Sixteenth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2019 covers 11 areas of business regulation.
... Exibir mais + Ten of these areas - starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency - are included in the ease of doing business score and ease of doing business ranking. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in these two measures. Doing Business provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. This economy profile presents indicators for Afghanistan; for 2019 Afghanistan ranks 167.
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Target farmers in Kandahar Province are putting into practice new horticulture methods and seeing the fruits of their labor. This is the result of technical training session on horticulture provided by the Nation Horticulture and Livestock Project (NHLP), which aims to increase horticultural output and productivity across the country.
... Exibir mais + Project activities are currently implemented in 300 districts in 31 target provinces, numbers that may grow as conditions warrant.
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Target farmers in Kandahar Province are putting into practice new horticulture methods and seeing the fruits of their labor. This is the result of technical training session on horticulture provided by the Nation Horticulture and Livestock Project (NHLP), which aims to increase horticultural output and productivity across the country.
... Exibir mais + Project activities are currently implemented in 300 districts in 31 target provinces, numbers that may grow as conditions warrant.
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The Afghanistan Development Update is a twice-annual publication providing analysis of recent developments and presenting the World Bank team’s most-recent macroeconomic projections.
... Exibir mais + The August 2018 edition focuses on the state of the economy in the context of upcoming elections, and the potential for a loss of recent momentum as confidence declines. Special topics address: i) the potential for trade to underpin development in Afghanistan; ii) recent trends in poverty and welfare; and iii) priorities for improving education quality and coverage. Afghanistan has experienced slow growth since 2014, with the draw-down of international security forces, accompanying reductions in international grants, and a worsening security situation (growth has averaged 2.3 percent between 2014-2017). Following a period of political instability after the 2014 elections, the economy has slowly regained momentum as reforms have been implemented and confidence restored. From a low of 1.5 percent in 2015, real GDP growth accelerated to 2.3 percent in 2016, and is estimated at 2.7 percent for 2017. Building momentum now appears to be at some risk, with increasing election-related violence, declining business confidence, worsening drought conditions, and some apparent slowing of economic activity. Growth is projected at 2.4 percent in 2018, with substantial downside risks arising from the prospects of political instability around upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. Risks can be partly mitigated and recent momentum maintained through: i) continued reform progress, demonstrating to investors that the deterioration in governance seen in 2014 will not be repeated; and ii) continued donor commitment to sustained grant support.
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Target farmers in Kandahar Province are putting into practice new horticulture methods and seeing the fruits of their labor. This is the result of technical training session on horticulture provided by the Nation Horticulture and Livestock Project (NHLP), which aims to increase horticultural output and productivity across the country.
... Exibir mais + Project activities are currently implemented in 300 districts in 31 target provinces, numbers that may grow as conditions warrant.
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Three decades of conflict and instability have devastated Afghanistan’s social fabric and institutions – corruption, insecurity, weak governance, poor public infrastructure, and the government’s inability to extend rule of law pose challenges to current and future economic growth.
... Exibir mais + Afghanistan’s education system has felt this acute stress and has attempted to respond appropriately. However, it has been extremely difficult to execute any reforms due to pervasive violence and corruption. For instance, many children, especially girls, have not had access to an education because the Taliban used schools for military purposes and targeted terrorist attacks. Despite these challenges, Afghanistan has achieved a great feat in rapidly expanding enrollment, especially at the primary level. To put this achievement into context, enrollment in Afghanistan has increased 9-fold since 2005. Afghanistan has had a tough time keeping up with this rapid expansion. The report will show that a large share of children that complete third grade lack basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills, a state of affairs that is replicated in several low-income countries and that UNESCO (2013) dubbed the global learning crisis. To date, there has been no robust, standardized set of indicators to measure the quality of services for students. Existing indicators tend to be fragmented and either focus on final outcomes or inputs, rather than on the underlying systems that help generate outcomes or make use of inputs. The SABER Service Delivery (SD) tool was developed in 2016 in the Global engagement and knowledge unit of the education Global practice (GP) at the World Bank, as an initiative to uncover bottlenecks that inhibit student learning in low and middle-income countries and to better understand the quality of education service delivery in a country as well as gaps in policy implementation. Its main purpose is to provide a mechanism to assess these different determinants of learning through a diagnostic tool and also to uncover the extent to which policies translate into implementation and practice. This report allows for a closer examination of the real bottlenecks causing student misalignment with an international standard of learning, and thus narrows the focus of the analysis to finding solutions to the corresponding lags in student learning performance.
