The development objective of the Xian Sustainable Urban Transport Project for China is to improve accessibility and mobility in Xian while protecting its cultural heritage and reducing the environmental impact of urban transport system, with a focus on the Ming walled city.
... See More + In line with the Bank's operation policy for involuntary resettlement OP 4.12 and taking into consideration the City of Xian local laws and regulations, resettlement codes of practice and policies of the People's Republic of China. This Resettlement Action Plan has the following principles and objectives : avoid and minimize involuntary resettlement and land acquisition associated with road upgrading construction; land acquisition or resettlement will be entirely voluntary and be limited to situation were Project Affected Peoples (PAPs) will be the beneficiaries of services and facilities offered by the project; ensure that relocation sites chosen cause minimal disturbance to the livelihood and living standards of PAPs; provide recovery or compensation for the loss of land, working place, cultural property, trees and infrastructure, etc.; keep in tough with PAPs during the removal period for timely settlement of potential problems (disputes); finally, conduct meetings with residents (farmers), business and enterprise owners to notify them on the progress of the removal process and compensation standards.
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This brief is about preventing Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) of poverty. There is global support for the control and elimination of NTDs in low income countries.
... See More + In 2012, as part of the London Declaration on NTDs, the pharmaceutical industry collectively committed to donate most of the drugs necessary for an Africa-wide NTD program. For the past 40 years, the endemic countries of Africa together with the World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank and other development partners, the pharmaceutical industry, and non-governmental organizations have prioritized the control of river blindness through the Onchocerciasis (river blindness) Control Programme (OCP) and the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC). This brief contains the following headlines: Community health systems provide a way forward; Collaboration is key; Increased WHO technical assistance; Timeline for elimination; Ensuring that health systems effectively address Intensive Disease Management (IDM) NTDs; and New funding strategies from the World Bank.
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This brief is about preventing Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) of poverty. There is global support for the control and elimination of NTDs in low income countries.
... See More + In 2012, as part of the London Declaration on NTDs, the pharmaceutical industry collectively committed to donate most of the drugs necessary for an Africa-wide NTD program. For the past 40 years, the endemic countries of Africa together with the World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank and other development partners, the pharmaceutical industry, and non-governmental organizations have prioritized the control of river blindness through the Onchocerciasis (river blindness) Control Programme (OCP) and the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC). This brief contains the following headlines: Community health systems provide a way forward; Collaboration is key; Increased WHO technical assistance; Timeline for elimination; Ensuring that health systems effectively address Intensive Disease Management (IDM) NTDs; and New funding strategies from the World Bank.
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Until 2010 Tunisia appeared to be doing well and was heralded by the World Bank and the IMF as a role model for other developing countries, and the World Economic Forum repeatedly ranked Tunisia as the most competitive economy in Africa.
... See More + Yet, the Tunisian model had serious flaws. Inadequate creation of jobs, notably for university graduates, and deep regional disparities were a source of increasing frustration across the country in the run up to the January 2011 Revolution. This development policy review shows that, in contrast to the façade often presented by the former regime, Tunisia's economic environment was and remains deeply deficient. The review highlights an economy that has remained frozen in low-value added activities and where firms are stagnating in terms of productivity and jobs creation. The review argues that Tunisian prosperity has been held back by policies that have reduced the countrys overall economic performance. This poor performance results from extensive barriers to entry and market restrictions coupled with a heavy business regulations and a poorly functioning financial system, have resulted in economic stagnation. Economic policies have exacerbated cronyism and rent-seeking, allowing under-performing firms to survive, regardless of their productivity. in order to fulfill its economic potential, Tunisia needs to create a level playing field by opening up the economy and removing Tunisia's three dualisms, namely the onshore-offshore division, the dichotomy between the coast and the interior, and the segmentation of the labor market. A strong social policy is also necessary, of course, and should be designed to accompany private sector-led growth. Tunisia can capitalize on a strong competitive advantage to export wage-intensive goods, expand its export of services, and unleash the potential of agriculture, to the benefit of small businesses, young graduates, and farmers in Tunisia's long-neglected interior regions. Realizing these benefits will require improving the investment climate, rationalizing regulations, and developing more equitable development policies that benefit all of Tunisia's regions. The Unfinished Revolution is a challenge for policymakers to rethink Tunisia's economic development model, to question existing assumptions, and to dare to think big about policy reforms which can accelerate growth and shared prosperity, create quality jobs and promote regional development.
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Development Policy Review (DPR) 86179 MAY 24, 2014
Until 2010 Tunisia appeared to be doing well and was heralded by the World Bank and the IMF as a role model for other developing countries, and the World Economic Forum repeatedly ranked Tunisia as the most competitive economy in Africa.
... See More + Yet, the Tunisian model had serious flaws. Inadequate creation of jobs, notably for university graduates, and deep regional disparities were a source of increasing frustration across the country in the run up to the January 2011 Revolution. This development policy review shows that, in contrast to the façade often presented by the former regime, Tunisia's economic environment was and remains deeply deficient. The review highlights an economy that has remained frozen in low-value added activities and where firms are stagnating in terms of productivity and jobs creation. The review argues that Tunisian prosperity has been held back by policies that have reduced the countrys overall economic performance. This poor performance results from extensive barriers to entry and market restrictions coupled with a heavy business regulations and a poorly functioning financial system, have resulted in economic stagnation. Economic policies have exacerbated cronyism and rent-seeking, allowing under-performing firms to survive, regardless of their productivity. in order to fulfill its economic potential, Tunisia needs to create a level playing field by opening up the economy and removing Tunisia's three dualisms, namely the onshore-offshore division, the dichotomy between the coast and the interior, and the segmentation of the labor market. A strong social policy is also necessary, of course, and should be designed to accompany private sector-led growth. Tunisia can capitalize on a strong competitive advantage to export wage-intensive goods, expand its export of services, and unleash the potential of agriculture, to the benefit of small businesses, young graduates, and farmers in Tunisia's long-neglected interior regions. Realizing these benefits will require improving the investment climate, rationalizing regulations, and developing more equitable development policies that benefit all of Tunisia's regions. The Unfinished Revolution is a challenge for policymakers to rethink Tunisia's economic development model, to question existing assumptions, and to dare to think big about policy reforms which can accelerate growth and shared prosperity, create quality jobs and promote regional development.
