As of February 18, 2015 Liberia has reported over 9,000 cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), and 3,900 deaths. Since the previous round of data collection, in December 2014, Liberia continues to show progress toward getting to zero cases, and in the 21 days leading up to January 28, there were only 20 confirmed cases nationally, down from 92 in the 21 days ending on December 31, 2014, and a high of 546 in late August and early September.
... See More + It is believed that all those currently infected are seeking care in Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs), some of which have begun to close in recent weeks as a result of declining need. The World Bank Group, with the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services and the Gallup Organization, has continued to monitor the socio-economic impacts of EVD on households through a series of mobile-phone surveys conducted in October, November, and December 2014, and January 2015. As the health crisis continues to abate in Liberia, it will be crucial to tackle the important medium- and long-term economic and welfare impacts of Ebola on households. As Liberia continues on the path to eradicating Ebola, it will be important to identify and support those who are most vulnerable to the sluggish economy and whose long-term welfare may be negatively impacted by coping decisions made in the name of immediate stability. As households send their children back to school in the next month, the World Bank Group and partners will continue to monitor the crisis and work to support the Liberian government and its people as they move into economic recovery.
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Parental involvement in matchmaking may distort the choice of spouse because parents are willing to substitute love for market and household production, which are more sharable between parents and their children.
... See More + This paper finds supportive evidence in a survey of Chinese couples. In both rural and urban areas, parent matchmaking is associated with less marital harmony between the couple, more submissive wives, and a stronger belief in old age support for the son. In contrast, its association with couple income differs by rural and urban regions, perhaps because of differences in earning opportunities and in the enforcement of the one-child policy. Moreover, parent matchmaking is associated with more children for the couple and lower schooling for wives only in rural areas. Thus, in places with a stronger need for old age support, parents tend to be involved in matchmaking and use it to select submissive daughters-in-law to ensure old age support. The results render support to Becker, Murphy and Spenckuch (2015), who imply that parents would meddle with children's preferences to ensure their commitment to providing old age support.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS7188 FEB 01, 2015
The Statistical Development Project for Nigeria received a satisfactory outcome with moderate risk to development outcome. The Bank received a satisfactory rating while the Borrower was rated moderately satisfactory.
... See More + There were no significant changes that took place during this project including components and restructuring. There are a number of lessons reported from this project. Lesson learned include: (1) The complexity of the Nigerian Statistical System must be taken into account in the design of any new statistics operation, (2) In case of multi-agency project, a strong governance arrangement needs to be established and funded during project preparation. Diversity of local needs in various states in Nigeria calls for the introduction of flexible project design for various states. (3) Linkages between the PDO, planned project activities, their sequencing, and alignment with the results indicators need to be strong at project design phase. (4) The governance structure of a project needs to be clearly defined, established and functional prior to project effectiveness. (5) Effective implementation requires consistency in project arrangements, and in addition, there should be a succession plan envisaged. (6) Importance of project governance, monitoring and reporting arrangements. (7) The project should consider operating separate designated accounts for each participant. (8) The presence of an in-country donor statistician was a strong asset in building trust among the different participants, in solving implementation problems and acting as a liaison between the government and the Bank. (9) Partner support can be helpful in providing critical technical assistance and fill in some gaps in financing. (10) CMU should be onboard. Its interventions could be used at critical points of project implementation. (11) Capacity building can be strengthened if accompanied by broader policy dialogue and reform. (12) Regular training and retraining in statistics related matters should be an important component of any statistical development project.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR3203 JAN 30, 2015
The Fourth National Program for Community Empowerment in Rural Areas Project for Indonesia received a moderately satisfactory outcome rating with a moderate risk to development outcome.
... See More + The Bank received a satisfactory rating for its performance while the Borrower was rated moderately satisfactory. There were no restructurings for this project. The only significant change that occurred during this project was the delinking of Program Nasional Pemberdayaan Masyarakat (National Community Empowerment Program) or PNPM-Generasi and PNPM-Green. At appraisal, it was envisaged that part of the proceeds of the loan would be allocated to co-finance PNPM-Generasi. For managerial purposes, the Bank decided to delink this pilot project from PNPM-Rural III, and the project was not linked to PNPM-Rural IV. PNPM-Green was not linked to either project, and continued to be implemented on a stand-alone basis. There are five lessons learned from this project and are as follows: (1) A clear and robust results framework is essential for a nationwide CDD program. An adequate results framework will set clearly articulated targets for outcomes that the project intends to achieve over time, and periodically measure to what extent the targets have been achieved. (2) A platform for support innovation. The projects basic operating system and facilitation platform has proven to be sufficiently robust to support the incubation of pilot programs and to test new and innovative ideas. (3) Facilitators require incentives to promote innovation. To encourage innovation, facilitators need to be given financial and organizational incentives to help communities consider a broader range of subproject types. (4) Investments in facilitator training should be based on timely evaluations and accompanied by competitive salaries as well as adequate resources for supervision. The quality of facilitators is the main driver of success for community-based project implementation. (5) Procurement of Administrative Service Firms (ASFs) is cost-effective. Through this procurement method, the implementing agency was able to provide oversight to the program at a substantial lower cost than through traditional oversight consultants (mainly because overheads on specialist staff are no longer included in the cost price).