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The high cost of nutritious foods can worsen poor diets and nutrition outcomes especially among low-income households. Yet little is known about the spatial and temporal patterns of the cost of nutritious diets in South Asia, where malnutrition in multiple forms remains high.
... Exibir mais + Using existing food price data from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, two methods are applied to assess the affordability of nutritious foods: Cost of a Recommended Diet (CoRD) and Nutritious Food Price Index (NPI). The analysis finds that the cost of a nutritious diet is 38 percent higher in Sri Lanka using CoRD compared to the cost of a (calorie-based) diet that meets basic food needs, and 15 percent higher in Afghanistan. In addition, CoRD varies across cities due to variability in the price of dairy and vegetables. Comparison of the NPI and the food Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicates that, for some countries, the price of a nutritious food basket varies more by season and has been increasing at a faster rate than the price of a typical food basket. This phenomenon is largely due to the variable cost of vegetables.
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Documento de trabalho sobre pesquisa de políticas WPS8557 AUG 16, 2018
Dizon,Felipe Jr Fadullon; Herforth,Anna WhitsonDisclosed
Afghans represent the world’s largest protracted refugee population, and one of the largest populations to be repatriated to their country of origin in this century.
... Exibir mais + Between 2002 and 2016, over six million refugees returned to Afghanistan from neighboring countries. In 2016 alone, returnees numbered more than a million. In an already difficult context, large-scale internal displacement and return from outside have strained the delivery of public services in Afghanistan and increased competition for scarce economic opportunities, not only for the displaced, but for the population at large. This note aims at contributing to our understanding of displacement in Afghanistan by comparing the socioeconomic profiles of three populations: (i) former refugees who returned to Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014 (“pre-2015 returnees”); (ii) internally displaced persons (“IDPs”); and (iii) non-displaced persons (“hosts”). The note captures and compares these groups’ situations at a specific time-point, using data from the 2013-14 Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey (ALCS). Importantly, the results document socioeconomic conditions just prior to the transfer of security responsibilities from international troops to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in 2014, which was associated with a subsequent decline in aid, both security and civilian, and a sharp drop in economic activity. The results presented here cover the largest return of Afghans to the county following the fall of the Taliban in 2002, but precede the more recent large-scale return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan in 2016-17. Future publications will extend the findings summarized here with analysis of new and existing data covering this recent influx. This research is part of an ongoing effort to document population displacement challenges and solutions in Afghanistan over time. Data from ALCS 2013-14 establish baseline socio-economic profiles for returned refugees, IDPs, and non-displaced hosts. Further research and analysis now in progress will document how these conditions have changed since 2013-14, and will distill evidence for policy to improve socio-economic outcomes among Afghanistan’s displaced and non-displaced people.
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The Afghanistan Development Update is a twice-annual publication providing analysis of recent developments and presenting the World Bank team’s most-recent macroeconomic projections.
... Exibir mais + The August 2018 edition focuses on the state of the economy in the context of upcoming elections, and the potential for a loss of recent momentum as confidence declines. Special topics address: i) the potential for trade to underpin development in Afghanistan; ii) recent trends in poverty and welfare; and iii) priorities for improving education quality and coverage. Afghanistan has experienced slow growth since 2014, with the draw-down of international security forces, accompanying reductions in international grants, and a worsening security situation (growth has averaged 2.3 percent between 2014-2017). Following a period of political instability after the 2014 elections, the economy has slowly regained momentum as reforms have been implemented and confidence restored. From a low of 1.5 percent in 2015, real GDP growth accelerated to 2.3 percent in 2016, and is estimated at 2.7 percent for 2017. Building momentum now appears to be at some risk, with increasing election-related violence, declining business confidence, worsening drought conditions, and some apparent slowing of economic activity. Growth is projected at 2.4 percent in 2018, with substantial downside risks arising from the prospects of political instability around upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. Risks can be partly mitigated and recent momentum maintained through: i) continued reform progress, demonstrating to investors that the deterioration in governance seen in 2014 will not be repeated; and ii) continued donor commitment to sustained grant support.
Exibir menos -
The Afghanistan Development Update is a twice-annual publication providing analysis of recent developments and presenting the World Bank team’s most-recent macroeconomic projections.
