This report has been prepared to support the government of Moldova’s efforts to identify and begin to address issues and opportunities in relation to their state owned enterprises (SOEs).
... See More + The report documents the findings of Phase I technical assistance, delivered by the World Bank Governance team in collaboration with the United Kingdom's Good Governance Fund, and serves as a foundation for the development and prioritization of potential reforms. Recognizing the challenges and legacy of reforms in this area, the report outlines current practices and highlights key areas for future focus by policy makers which may help improve public ownership. The report focuses on key areas of corporate governance that are vital to ensure that SOEs operate efficiently, transparently, and in an accountable manner. It draws on publicly available data, as well as material provided by counterparts and collected from country authorities. The report makes a number of recommendations for reform. Phase 2 of this technical assistance will support implementation and capacity building in selected areas.
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This Guidebook was prepared for the purpose of supporting the development and evaluation of analyses on marginalized communities, as basis for the implementation of viable and sustainable development projects in such areas.
... See More + The document is aimed first of all at supporting future applicants for projects targeting marginalized communities; this is achieved by means of providing an extended set of quantitative and qualitative research instruments, relevant social indicators and recommendations of research options to be used both for the validation marginalized areas, and for the identification of problems and solutions specific to such territorial clusters. Second, the Guidebook is meant to serve as reference document for the evaluators of projects that include analyses on marginalized areas and communities, providing suggestions for sets of criteria which assist evaluators in the assessment of such analyses.
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The main purpose of this study is to monitor the business environment and assess the impact state policies and the regulatory requirements have on businesses operating in Moldova.
... See More + The project was carried out based on the following goals: provide the State of the Republic of Moldova and the national and international institutions with quantitative data on the cost incurred by business to comply with state regulations, provide support to the State of Moldova on quality policy analysis with a view to implement the necessary decisions to improve business and investment climates in Moldova, assist the civil society institutions that make recommendations and need to monitor their impact, establish a tool to monitor the changes in the business environment and the impact of the measures taken to reduce barriers and corruption in business.
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Romania is the fastest growing economy in the European Union (EU), and Bucharest and Romania’s secondary cities have been its main growth engines.
... See More + However, while Bucharest has reached productivity levels comparable to those of other EU capitals, secondary cities in Romania still have some ways to go before competing on equal footing with secondary cities in the EU. Without strengthening these secondary cities, the Romanian economy cannot sustain growth in the coming years. The most competitive secondary cities are those that are most astute at attracting people, investments, and tourists. This report looks at the cities that have been most successful at attracting migrants and commuters, and proposes a number of recommendations aimed at making secondary cities more attractive and competitive. The report is primarily addressed to policy makers and to a lay audience interested in urban development issues.This report is structured along four main sections: 1) An analysis of development dynamics, with a particular focus on the importance of cities in driving growth and development; 2) An analysis of migration and commuter patterns in Romania; 3) An analysis of the cities and areas that have been most successful at attracting people, and an analysis of the urban areas that will likely attract most people in the future. 4) Recommendations on how EU, national, and local policies and investments can help make secondary cities more competitive.
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Moldova has experienced rapid economic growth in the past decade, which has been accompanied by reductions in poverty and good performance in shared prosperity.
... See More + Nonetheless, Moldova remains one of the poorest countries in Europe and faces challenges in sustaining the progress. The challenges for progress include spatial and cross-group inequalities, particularly because of unequal access to assets, services and economic opportunities. Moreover, strengthening the persistently weak labor markets to boost employment, especially in the nonfarm sectors, is critical for sustaining progress toward the twin goals of reducing poverty and expanding shared prosperity and for addressing the problems associated with an aging population in a fiscally responsible manner. Accordingly, ensuring the viability of the pension system and improving social assistance are necessary areas of reform, particularly in a context of fiscal pressures, the aging population, and the great vulnerability of the poor to shocks. The Moldova poverty assessment 2016 includes three prongs of analysis: this report, which explores trends and the drivers of poverty and shared prosperity, and the accompanying analyses, ‘a jobs diagnostic for Moldova’ and ‘structural transformation of Moldovan small-holder agriculture and its poverty and shared prosperity impacts.’ The jobs diagnostic explores the main labor demand and supply challenges in Moldova in more detail, while the analysis of structural transformation focuses on the agricultural sector and whether it can become a driver of progress.
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Working Paper 105722 MAY 01, 2016
Dávalos, María E.; Nguyen,Tu Chi; Matytsin,MikhailDisclosed
This report sheds light on information sources and on gaps in educational and occupational choices in Moldova by presenting findings based on original data collected in 2015.
... See More + To support the government in reinforcing Moldova’s career guidance and information systems for education and jobs, individual interviews and focus group discussions were conducted during the 2015 school year with secondary and tertiary students, graduates, parents, and teachers. The data address, for the first time in Moldova, issues related to how students make choices, what information they use and what they lack, and what assistance they find useful. As previously noted, one issue with career guidance in Moldova is that non‐school actors are only minimally involved in such activities. This report highlights how career guidance involves numerous actors well beyond the education system by examining the sources of information that students use and extensively reviewing international experience. The remainder of the report is organized as follows: section two describes the methodology of the study, with an overview of what factors into educational and occupational choices and the data used to assess the role of information in Moldova. Section three presents the main findings from both quantitative and qualitative data. Section four discusses the policy implications of the findings and presents examples from other countries of systematic educational information and career guidance that could be useful in designing reforms in Moldova.
