenman, and Alexander Hoffmaister bhelty across countrves. The data cover Cevdet Denizer, Mustafa Dinc, WPS 2483 * Contact Maria the same firms over three years, and Murat Tarimcilar Gosiengfiao, room J4-282, fax 1996-98, spanning both the pre- V/PS 2476 * Contact Mustafa Din,, 202-676-9810. and postcrisis period and creating a room M-C24764, Contact 202-522-3669. Dn, 2026769panel rather than a simple cross- room MC2-814, fax 202-522-3669. Banking Crises in Transition section of firms. Designed to support Picking the Poor: Indicators for Economies: Fiscal Costs and analysis of a broad range of issues, Geographic Targeting in Peru Related Issues the database contains information Norbert R. Schady Helena Tang, Edda Zoli, and on such topics as productivity, invest- WVPS 2477 * Contact Tania Gomez, Irina Klytchnikova ment, firm structure, financial room I8-102, fax 202-522-0054. WPS 2484 * Contact Armanda position, employment practices, Institutions, Politics, and Contracts: Carcani, room H4-326, fax 202- and technology acquisition. The Attempt to Privatize the Water 522-2751. The database is available on the The Attempt to Privarize the Water 52-71 and Sanitation Utility of Lima, Peru Are Corruption and Taxation Web at www. worldbank. org/eap Lorena Alcdzar, Lixin Colin Xu, Really Harmful to Growth? (click on Asian Corporate Recovery andAna Maria Zuluaga Firm-Level Evidence Conference Survey). Also available WPS 2478 * Contact Paulina Sintim- Raymond Fisman andJakob Svensson at this Web site are survey documen- Aboagye, room MC3-422, fax 202- WPS 2485 * Contact Rina Bonfield, tation and research papers based 522-1155. room MC3-354, fax 202-522-3518. on analysis of the data. For more information, contact Giuseppe Estimating the Effects of Corruption: Who Must Pay Bribes and How larossi at the Bank's main address, Implications for Bangladesh Much? Evidence from a Cross-Section at giarossi@worldbank.org, or at Aminur Rahman, Gregory Kisunko, of Firms 202-458-7259. and Kapil Kapoor Jakob Svensson WPS 2479 * Contact Sandra Powell, WPS 2486 * Contact Rina Bonfield, room MCI 0-326, fax 202-522-7480. room MC3-354, fax 202-522-3518. July-September 2000 World Bank Policy and Research Bulletin 15 he World Bank Policy and Research B U L LF TI N Bulletin is not copyrighted, and may be repro- Bulletin is published four times a year by duced with appropriate source attribution. the Research Advisory Staff. Its purpose The World Bank Alison Strong is the consulting editor. For r r r r . n 1 ~~~1818 H Street NW .r.l is to inform the development community of the 188h Stree DW information or complimentary subscriptions, Bank's policy and research output. The views and Washington, DC contact Evelyn Alfaro-Bloch at the Bank's main interpretations in articles are those of the authors address or by fax (202-522-0304) or email and do not necessarily represent the views of the World Bank or (rad@worldbank.org). Electronic copies of the Bulletin are of its Executive Directors or the countries they represent. The available on the Web at www. worldbank. org/research/bulletin. 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