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR3281 JAN 27, 2015
The need for safety nets in Sub-Saharan Africa is vast. In addition to being the world?s poorest region, Sub-Saharan Africa is also one of the most unequal.
... See More + In this context, redistribution must be seen as a legitimate way to fight poverty and ensure shared prosperity, and all the more so in countries where growth is driven by extractive industries that are not labor-intensive and often employ very few poor people. Given that most African countries face difficult decisions about how to allocate limited resources among a number of social programs, evidence is important. Do Safety Net programs actually benefit the poorest people? This book demonstrates with empirical evidence that it is possible to reach the poorest and most vulnerable people with safety net programs, and provides lessons for the effective use of targeting methods to achieve this outcome in the region. The book's introduction presents the rationale for targeting safety net programs to households that are chronically food insecure or vulnerable to food insecurity. A chapter on methods outlines the various ways that targeting can be carried out, along with providing technical details on proxy means test (PMT) and PMTplus methods. Seven case studies (Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, and Senegal) are then presented that document a variety of approaches and experiences in country targeting eff orts, taking into account country needs and existing programs. Each case study covers the extent of poverty and current safety net coverage, available data, targeting indicators chosen, procedures for long-term (and, in some cases, short-term) targeting, ex ante evaluation of targeting mechanisms, and key lessons learned. In the conclusion, the report discusses future challenges in regarding investments in data, procedures, and methods to improve program targeting. Particular emphasis is placed on the need for countries to invest in targeting methods and procedures to safeguard households against exposure to the negative short-term shocks that are prevalent in African countries.
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Publication 94117 JAN 26, 2015
del Ninno, Carlo [editor]; Mills, Bradford [editor]
The objective of the Agricultural Development Support Project for Myanmar is to increase crop yields and cropping intensity in the target irrigated areas.
... See More + This will be achieved through improved provision of irrigation and farm advisory and technical services. Negative impacts include: air pollution, dust, water pollution, soil erosion, noise pollution, waste management, and loss of ecology. Mitigation measures include: good engineering practice and maintenance of vehicles would be required according Irrigation manual, occupational health safety instruction and World Banks guideline; dust from handling or transportation of aggregates, cement, etc., should be minimized by sprinkling or other appropriate method; i.e. limit of excessive truckload, use of cover sheet; restoration of borrow [its and disposal; raise people awareness through meeting and communication materials before boundary delineation between adjacent farmland and drainage system to avoid confusion and dispute; consult with farmers for identifying working zone of civil work (including damping site) and developing operational time schedules adjusting to farming seasons. Also, agree upon grievance procedures, compensation and communication channel as necessary; assess local access route and consult with villagers for arrangement of temporary path if required; use warning signboard, prior notice, and announcement whenever heavy traffic is to be occurred; and develop or implement health and safety guidelines.
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The development objective of the Community Services Development Fund Project for Tajikistan is to improve the access, quality, and efficiency of basic municipal services in participating towns and rural areas through: (i) harmonizing available financing aimed at developing communal services; and (ii) enhancing the institutional capacity of municipalities and local utilities.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (1) ensuring that demolition of debris is kept in controlled area and sprayed with water mist to reduce debris dust; (2) ensuring that during operations the engine covers of generators, air compressors, and other powered mechanical equipment are kept closed, and equipment is placed as far away from residential areas as possible; (3) establishing appropriate erosion and sediment control measures such as hay bales and or silt fences to prevent sediment from moving off site and causing excessive turbidity in nearby streams and rivers; (4) identifying waste collection and disposal pathways and sites for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; (5) monitoring of new wastewater systems (before and after) will be carried out; (6) undertaking traffic management system and staff training, especially for site access and near-site heavy traffic; and (7) undertaking special facilities for segregated healthcare waste (including soiled instruments sharps, and human tissue or fluids) from other waste disposal.
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This paper assesses inequality of opportunity in educational achievement using the Human Opportunity Index methodology on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment.