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Working Paper 106494 APR 01, 2016
Levin,Victoria; Safir,Abla; Guallar Artal,Silvia; Johansson De Silva,Sara; Munoz Boudet,Ana MariaDisclosed
The main purpose of this study is to monitor the business environment and assess the impact government policies and the regulatory requirements have on businesses operating in Moldova.
... See More + The project was carried out based on the following goals: (i) providing the government of the Republic of Moldova and the national and international institutions with quantitative data on the cost incurred by businesses to comply with government regulations; (ii) provide support to the government of Moldova on quality policy analysis with a view to implement the necessary decisions to improve business and investment climates in Moldova; (iii) assist the civil society institutions that make recommendations and need to monitor their impact; and (iv) establish a tool to monitor the evolution of business environment and the impact of the measures taken to reduce barriers and corruption in business. The sample covers 634 companies, excluding agricultural enterprises, individuals and banking institutions and the data was collected throughout October-November 2015. The key findings were as follows: (i) compared with two years ago, the registration procedures lasted longer; (ii) the number of companies that build their premises by themselves substantially decreased; (iii) the duration of obtaining licenses reduced from 18 to 11 days and, the licensing costs were reduced by about 40 percent compared to 2013; (iv) duration of import procedures maintained a downward trend since 2012; (v) the time needed for customs procedures for export remained at the past two years level; (vi) the time for certification of individual batches of goods decreased, but it grew for certification of product lines; (vii) the share of those who need sanitary certificates has decreased in the past five years, reaching 34 percent in 2015; (viii) the frequency of inspections has decreased, but the positive effect was canceled by the increase in time spent by inspectors at a company; (ix) the conditions on the procedures of registration and taxation have not changed; (x) the company’s share dropped more than three times compared to 2009; (xi) as a result of the economic crisis, the number of companies facing over staffing had increased; (xii) state involvement in the conclusion and execution of contracts was a rare practice; and (xiii) both the duration and cost of obtaining phytosanitary certificates were lower than for other types of certificates. To conclude, the general time indicator practically remained unchanged during 2009-2015. Small fluctuations were due to natural dispersion rather than any improvement or deterioration in perception.
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In 2012, the World Bank signed five agreements with MRDPA for advisory services, out of which one relates to the growth poles policy and to its improvement for the programming period 2014-2020.
... See More + This agreement has three components: 1) an analysis of the growth poles policy, 2) energy efficiency studies for each growth pole; and 3) a review of the Integrated Development Plans prepared by the growth poles for the period 2007-2013. In this context, South Muntenia Regional Development Agency, through the coordinator of Ploiești Growth Pole, requested the World Bank, under a project funded by ERDF through the Technical Assistance Operational Program 2007-2013, to support the Growth Pole in implementing the recommendations stemming from the previous analysis with: 1) updating the Integrated Development Plan for 2014-2020; and 2) proposing an improved institutional framework for coordinating the planning, implementation and monitoring of projects under this plan. The current document of the Integrated Development Plan belonging to Ploiești Growth Pole was developed during the period 2008-2009 and approved and submitted to South Muntenia RDA in April 2010. It contains a total number of 93 projects with a total value of RON 5,136,143,583.91, out of which 762,515,322.81 are EU funds, and the remainder comes from the national budget and the beneficiaries’ own contribution. In the process of updating the plan, the implementation status of these projects will be studied further, while attention will be also given to the unimplemented projects in order to see whether they will be included in the documentation, depending on their response to the new development conditions of the growth pole.
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The agricultural and food production sector plays a key role in fighting poverty and food insecurity in Moldova, but is facing critical challenges to modernize and integrate into the international market.
... See More + This paper focuses on smallholder farms, which make up 95 percent of all farms, and explores their potential for growth and the poverty links. Findings reveal that structural change is slow and smallholder farm growth in Moldova is an exception, not the rule. Only a small share of smallholder farms have the interest or capacity to commercialize but need targeted support policies to grow, intensify their farm activities, and integrate into the markets. For the remaining majority, enhancing their livelihoods calls for policies beyond the agricultural sector to help farm households diversify toward non-farm income.
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Romania aims to be a country in which all citizens are provided with an equal opportunity toparticipate in society, where their basic needs are met and their differences respected, and whereall people feel valued and can live in dignity.Our society is still far from this ideal.