... Exibir mais + The August 2018 edition focuses on the state of the economy in the context of upcoming elections, and the potential for a loss of recent momentum as confidence declines. Special topics address: i) the potential for trade to underpin development in Afghanistan; ii) recent trends in poverty and welfare; and iii) priorities for improving education quality and coverage. Afghanistan has experienced slow growth since 2014, with the draw-down of international security forces, accompanying reductions in international grants, and a worsening security situation (growth has averaged 2.3 percent between 2014-2017). Following a period of political instability after the 2014 elections, the economy has slowly regained momentum as reforms have been implemented and confidence restored. From a low of 1.5 percent in 2015, real GDP growth accelerated to 2.3 percent in 2016, and is estimated at 2.7 percent for 2017. Building momentum now appears to be at some risk, with increasing election-related violence, declining business confidence, worsening drought conditions, and some apparent slowing of economic activity. Growth is projected at 2.4 percent in 2018, with substantial downside risks arising from the prospects of political instability around upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. Risks can be partly mitigated and recent momentum maintained through: i) continued reform progress, demonstrating to investors that the deterioration in governance seen in 2014 will not be repeated; and ii) continued donor commitment to sustained grant support.
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One of the main objectives of the Afghanistan Living Conditions Surveys (ALCS, formerly the National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment or NRVA) is to provide information on welfare and living standards, on their evolution over time, and their distribution over households.
... Exibir mais + Of particular importance is the measurement and tracking of welfare amongst the poorest segments of the population, and ALCS survey data provide the principal means for estimating the extent and severity of poverty in Afghanistan.
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Evening-hour luminosity observed using satellites is a good proxy for economic activity. The strengths of measuring economic activity using nightlight measurements include that the data capture informal activity, are available in near real-time, are cheap to obtain, and can be used to conduct very spatially granular analysis.
... Exibir mais + This paper presents a measure of monthly economic activity at the district level based on cleaned Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite nightlight and rural population. The paper demonstrates that this new method can shed light on recent episodes in South Asia: first, the 2015 earthquake in Nepal; second, demonetization in India; and, third, violent conflict outbreaks in Afghanistan.
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Documento de trabalho sobre pesquisa de políticas WPS8523 JUL 12, 2018
Beyer,Robert Carl Michael; Chhabra,Esha; Galdo,Virgilio; Rama,Martin G.Disclosed
A severe slow-down in Afghanistan’s economic growth characterized the period between 2012 and 2016. This sharp deceleration can be attributed to the combined effects of the drawdown of international military forces and a sharp fall in associated international spending, reduction of aid, and increasing conflict and political instability.
... Exibir mais + These trends are reflected in the increasing vulnerability of the Afghan population, as widespread deteriorations in welfare are evidenced in the sharp increase in poverty rates to 55 percent in 2016-17. Many inequalities persist in Afghanistan, between regions, cities and rural areas, and rich and poor Afghans. Poverty headcount rates increased in every region between 2011-12 and 2016-17 and the deterioration in welfare was experienced across the distribution, among the poorest households, as well as among the most well-off. These distributional changes imply that while the intensity of poverty has increased between 2011-12 and 2016-17, inequality has declined, as the welfare loss among the top of the distribution has been relatively larger than that at the bottom of the distribution. Demographic characteristics remain strongly correlated with poverty headcount rates. Poverty rates increase steadily with household size and households of larger size are both more prevalent and face a higher poverty rate. Education (or the lack thereof) is another important correlate of poverty in Afghanistan. Low levels of educational attainment are pervasive and households with illiterate heads account for 74 percent of the population, facing poverty rates of 63 percent on average, compared with headcount rates of 40 percent among households with literate heads. While unemployment of the head of household is correlated with higher poverty, employment is no guarantee against poverty. Roughly half the population belonging to households with employed heads lives in poverty. Few have access to productive or remunerative employment. Afghans living in households where the household head is employed in agriculture are likely to face higher poverty rates (63 percent) and account for a third of the poor population. More broadly, almost 60 percent of the population belongs to households where the head of household holds vulnerable employment, or in other words, is self-employed or works on own-account, is a day laborer or is an unpaid worker.
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Afghanistan has achieved substantial development progress since 2001, but faces important upcoming challenges. Government efforts supported by aid inflows have fueled rapid economic growth, expanded the quality of and access to basic social services, and improved the capacity of public sector institutions.
... Exibir mais + However, deterioration in the security situation following the security transition in 2014 combined with declining international assistance pose formidable challenges for Afghanistan to manage its economy and deliver public services. The availability of high quality, reliable economic, socio-economic, and demographic statistics is vital if appropriate policy responses to these challenges are to be identified and implemented.
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The paper uses a detailed household survey to document precautionary wealth accumulation in Afghanistan, with wealth being significantly higher for households facing higher income uncertainty.
