Ratings for the Fiscal Space for Greater Opportunities: First Programmatic Development Policy Loan and Enhanced Fiscal and Financial Management for Greater Opportunities: Second Programmatic Development Policy Loan are as follows: Outcome was moderately satisfactory, Risk to development outcome was high, Bank performance was moderately unsatisfactory, and Borrower performance was moderately unsatisfactory.
... See More + This Project Performance Assessment Report offers the following lessons: (i) Tax administration and tax policy reforms in the face of major governance issues and long-standing opposition from influential interest groups are unlikely to be successful, even if backed by the World Bank’s analytical support, policy dialogue, and financing. Under these conditions, directly and indirectly targeting the governance issues over a longer period is necessary. (ii) Achieving progress on results budgeting requires strengthening of capacity, political commitment, sound monitoring and evaluation indicators, and cross-agency collaboration. (iii) Achieving results in policy lending requires a sound results framework, a credible theory of change, close linking of objectives with policy actions, and outcome-oriented target indicators.
See Less -
Project Performance Assessment Report 141817 NOV 14, 2019
Doing business 2020 is the 17th in a series of annual studies investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it.
... See More + Doing business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies - from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe - and over time. Regulations affecting 12 areas of the life of a business are covered: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, employing workers, and contracting with the government. The employing workers and contracting with the government indicator sets are not included in this year’s ranking on the ease of doing business. Data in doing business 2020 are current as of May 1, 2019. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where, and why. This economy profile presents indicators for Guatemala; for 2020, Guatemala ranks 96.
See Less -
The Country Opinion Survey in Guatemala assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Guatemala perceive the WBG.
... See More + It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Guatemala on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Guatemala; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Guatemala; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Guatemala; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Guatemala.
See Less -
The objective of the Building Statistical Capacities in the Ministry of Education Project is to strengthen the capacity of MINEDUC to collect, manage, analyze and use high-quality statistical information to design, implement and evaluate evidence-based interventions to address key sector challenges.
... See More + The dialogue on the importance of data collection and statistical capacity within the ministry supported through this Trust Fund is starting to produce results. An extension of seven months of the grant to compensate for the initial delays will allow for the completion of the implementation of on-going activities and fully achieve the project’s objectives.
See Less -
The eruption of the Fuego volcano on June 3, 2018, caused substantial soul searching, both nationally and internationally. The loss of human life and the destruction of infrastructure and economic production sparked debates and raised questions regarding the capacities available in Guatemala to manage disaster risk and disasters associated with volcanic activity in general and on that day specifically.
... See More + The entire process, from risk knowledge and analysis, to warning and evacuation, to risk reduction and reconstruction, was subject to examination by public institutions, productive sectors, scientific organizations and affected communities. What portion of the damage and human loss were avoidable and what part was almost the ‘natural’ result of this explosive and sudden type of event? The eruption of the Volcano of Fire evidenced needs in knowledge of risk and scientific monitoring, in education and the participation of communities, in the organization and logistics of preparation and response and, more generally, in the processes of territorial adaptation and planning when faced with volcanic processes. The case of the Volcano of Fire is that of an extremely active volcano, with activity cycles and patterns still little understood by experts and with limited historically recorded direct human impacts. The present document provides an analysis of the Fuego volcano disaster applying a Forensic Investigation of Disasters methodology (FORIN), an initiative of the International Council of Science (now International Science Council) (ICSU), and its Integrated Research on Disaster Risk Program (IRDR). This method allows us to focus on the socio-economic, cultural and political root causes of disaster risk and disaster through comparative, longitudinal or contemporary research. This includes contrasting the differentiated impact of similar events in different areas; disasters suffered in the same geographical area but at different points in time; or comparison between countries that have suffered similar events at similar times, but with different underlying conditions and social responses.
See Less -
Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions Ltd. (GDG) was requested by The World Bank (TWB) to carry out a study about Volcan de Fuego (Guatemala) after the extraordinary eruption that took place on June 3rd, 2018.
... See More + That eruption lasted about 17 hours and ejected an eruptive column that reached an altitude up to 6 km. Trade winds pulled the finest ashes westwards for more than 40 km. The coarser fraction of the eruptive columns collapsed mainly onto the southeast flank of the volcano where some of the existing gullies vehiculed downstream a high magnitude pyroclastic flow (a high speed turbulent avalanche of hot rock material of different sizes and gas) causing important damages in a golf course residential area, a small urban settlement, a bridge and a road. According to SE-CONRED updated report, 156 people died, 268 disappeared, and 186 houses were destroyed. The Government declared the ‘State of Calamity’ in three departments: Chimaltenango, Escuintla y Sacatepéquez. Congress endorsed the declaration which will allow the Government to use up to US dollar 25 million. The eruption already is Guatemala's deadliest event since 1902, when an eruption of the Santa Maria volcano killed thousands of people. This report is provided under the Addendum 1 to the existing project Landslide Hazard and Risk Study Pilot Study for the Mancomunidad Gran Ciudad del Sur in Guatemala. The scope of the work of the addendum is separate to the scope of work of the original project.
See Less -
Natural events are recurrent. Geophysical hazards such as earthquakes or volcano eruptions cannot be predicted, but it is known that where they have happened in the past, they will happen again.
... See More + In the case of hydro-meteorological hazards, frequency and intensity are increased by the action of climate change. Guatemala is located in one of the most hazard prone regions, threatened by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, fires, hurricanes, and floods. Additionally, other hazards such as fires usually affect ancient structures, becoming one of the main hazards to specific cultural heritage assets. However, natural hazards only lead to disasters when its effects negatively affect human life, and the consequences depend on the vulnerability of the assets and population exposed to these hazards. The concept and practice of Disaster Risk Management (DRM), understood as a safe development strategy, has evolved during the last decades from an approach focused almost exclusively on disaster response, towards a broader approach focused on risk understanding, prevention, and reduction, without demeriting the importance of having strong preparation and response systems. However, other priorities generally relegate cultural heritage in the agenda of local and national governments, and disaster risk plans do not include heritage, leaving at risk areas, buildings or other assets of high historical value. In this regard, conducting risk assessments and establishing risk mitigation and emergency preparedness measures is fundamental. In case of emergency the priority is always to save lives, but in a second moment, acting quickly on cultural heritage is essential to preserve legacies that could otherwise be lost forever.
See Less -
Volcán de Fuego is considered to be one of Central America's most active volcanoes. It is situated eighteen kilometers south west from Central America's former colonial capital and present main tourist destination of Antigua Guatemala (a UNESCO world heritage site) and forty kilometers south west of Guatemala city.
... See More + It is the most active of Guatemala's thirty-four volcanoes. Following the Volcán de Fuego eruption on June 3, 2018, a rapid post-disaster damage assessment, following the GRADE methodology was undertaken. The objective was to estimate the economic damages caused by the event and understand the spatial distribution of damage to support the process of developing a road-map for reconstruction and recovery. The analysis provides an independent view of the actual degree of damage across the affected area. The key economic impact findings and risk implications are summarized in this report.
See Less -
