Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP27611 Document Date: DEC 09, 2019

Author: Salomon Salomon Garba Tchang Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP27555 Document Date: DEC 06, 2019

Author: Kouame Fran?ois YAO Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP27443 Document Date: DEC 04, 2019

Author: Vlaketic,Nenad Disclosure Status: Disclosed

This paper experimentally examines the impacts of a large-scale government program that increased the supply and quality of community preschools in rural Cambodia. ... See More + The construction of new preschool facilities was paired with two demand-side interventions designed to stimulate additional enrollment into preschools. The newly constructed preschools caused an increase in enrollment rates but the demand-side interventions did not. One year after the program started, the paper finds small and significant impacts on cognitive (0.04 standard deviations) and socio-emotional development (0.09 standard deviations). The analysis shows that the cognitive impacts are driven by children from the wealthiest quartile, while the program had limited impacts on children from the poorest families. The effects on cognitive development increased after two years for the wealthiest (the cognitive gap widened) while the effects on socio-emotional development faded out across the board. Using detailed classroom surveys and in-class observations, the paper shows that the program had large impacts on the quality of preschool infrastructure and materials but only limited impacts the quality of educational processes -- the results therefore suggest that further improvement of those processes might be needed to foster the development of disadvantaged children.  See Less -

Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS9070 Document Date: DEC 02, 2019

Author: Berkes,Jan Lukas; Bouguen,Adrien; Filmer,Deon P.; Fukao,Tsuyoshi Disclosure Status: Disclosed

With Malawi’s economic growth recovering and single digit inflation, the Government has a keyopportunity to rein in fiscal deficits and reduce domestic debt. ... See More + If it can better control domestic debt levels, the Government could increasingly move towards creating the conditions for the privatesector to increase investment, which can drive growth and job creation. To support this, the Government needs to develop a track record of achieving sustainable fiscal deficits in order to contain and reverse the escalating domestic debt burden, to contain interest rates and avoidcrowding out private sector investment, and to increase public investment. Malawi’s economy is projected to grow by 4.4 percent in 2019, up from 3.5 percent in 2018. Agricultural activity rebounded in 2019 due to favorable weather conditions, which offset the negative effects from Tropical Cyclone Idai in parts of the southern region of the country. Crop production was generally strong, particularly in the case of maize, with production increasing by 25.7 percent. This supported overall economic growth, despite a decline in tobacco production. However, the ongoing political impasse, with widescale demonstrations that have continued since May 2019, has constrained business activity and increased uncertainty, weighing on investment. The Government missed the revised fiscal deficit target in FY2018/19. The fiscal deficit increased to 6.5 percent of GDP, higher than the revised target of 5.8 percent. The impact of election-related expenses,increased interest payments and costs associated with the disaster response pushed recurrentexpenditure beyond targeted levels by 1 percent of GDP. This was partially offset by under-execution of development expenditure, which was not enough to keep the fiscal deficit to 5.8 percent of GDP. Poor revenue performance, which was lower by 0.5 percent of GDP, compounded the problem.  See Less -

Document Type: Report Report No.: 144290 Document Date: DEC 01, 2019

Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP27067 Document Date: NOV 25, 2019

Author: Gunatilake,Jagath Kinsly Amuwela Appuhamilage Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP26945 Document Date: NOV 20, 2019

Author: Nazeer Hussain Kalhoro Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Implementation Status and Results Report Report No.: ISR38453 Document Date: NOV 18, 2019

Author: Diack,Aissatou Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP26857 Document Date: NOV 18, 2019

Author: Regina Regina Spencer Lopes Carvalho Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP26715 Document Date: NOV 13, 2019

Author: Jean Marie Boisrond Disclosure Status: Disclosed