The development objective of the Rural Safety Net Project for Ethiopia is to support the Government of Ethiopia in improving the effectiveness and scalability of its rural safety net system.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (i) ensure drainage controls on new roads and rehabilitate temporary access following subproject implementation; (ii) minimize water crossings in road location and alignment; (iii) avoid interference with informal land users, and take measures to provide them access to alternative lands or resources; (iv) ensure that yards and storage areas include safety measures, as well as procedures for managing waste and avoiding placement in areas that are used for pastoralism, farming, etc.; (v) assess water supply and existing demands, and manage sustainability; (vi) identify and avoid effects of diversion or extraction on downstream ecosystems that depend on the surface or groundwater supply; (vii) provide training to farmers on sustainable irrigated agriculture, including maintenance of infrastructure; (viii) protect and encourage regeneration of endemic species; (ix) establish a water users committee through the kebele and equitable rules for water allocation; ensure a local grievance redress system is in place; (x) construction sites should include procedures for managing waste; local communities should be informed about temporary disturbance, noise, dust, etc.
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Power shortages present a significant challenge to manufacturers, who rely on power as a key input to production. In Pakistan, power shortages are commonplace, but empirical evidence on the impact of shortages is still lacking.
... See More + Using a survey of 4,500 manufacturing firms for the year 2010-11, this paper estimates the impact of electricity shortages on firm productivity in Pakistan. The analysis finds that a 10 percent increase in the duration of outages on average leads to a 0.14 percent decrease in a firm's total revenue and a 0.36 percent decrease in the value added, all else being equal. There is heterogeneity in the impacts of shortages across sectors: the industries that are most energy-intensive, such as manufacturers of metal, wood, and paper, are affected the most severely by shortages.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8130 JUN 29, 2017
While the proportion of girls marrying as children is declining globally, this decline is not occurring in all countries or taking place equitably within countries, nor is it happening at a sufficiently fast pace to see an end to the practice in the coming decades.
... See More + Indeed, rates of both child marriage and early childbearing have seen recent declines, but progress has been uneven, and many of the cultural, economic and social factors that have historically contributed to child marriage persist today. Further, because of the young age structures in many countries affected by child marriage, without significant changes in the immediate future, the total number of child brides in the world will remain stagnant or even increase. These alarming facts demonstrate the urgency of acting to end this harmful practice.
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The brief summarizes results from an analysis on the impacts of child marriage on women's decision-making ability within the household, land ownership, knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and birth registrations.
... See More + While these topics are all related to agency, it should be emphasized that they do not together provide a comprehensive measure of agency, which is beyond the scope of this study.
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Ratings of Emergency Economic and Fiscal Support Operation Project for Sierra Leone were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, risk to development outcome was significant, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some of the lessons learned included: (i) Even in the case of a national emergency, it is possible to make progress in government fiscal management reforms; (ii) It is important to have a central command with strong authority to coordinate the many actors coming together to fight the epidemic; (iii) It is also helpful to have a lead development partner who lead the coordination of other development partners; (iv) A fiduciary agent can play a critical implementation role in emergency contexts; (v) In emergency situations it is vital to consider practical project management issues, such as payment of workers; (vi) The existence of widespread mobile phone use offers an opportunity to convey funds to works in an emergency situation; and (vii) Results indicators should not rely just on completed actions, but should attempt to the extent possible, capture the outcomes of completed actions of the program
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR4121 JUN 26, 2017
Solomon Islands is a small, remote archipelago in the South Pacific that faces a fairly unique set of development challenges. Solomon Islands is now at a critical juncture in its development trajectory.
... See More + Neither the economic geography nor the present political economy of Solomon Islands is particularly conducive to the establishment of state institutions capable of managing upcoming socioeconomic change. Because of the weaknesses of state institutions, and consistent with Solom on Islands’ historical experience, a variety of non-state and international actors will need to play important roles in managing upcoming and potentially risky socioeconomic change. This Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) for Solomon Islands identifies key challenges and opportunities for achieving inclusive and sustainable growth, to accelerate progress toward the World Bank Group’s twin goals of reducing extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity.
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The Iraqi Public Distribution System is the largest universal, in-kind subsidy system in the world. In 2012, the Public Distribution System transfers accounted for as much as 30 percent of incomes of the poorest 10 percent of the Iraqi population and provided 70 percent of the calories of the poorest 40 percent.