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Development Policy Review (DPR) 86179 MAY 24, 2014
In the past decade, conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs have become an important component of social policy in developing countries. While the impacts of these programs have been well researched with respect to their effectiveness to achieve intended outcomes, less is known about their impact on private expenditure decisions.
... See More + This aspect has great policy relevance since changes in private household expenditures can either support or counteract the aim of the programs. This essay investigates the impact of a CCT program on private household expenditure decisions in nutrition, health and education which are seen as principal contributors to child human capital. First, household expenditure behavior under a CCT program is discussed based on Heckman's model on the technology of skill formation as a conceptual framework. The paper shows how intra-household preferences and perceptions on the substitutability or complementarity of investments can impact household resource allocation decisions. Subsequently, the theoretical implications are tested in the context of the Brazilian CCT program Bolsa Família, using the Brazilian household expenditure survey. Evidence is found that households increase their private expenditure in food and education disproportionally to the amount of cash transfer, that is, more than would be expected when considering the Engel curves of the expenditures under question.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS6867 MAY 01, 2014
The infrastructure sector has seen unprecedented changes in India with exponential growth due to changing economic landscape and development in the country.
... See More + Massive investments are required to be made across a range of sectors like power, ports, roads, railways, health, education, and aviation. The complexity and scale of these infrastructure projects has increased significantly and a typical project now takes anywhere from six to ten years to complete. The World Bank commissioned a study in early 2013 on introducing and enhancing the use of information technology (IT) based interventions and solutions in the management of construction projects and programs to enhance efficiency, transparency, and governance in delivery, thereby increasing their success and impact potential. The study concluded with a guidance note which targets implementing agencies and project managers with practical steps on adopting e-tools and how e-tools can contribute to improve construction project management and delivery. Building on the study, it is acknowledged that implementation of e-tools in infrastructure project can be promoted through address knowledge and information gaps. The World Bank and Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) organized a workshop in order to disseminate the guidance note information among implementing agencies and to promote use of e-tools in the management of public sector infrastructure projects in India. In this context, the report presents background; objective; and key messages from the keynote addresses.
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Ombuds Services (OMB) and the Respectful Workplace Advisors (RWA) Program aim to help any Bank Group employee address any kind of workplace issue, in a confidential and informal way.
... See More + The Ombuds office provides training, support, and back-up to the RWAs, who are volunteer staff chosen by peers and located primarily in the country offices (COs). This annual report summarizes usage patterns, issues raised and observed for both programs, and OMB exit survey data. This year, the RWA Program achieved many objectives. RWAs made 540 referrals to the Internal Justice System (IJS) and other services, strengthening their status as critical local resources. The number of presentations that involve RWAs as one of the partners of the IJS continues to increase. RWAs are also increasingly included in new staff orientation in their locations. In an effort to partner better with our stakeholders, the RWA team intentionally increased opportunities to meet with HR teams, Learning Coordinators, the VP HR, and the change reform groups. The RWA Program has now become an integral part of the Conflict Resolution System (CRS), and RWAs are increasingly involved in CRS activities. Some of the program's challenges continue to be the heavy administrative demands of the nomination process and the inability to take full advantage of the rich data in the RWA activity forms.
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Safety nets are on the rise in Africa, and beginning to evolve from scattered standalone programs into systems. Until recently, many African countries approached social protection on an ad-hoc basis.
... See More + But when the global crisis threatened recent progress in poverty reduction, safety nets increasingly began to be viewed as core instruments for poverty reduction in the region. Social protection programming has started to develop from emergency food aid programs to one-off interventions to regular and predictable safety nets, such as targeted cash transfers and cash-for-work programs. Some countries, such as Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania, now seek to consolidate programs into national systems. But as our review shows, there is still a long way to go.
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The development objective of the Strengthening Sustainable Management of the Guano Islands, Isles, and Capes National Reserve System Project for Peru is to improve the overall management of marine and coastal ecosystems of the Guano Islands, Islets, and Capes national reserve system (RNSIIPG) of Peru, and protect its biological diversity in pilot sites.
... See More + The project has four components. The first component is institutional strengthening. This component will build capacity at national service of natural protected areas (servicio nacional de areas naturales protegidas) (SERNANP) and other institutions involved in the management of marine and coastal resources. The second component is collaborative regional management. The project will develop socially viable marine management models through carrying out of locally implemented collaborative subprojects in pilot sites selected by SERNANP and local stakeholders during project design. The third component is monitoring and evaluation. This will be carried out through: (1) the provision of support for: (i) the development of ecological baseline approaches to monitor marine biodiversity; and (ii) the implementation of regular ecological monitoring systems in pilot sites once the activity under: (i) above has been completed; and (iii) the carrying out of a research initiative in Lobos de Afuera islands to study the area's biodiversity; (2) supporting the development and implementation of a management effectiveness monitoring and evaluation system within SERNANP; and (3) the provision of support for the monitoring and evaluation of project performance. The fourth component is project management. The project will strengthen the Peruvian trust fund for national parks and protected areas (fondo de promocion para las areas naturales protegidas del Peru (PROFONANPE) capacity to carry out the administrative and financial management of the project.
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