... Exibir mais + Annual household expenditure on nondurable goods is also lower for these households. There is no significant difference in the wealth response to income uncertainty across high- and low-conflict provinces. However, the constituents of precautionary wealth vary drastically. While households in the low-conflict regions rely almost exclusively on livestock to iron out uncertainty, households in the high-conflict areas also build up a reserve of gold and silver. This shift in household portfolio suggests a more substantial decline in real returns of livestock relative to jewelry in high-conflict provinces.
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Documento de trabalho sobre pesquisa de políticas WPS8453 MAY 23, 2018
This issue focuses on FCV Countries and Topics and features the following articles: Confronting the Development Challenges of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence; What Drives the Radicalization of Foreign Terrorist Recruits?
... Exibir mais + The Cost of Fear; Leaving, Staying, or Coming Back? Migration Decisionsduring the Northern Mali Conflict; How Myanmar’s Reforms Are Playing Out in Rural Villages; Obstacles on the Road to Economic Growth in the West Bank; Can Public Works Help Postconflict Communities Escape Poverty? Can Mass Media Increase Women’s Political Participation after Civil War? Conflict and Poverty in Afghanistan’s Transition; Who Benefited from Burundi’s Demobilization Program? and U.S. Food Aid and Civil Conflict Revisited: A Methodological Caution .
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As of May 21, 2018, the cash balance stood at USD 1,443.92 million comprising: (a) USD 84.19 million in the Recurrent Cost Trust Fund (excluding USD 50 million in the designated Account); (b)combined undisbursed balance of the ARTF active investment portfolio of USD 797.35 million; (c)USD 0.73 million combined undisbursed balance of the Research and Analysis Program and (d)USD 18.12 million reserved for the Monitoring and Supervisory Agents, leaving a net unallocated cash balance of USD 493.53 million.
... Exibir mais + This report presents tabular data on: (i) ARTF consolidated sources and uses of funds; (ii) recurrent cost overview; (iii) ARTF 2018-2020 financing program : pledges and contributions; (iv) actual and expected donor contributions; (v) expressed donor preference by projects; (vi) ARTF commitments and disbursements; (vii) status and ratings of active and disbursing ARTF investment projects; and (viii) ARTF planned allocations (cash outflow).
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This paper investigates the state of low investment in Afghanistan by studying how investment decisions interact with risks and uncertainty in the presence of underdeveloped financial markets.
... Exibir mais + The analysis shows that investing firms experience a higher probability of being affected by events related to crime and corruption and spend more on security arrangements. Firms that participate in the formal financial sector are also subject to higher levels of risk and uncertainty. As more productive firms face higher risks and uncertainty, a model of resource allocation with heterogeneous firms is used to quantify the economic loss from crime and corruption. The estimated aggregate output loss of 12 percent is significantly higher than the 7 percent loss observed in the absence of the resource allocation channel.
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Documento de trabalho sobre pesquisa de políticas WPS8443 MAY 15, 2018
This Policy begins by providing an overview of each of Afghanistan’s layers of subnationaladministration. We then review current constraints to the development of these subnational entities, including both governance and infrastructure constraints.
... Exibir mais + The most important constraints include the requirement to update Local Administrative Law and regulations, revise the provincial and municipal categorization criteria, and provide improved governance infrastructure at the district level. Third, we discuss the legal requirements of implementing this subnational governance vision. This includes the revisions to the existing Local Administrative Law, Municipal Law, and Provincial Council Law, to develop two comprehensive laws: Local Administrative Law and Council Law (which will include provincial, district, municipal and village councils). Forth, we review the Independent Director of Local Governance (IDLG), the institutions responsible for implementing a large part of this vision. And finally, we conclude with a summary of our recommendations.
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As of April 20, 2018, the cash balance comprised of: (a) the recurrent cost trust fund; (b) combined undisbursed balance of the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) active investment portfolio; (c) combined undisbursed balance of the research and analysis program; and (d) reserved for the monitoring and supervisory agents, leaving a net unallocated cash balance.
... Exibir mais + This report presents tabular data on: ARTF contributions for FY1397, as of April 20, 2018; ARTF consolidated sources and uses of funds; recurrent cost overview; ARTF 2018-2020 financing program: pledges and contributions; actual and expected donor contributions; expressed donor preferences by projects; ARTF commitments and disbursements; status and ratings of active and disbursing ARTF investment projects; and ARTF planned allocations (cash outflow).
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