... See More + In effect, the Public Distribution System remains the only safety net program that covers all the poor and vulnerable in the country. Yet, it is a very inefficient and expensive means to deliver transfers to the poor and creates distortions in the economy as well as an unsustainable fiscal burden. The fiscal crisis since mid-2014 has put reform of the Public Distribution System back on the agenda. This paper employs a mixed demand approach to analyze the consumption patterns of Iraqi households and quantify the welfare impact of a potential reform of the Public Distribution System in urban areas. The results show that household consumption of Public Distribution System items is relatively inelastic to changes in price. Consumption is more inelastic for the poorest quintiles and, for much of the population, these goods are not inferior, but rather normal goods. Cross-sectional comparisons suggest that with improvements in welfare levels, and with well-functioning markets, some segments of the population are substituting away from the Public Distribution System and increasing their consumption of market substitutes. The removal of all subsidies will require compensating poor households by 74.4 percent of their expenditures compared with nearly 40 percent for the richest households in urban areas.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8106 JUN 19, 2017
This report presents an overview of current trends in tax policy, tax administration, and international taxation and provides a broad landscape of practical examples drawn from World Bank operations across global practices over the past several decades.
... See More + As a starting point for a more comprehensive research agenda, it is intended to play two roles: to provide guidance to World Bank staff working on related tax issues and to trigger a wider external dialogue through a forthcoming flagship report addressing strategic aspects of taxation in greater depth. This report analyzes the status of government revenues and identifies policy and administrative steps that may help to mobilize domestic resources in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with a view to helping to frame the strategic position of the World Bank at this particular time. The suggestions are meant to support the role of the Bank in the context of the Addis tax initiative and the sustainable development goals 2030 as well as to facilitate the collection of tax and nontax revenue in order to provide LMICs with a stable and predictable fiscal environment.
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The Palestinian Territories face significant energy security challenges, already severe in Gaza, but also emerging in the West Bank.The Palestinian Territories rely primarily on Israeli imports to meet its electricity needs.The only large scale generation capacity in the Palestinian Territories is the troubled Gaza Power Plant.The Palestinian electricity sector has undergone a number of institutional reforms, which still require further consolidation.Measures to improve energy efficiency can also make a valuable contribution to energy security going forward.
... See More + Palestine’s existing National Energy Efficiency Action Plan aims to make savings equivalent to one percentage point of energy consumption annually through to 2020, focusing primarily on reducing electricity consumption by improving the energy efficiency of residential buildings. A much more ambitious action plan is under consideration by the Palestinian Energy and National Resources Authority for 2020-2030, and aims to save 5 percent of the energy consumption anticipated during that period. The new strategy encompasses high impact energy efficient appliances (such as heaters, fridges and air conditioners), further tightening of efficiency standards for buildings, and smart grid infrastructure to allow consumers to participate in the energy market as demand response. Investments to improve energy efficiency are proven to be much more cost-effective than expanding power generation capacity.
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The objective of the Social Investment and Local Development Project for Armenia is to improve the quality and use of and access to community and intercommunity infrastructure.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: the local construction and environment inspectorates and communities have been notified of upcoming activities; the public has been notified of the works through appropriate notification in the media and/or at publicly accessible sites (including the site of the works); waste collection and disposal pathways and sites will be identified for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; mineral construction and demolition wastes will be separated from general refuse, organic, liquid and chemical wastes by on-site sorting and stored in appropriate containers; the approach to handling sanitary wastes and wastewater from building sites must be approved by the local authorities; before being discharged into receiving waters, effluents from individual wastewater systems must be treated in order to meet the minimal quality criteria set out by national guidelines on effluent quality and wastewater treatment; monitoring of new wastewater systems (before/after) will be carried out; construction vehicles and machinery will be washed only in designated areas where runoff will not pollute natural surface water bodies; and if the building is a designated historic structure, very close to such a structure, or located in a designated historic district, notification shall be made and approvals/permits be obtained from local authorities and all construction activities planned and carried out in line with local and national legislation.
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The objective of the Social Investment and Local Development Project for Armenia is to improve the quality and use of and access to community and intercommunity infrastructure.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: the local construction and environment inspectorates and communities have been notified of upcoming activities; the public has been notified of the works through appropriate notification in the media and/or at publicly accessible sites (including the site of the works); waste collection and disposal pathways and sites will be identified for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; mineral construction and demolition wastes will be separated from general refuse, organic, liquid and chemical wastes by on-site sorting and stored in appropriate containers; the approach to handling sanitary wastes and wastewater from building sites must be approved by the local authorities; before being discharged into receiving waters, effluents from individual wastewater systems must be treated in order to meet the minimal quality criteria set out by national guidelines on effluent quality and wastewater treatment; monitoring of new wastewater systems (before/after) will be carried out; construction vehicles and machinery will be washed only in designated areas where runoff will not pollute natural surface water bodies; and if the building is a designated historic structure, very close to such a structure, or located in a designated historic district, notification shall be made and approvals/permits be obtained from local authorities and all construction activities planned and carried out in line with local and national legislation.