... See More + The findings suggest that there are large inequalities in learning outcomes as measured by demonstrated proficiency in Programme for International Student Assessment test scores in math, reading, and science. Differences in wealth, parental education, and area of residence explain a bulk of this inequality in most of the countries in the sample. Consistent with what has been documented previously in the literature, the paper also finds a strong and stable correlation between inequality of opportunity and public spending on school education. An exploration of the changes in inequality of opportunity between the 2009 and 2012 rounds of the Programme for International Student Assessment, using parametric and nonparametric techniques, suggests that there has been little progress.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS7152 JAN 01, 2015
Balcazar, Carlos Felipe; Narayan, Ambar; Tiwari, Sailesh
This paper assesses the link between democracy and inequality. Inequality is measured at the cohort level with pseudo-panel data built from nine Latin American countries' household surveys (1995-2009, biannual).
... See More + Democracy is measured as a stock during long periods of time both before and after each cohort's year of birth. The paper presents evidence that long-run historical patterns in the degree of democracy relate to income inequality. However, this relationship is non-monotonic: inequality ?rst increases with the stock of democracy before falling. The paper also presents evidence that education may be a mechanism explaining this result.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS7153 JAN 01, 2015
Does research add value to aid? Specifically, does impact evaluation research help or hinder the delivery of development projects? This paper analyzes the question by constructing a new data set of 100 impact evaluations and 1,135 projects approved by the World Bank between 2005 and 2011.
... See More + The analysis finds that the delivery of projects with impact evaluation is significantly timelier: common delays are avoided and the gap between planned and actual disbursements is reduced by half. Evidence-based mid-course corrections, a clearer implementation road map, strengthened capacity on the ground, and observer effects are possible channels to explain the results. Hopefully, this analysis will stimulate discussion over the optimal balance between project financing and the impact evaluation research needed to deliver development outcomes.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS7157 JAN 01, 2015
Papua New Guinea has experienced strong, resource-led, economic growth over the past 10 years, yet basic development outcomes have remained the same or improved only marginally over the same period.
... See More + Efforts from the government and key partners to improve systems and capabilities are helpful but are yet to reach the local-level government (LLG) and ward levels where the most basic services are needed. Often the lowest levels of government do not have the resources or staff to provide regular or adequate social and economic services to the community.
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The majority of Papua New Guinea's population lives in rural areas, largely dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Coffee and cocoa are the main cash crops, with half of the country's total workforce involved in their production, processing, and sale.
... See More + Despite its importance, the quality and productivity of Papua New Guinea's coffee has been declining, largely due to a lack of replanting, limited incentives for smallholder farmers, and poor access to markets. The cocoa industry has been experiencing similar issues in addition to the threat posed by the cocoa pod borer. The Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project (PPAP) aims to combat these problems in order to improve the livelihoods of smallholder cocoa and coffee producers, and promote rural development and poverty reduction more broadly.
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This brief describes a small pilot designed to leverage the women's self-help group platform of a World Bank-supported livelihoods project (that is, a non-health sector project) to: (a) promote positive nutrition and health behaviors; and (b) improve, especially amongst poor and vulnerable households, the demand for and utilization of public services across many sectors to improve nutrition outcomes.
... See More + This pilot is based on using a Bank-supported project platform in a non-health and nutrition sector to leverage entry points and opportunities to improve nutrition. The pilot provides a unique opportunity to build the capacity of community institutions of poor rural women to improve maternal and child nutrition. It promotes behavior change to adopt positive maternal and child health and nutrition, health, hygiene and sanitation practices, improve food security, and leverage public services to generate demand and utilize services that will ultimately improve nutrition outcomes through a community based, gender sensitive approach. Lessons learned from the full implementation of the pilot will need to be incorporated before the effort can be scaled up.
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Malnutrition is one of India's most serious and persistent problems. While nutrition outcomes across India are poor, they are typically worse in tribal and backward areas.
... See More + The South Asia food and nutrition security initiative (SAFANSI) has provided funding to the national rural livelihoods mission (NRLM) to strengthen the capacity of government and or communities to deliver effective food and nutrition security interventions in tribal and conflict-affected areas. This study seeks to examine how the NRLM can enhance the effectiveness of the program's core livelihoods focus, while strengthening the capacity of the Government of India (GoI) to deliver (or support) effective food and nutrition security (FNS) interventions in tribal and backward areas. In order to make sustainable and positive changes going forward, it will be critical to support FNS as a core approach for tribal areas. Empowered self-help groups can bridge service delivery gaps, increase awareness and utilization of programs, or advocate for improved coverage and service quality.
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