... See More + One in every five Romanian people is income poor. Most of the people living in relative poverty in Romania are in persistent poverty, meening that they have been in poverty for at least the last three years. Despite its relatively low unemployment rate, the country has a very high rate of poverty for in-work people, which is double the EU-27 rate (9 percent). As a response to this situation, the Government of Romania (GoR) has committed itself to lifting 580,000 people out of poverty by 20205 as part of the Europe 2020 Strategy.By 2020, Romania is committed to putting in place a set of policies and programs to (i) lift at least 580,000 people out of relative income poverty by 2020, compared to 2008; (ii) break the inter-generational cycle of poverty; (iii) prevent the recurrence of poverty and social exclusion; and (iv) ensure equal access to social assistance, cash transfers and services to strengthen social cohesion.the GoR asked for the World Bank’s support to develop detailed implementation plans for the 2015-2018 period in the form of nine Flagship Innitiatives that are expected to have the greatest impact in terms of reducing poverty and promoting social inclusion. This Atlas of Rural Marginalized Areas and Local Human Development in Romania represents the Flagship Initiative develop an instrument to identify poor villages and marginalized rural communities. Specifically the Bank’s technical assistance provided through this project has helped the GoR to develop: (i) a methodology for defining different types of rural marginalized areas based on a set of key criteria and indicators; (ii) detailed maps that present the spatial distribution of the rural marginalized communities by county; (iii) a methodology for defining degrees of local human development from low to comprehensive development, for rural and small urban settlements; and (iv) detailed county-level maps of local human development. In short, the Atlas helps to define which rural areas are marginalized, who lives in these areas (the profile of various disadvantaged groups), and where they are located in Romania.
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The 2014-2015 Romania Regional Development 2 Program is the continuation of the World Bank’s technical assistance to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration (MRDPA).
... See More + Building on the previous engagement, the current work addresses a fundamental question: given Romania’s persistent development challenges, how can the country do more with less when it comes to the public infrastructure it needs? The key is to enhance coordination and harmonization of different funding sources, particularly infrastructure programs financed from the state budget and from EU structural funds. The National Local Development Program (PNDL), managed by the MRDPA, is reviewed in depth, though the conclusions typically hold for all state-budget-funded programs. This synthesis report summarizes the main findings and recommendations from eight final reports and 24 knowledge sharing workshops organized in all eight regions in Romania in 2015. Several ‘bonus’ outputs were also produced, going beyond the terms of this technical assistance (three investment guides, an applicant guide, and an operational manual). This synthesis report – along with all the outputs it draws from – is meant as a practical tool for policymakers at the national, regional, and local level. It also seeks to inform a broader audience of private and nongovernmental stakeholders.
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This report is the second deliverable of the first component of the World Bank technical assistance to support the ministry of information society (MIS) for the operationalization of the national plan on next generation access and network infrastructure (NGA and NGN) strategy.
... See More + The general methodology adopted in the first component is to use the analytical mapping framework to propose first a coverage gap analysis addressed in the first report and secondly to translate it into a geographical mapping exercise which has the general purpose to address coverage gaps in clustering the territory, identify selected communities, and associate the most appropriate business and investment models to guide and to frame public intervention. This mapping exercise is necessary for providing the information needed to decide on the four strategic choices identified in the European commission guide to high-speed broadband investment namely the choice of the infrastructure type, of the investment model, of the business model, and eventually of the financing tools. This paper presents such a mapping for Romania, carried out in August-September 2015.
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The World Bank has agreed to support the Government of Romania (GoR) with the harmonization of public investments financed by the European Union and the state budget, with the wider aim of promoting the country’s sustainable and inclusive growth.
... See More + This work is a follow-up to the World Bank’s Regional Development Program in Romania (November 2012-March 2014), which provided recommendations primarily targeted at EU-funded instruments. In short, this guide includes practical solutions for enhancing coordination across investment programs dedicated to water and wastewater investments. It is targeted primarily at public authorities and other stakeholders at the local level and comes at an important time: the preparation of major investment projects for the 2014-2020 programming period. Romania faces a critical need to enhance coordination of such projects to do more with less. The basic condition for addressing Romania’s development needs – required, though not sufficient – is access to financial resources for critical investments. The main objective of the Bank’s overall engagement with the MRDPA is to support the strategic coordination of infrastructure strategies and investment projects financed by the EU and by the state budget in regions, counties, and municipalities. The current investment guide aims to facilitate the adoption and implementation of prioritization and selection criteria that enhance coordination at the level of infrastructure programs and at the level of the water and wastewater projects they finance. In addition to enhancing coordination, harmonized criteria hold the promise of ensuring a more rigorous design and implementation of investment programs and greater interoperability across financing sources. A related goal is to help authorities determine appropriate sources of funding for various project proposals. Essentially, this investment guide defines a methodology for prioritizing investments and then applies it to the existing universe of potential projects, mapping at the level of each county the existing infrastructure and a proposed order of investment priorities. Regional Water and Wastewater Master Plans have been devised to guide investments in infrastructure in the sector, but these are unfortunately not always followed. Since agglomerations and clusters do not always coincide with the administrative boundaries of a territorial unit, they make the coordination of investments quite difficult. Going forward, it is important to ensure that investments in water and wastewater infrastructure follow the provisions of existing regional master plans. To ensure a coherent and coordinated approach to water and wastewater investments, it is important that regional water operators play a key role throughout the process. This chapter features an atlas of water and wastewater investments in Romania, at the level of each region.
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