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The objective of the Social Investment and Local Development Project for Armenia is to improve the quality and use of and access to community and intercommunity infrastructure.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: the local construction and environment inspectorates and communities have been notified of upcoming activities; the public has been notified of the works through appropriate notification in the media and/or at publicly accessible sites (including the site of the works); waste collection and disposal pathways and sites will be identified for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; mineral construction and demolition wastes will be separated from general refuse, organic, liquid and chemical wastes by on-site sorting and stored in appropriate containers; the approach to handling sanitary wastes and wastewater from building sites must be approved by the local authorities; before being discharged into receiving waters, effluents from individual wastewater systems must be treated in order to meet the minimal quality criteria set out by national guidelines on effluent quality and wastewater treatment; monitoring of new wastewater systems (before/after) will be carried out; construction vehicles and machinery will be washed only in designated areas where runoff will not pollute natural surface water bodies; and if the building is a designated historic structure, very close to such a structure, or located in a designated historic district, notification shall be made and approvals/permits be obtained from local authorities and all construction activities planned and carried out in line with local and national legislation.
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The objective of the Social Investment and Local Development Project for Armenia is to improve the quality and use of and access to community and intercommunity infrastructure.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: the local construction and environment inspectorates and communities have been notified of upcoming activities; the public has been notified of the works through appropriate notification in the media and/or at publicly accessible sites (including the site of the works); waste collection and disposal pathways and sites will be identified for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; mineral construction and demolition wastes will be separated from general refuse, organic, liquid and chemical wastes by on-site sorting and stored in appropriate containers; the approach to handling sanitary wastes and wastewater from building sites must be approved by the local authorities; before being discharged into receiving waters, effluents from individual wastewater systems must be treated in order to meet the minimal quality criteria set out by national guidelines on effluent quality and wastewater treatment; monitoring of new wastewater systems (before/after) will be carried out; construction vehicles and machinery will be washed only in designated areas where runoff will not pollute natural surface water bodies; and if the building is a designated historic structure, very close to such a structure, or located in a designated historic district, notification shall be made and approvals/permits be obtained from local authorities and all construction activities planned and carried out in line with local and national legislation.
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The objective of the Social Investment and Local Development Project for Armenia is to improve the quality and use of and access to community and intercommunity infrastructure.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: the local construction and environment inspectorates and communities have been notified of upcoming activities; the public has been notified of the works through appropriate notification in the media and/or at publicly accessible sites (including the site of the works); waste collection and disposal pathways and sites will be identified for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; mineral construction and demolition wastes will be separated from general refuse, organic, liquid and chemical wastes by on-site sorting and stored in appropriate containers; the approach to handling sanitary wastes and wastewater from building sites must be approved by the local authorities; before being discharged into receiving waters, effluents from individual wastewater systems must be treated in order to meet the minimal quality criteria set out by national guidelines on effluent quality and wastewater treatment; monitoring of new wastewater systems (before/after) will be carried out; construction vehicles and machinery will be washed only in designated areas where runoff will not pollute natural surface water bodies; and if the building is a designated historic structure, very close to such a structure, or located in a designated historic district, notification shall be made and approvals/permits be obtained from local authorities and all construction activities planned and carried out in line with local and national legislation.
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The objective of the Social Investment and Local Development Project for Armenia is to improve the quality and use of and access to community and intercommunity infrastructure.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: the local construction and environment inspectorates and communities have been notified of upcoming activities; the public has been notified of the works through appropriate notification in the media and/or at publicly accessible sites (including the site of the works); waste collection and disposal pathways and sites will be identified for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; mineral construction and demolition wastes will be separated from general refuse, organic, liquid and chemical wastes by on-site sorting and stored in appropriate containers; the approach to handling sanitary wastes and wastewater from building sites must be approved by the local authorities; before being discharged into receiving waters, effluents from individual wastewater systems must be treated in order to meet the minimal quality criteria set out by national guidelines on effluent quality and wastewater treatment; monitoring of new wastewater systems (before/after) will be carried out; construction vehicles and machinery will be washed only in designated areas where runoff will not pollute natural surface water bodies; and if the building is a designated historic structure, very close to such a structure, or located in a designated historic district, notification shall be made and approvals/permits be obtained from local authorities and all construction activities planned and carried out in line with local and national legislation.
