This paper explores how the private sector can positively contribute to peace-building and conflict prevention, and how that positive private sector role can be supported and enhanced. The starting premise recognizes that the private sector exists in all conflict situations and has the potential to both exacerbate and ameliorate conflict, the outcome of which can be greatly affected by appropriate support from external partners.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been described by one senior African diplomat at the United Nations as a 'state in the making; it is not yet a state.' Further, this 'state in the making' also is a state that, with few exceptions, has been in decline since the early 1970s. The colonial era, from 1885 until 1958, was a period of nearly uninterrupted state construction; the hegemony of the Belgian colonial apparatus steadily deepened.

This investment climate analysis reviews the experiences of over 3000 surveyed business owners in 26 states of Nigeria about the aspects of the business climate that affect their businesses. It complements a similar study in 2007 that covered 11 other Nigerian states. The survey asks business owners about both their perceptions and the actual costs of selected constraints. The analysis benchmarks Nigeria against comparator countries, and provides detailed data for each state. Nigerian firms have low productivity, as measured by their output in relation to their labor and capital inputs.

East Java is the second largest contributor to Indonesia's economy with a growth rate similar to national level and other major provinces in Java. Nevertheless, for a province that is expected to be a major economic center in the country, there has been very little change in the region's economic structure in the past 10 years. Since 1995, the share of industry and agriculture in the economy is almost unchanged. Furthermore, the growth in both of these two sectors has been low, despite the fact that industry was once the main driver of the East Java economy.

In 2012, the Mexican Presidency of the G20 introduced inclusive green growth as a cross-cutting priority on the G20 development agenda. The second meeting of the G20 Development Working Group (DWG), hosted by the Government of the Republic of Korea, took place in Seoul the 19th and 20th of March 2012. As agreed during the first DWG meeting, this second meeting focused on the priorities for their presidency in the first half of 2012: infrastructure, food security and inclusive green growth (IGG).

The Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has brought to the forefront key challenges: the need to create job opportunities, equal access, a level playing field, transparency and accountability, and a fair and competitive environment. Crony capitalism, the privileged access of certain elites to favorable legal and regulatory treatment, access to markets, and the coincidence of political and economic power, was a major concern contributing to the uprising.

Ukraine has tremendous potential that has not yet been reached. Ukraine is endowed with intelligent, energetic, and entrepreneurial people; extraordinary fertile land; considerable natural resources; and a geographic location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. There is no reason why Ukraine, under the right conditions, should not be among the league of prosperous and successful nations. The circumstances today, however, are of course, still far from that ultimate target.

Sustainable economic growth and strong institutions are interlinked, and the present report summarizes recent economic and fiscal developments in West Bank and Gaza (WB&G) as well as providing a broad overview of institutional accomplishments to date. The present report begins by discussing the apparent slowdown in economic growth in WB&G and the current fiscal crisis facing the Palestinian Authority (PA)-resulting partly from lower-than-expected external support this year.

Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 10 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

An appropriate rural investment climate (RIC) is essential for rural businesses to be successful and generate employment and income in their communities. Improving the investment climate could facilitate income-generation activities in both farm and nonfarm sectors, thus reducing rural poverty. Nonfarm sector focused growth, combined with agricultural growth, and has been shown by Delgado et al. (1998) to have a significant impact on the local economy through the generation of employment and income.

Doing business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 10 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Africa is on the rise and Ethiopia is at the forefront of this trend. On request of the Government, the World Bank surveyed 69 Chinese enterprises doing business in Ethiopia with a 95-question survey in May/June 2012. The survey covered various aspects of the foreign direct investment climate in Ethiopia, including infrastructure, sales and supplies, land, crime, competition, finance, human resources, and questions about general opportunities and constraints for doing business in Ethiopia.