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The objective of the Social Investment and Local Development Project for Armenia is to improve the quality and use of and access to community and intercommunity infrastructure.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: the local construction and environment inspectorates and communities have been notified of upcoming activities; the public has been notified of the works through appropriate notification in the media and/or at publicly accessible sites (including the site of the works); waste collection and disposal pathways and sites will be identified for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; mineral construction and demolition wastes will be separated from general refuse, organic, liquid and chemical wastes by on-site sorting and stored in appropriate containers; the approach to handling sanitary wastes and wastewater from building sites must be approved by the local authorities; before being discharged into receiving waters, effluents from individual wastewater systems must be treated in order to meet the minimal quality criteria set out by national guidelines on effluent quality and wastewater treatment; monitoring of new wastewater systems (before/after) will be carried out; construction vehicles and machinery will be washed only in designated areas where runoff will not pollute natural surface water bodies; and if the building is a designated historic structure, very close to such a structure, or located in a designated historic district, notification shall be made and approvals/permits be obtained from local authorities and all construction activities planned and carried out in line with local and national legislation.
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he development objective of Third Community Action Program under the Additional Financing for Niger was to strengthen the recipient’s local development planning and implementation capacities, to support the targeted population in improving agriculture productivity, and to respond promptly and effectively to an eligible crisis or emergency.
... See More + This project has four components. 1) The first component, Capacity Building, aims to put more focus on targeted training and agricultural advisory services needed by small farmers for the implementation of their micro-projects. It has the following two subcomponents: (i) A1 funded entirely by International Development Association (IDA); and (ii) A2 funded entirely by Population and Human Resources Development (PHRD). 2) The second component, Local Investment Fund, will be the centerpiece under the AF and support agriculture-related micro-projects in 125 communes already participating in CAP3. This has the following three subcomponents: (a) Micro-projects related to improved land and water management, including to strengthen climate-resilience, funded entirely by IDA; (b) Micro-projects for income-generating activities; (c) Micro-projects (MPs) in socio-economic infrastructures has following subcomponents: (i) B.3.1 aims to develop small-scale irrigation on one thousand hectares; (ii) B.3.2, would invest in small-scale irrigation micro-projects in five selected communes. 3) The third component, Project Coordination, Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Communication, and Preparation of Studies, is comprised of three sub-components: (a) Coordination and Management; (b) Planning, M and E, and Preparation of Studies; (c) Communication and Knowledge Management; and (d) Nutrition-related Activities and M and E. 4) The fourth component, Contingent Emergency Response Component, will be part of the project on a contingency basis only, to provide an immediate response to an Eligible Crisis or Emergency.
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The development objective of the Urban Water Project for Guinea are to increase access to improved water services in the Greater Conakry area and improve the operational efficiency of the urban water utility.
... See More + The project components were selected on the basis of (a) the Guinea urban water supply diagnostic study and reinforcement plan, 2013 (ARTELIA) and (b) the urban water supply master plan for Conakry (1996) with further refinements during preparation (including the urban water supply for Conakry options, World Bank 2016) and lessons learned from the recent World Bank engagement in the water and sanitation sectors in Conakry. The proposed project will consist of four components. The First component, Urban Water will invest approximately US$26.2 million to increase water production capacity and rehabilitate obsolete parts of the distribution network including targeted extension to improve water service delivery in Conakry in general and the peri-urban poor in particular. The Second component, urban sanitation aims to support the Government with a citywide baseline survey on the current condition of urban sanitation in Greater Conakry, together with the development of a sanitation strategy and master plan for its improvement that would guide interventions in the sector (that is, on-site sanitation, fecal sludge management, and sewerage system). The Third component, institutional strengthening and project management aims to support the water sector institutions and the urban water sector reform and to enable the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) to exercise its responsibilities through the following activities: (i) Water resources management, (ii) Urban water sector reform, and (iii) Project Implementation Unit (PIU). The Fourth component, contingent emergency response is to improve the Government’s response capacity in the event of an emergency, following the procedures governed by OP/BP 10.00 paragraph 13 (Rapid Response to Crisis and Emergencies).
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The objective of the Electricity Service Access Project is to increase electricity access in Zambia's targeted rural areas. There are three components to the project, the first component being on-grid electricity access expansion.
... See More + This component will provide financing for on-grid connections in rural areas using the approaches under the OBA/connection fee subsidy program. To support the ‘last mile’ connections, the project will also finance critical distribution network reinforcements and extensions through applying low-cost technologies where appropriate that will enable ZESCO to add new connections to the grid, complementing ongoing access expansion efforts by CPs in other parts of the country. The second component is the off-grid electricity access expansion. This component will initially fund required upstream activities to enable the private sector participation in rural off-grid electrification, including identifying and scoping off-grid sites, helping the GRZ address the existing regulatory impediments, building the needed capacity at key institutions, and designing financial mechanisms. Finally, the third component is the capacity building and project implementation support. This component will finance technical assistance (TA) to the GRZ to ensure that the project reaches its objective of enhancing and improving the enabling environment needed for a substantially scaled-up electrification effort.
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