This paper tracks the process through which FIAS, the investment climate advisory service of the World Bank Group advised the government of Latvia from 1998 to 2004 on ways to improve the business environment, achieve higher rates of economic growth, and thereby alleviate poverty. This case study shows that it is reasonable to describe how assistance by FIAS led to an improved business environment.

Contents of the report are: introduction; by Penelope J. Brook, and Sabine Hertveldt; how to reform in 3 months. Azerbaijan registers businesses faster by setting-up a one-stop shop; by Svetlana Bagaudinova, Dahlia Khalifa, and Givi Petriashvili; one-stop shopping in Portugal; by Camille Ramos; competitiveness from innovation, not inheritance; by Karim Ouled Belayachi, and Jamal Ibrahim Haidar; harnessing the internet to streamline procedures; by K.

This report is about how to progressively reduce over time Afghanistan's dependence on opium - currently the country's leading economic activity - by development initiatives and shifting economic incentives toward sustainable legal livelihoods. Specifically, the report identifies additional investments and policy and institutional measures to support development responses that can counterbalance the economic advantages of opium.

There is important evidence to suggest that corruption is a key factor contributing to the degradation of renewable natural resources. Forestry officials and law enforcement officers who are in the pockets of corrupt logging firms often turn a blind eye to activities that threaten the sustainable management of a forest’s biodiversity. Similarly, fishery inspectors endanger stocks when they accept bribes to ignore official quotas for trawlers.

Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, and Ambassador Andrew Young engaged in a roundtable discussion on economic development, moderated by Dean Bahl of Georgia State. Wolfowitz has made Africa the first priority of the Bank. There is really a chance for Africa to turn the corner. It’s going to have to start with the best performers, doing what the so-called Tigers did in East Asia, showing the way for other countries. Young said you can make more money honestly in a growing economy, than you can steal in a dying economy. Wolfowitz gave examples of the turnaround in Africa.

The study explores the relationship between decentralization and conflict, comparing two case studies in Cambodia and the Philippines. It addresses to what degree and in what ways decentralization influences conflicts that are related to natural resources management (NRM), especially where local institutions are often unrepresentative of, and unaccountable to local communities. In developing countries, the research indicates that sufficient time is an essential component for bringing about genuine and effective local governance, as well as being a means for averting conflict.

Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, argued that the Doha Round presents an opportunity to rewrite the rules of an unfair trading system that holds back the potential of the poorest people. As important as aid is, as important as debt relief is, the opportunities generated by trade are far more significant. Unless the people of Africa and other poor countries have access to markets to sell their products, they will not escape poverty or be able to give their children a better future.

This paper explores the politics of ‘customary’ land tenure, land reform, and traditional leaders in Zambia. In Zambia, as elsewhere in Southern Africa, the government at the behest of donors has implemented market-based tenure reform legislation. This legislation aims to improve the security of land tenure and to promote development through investment. The paper shows how complex, indeterminate, and contentious this tenure reform has been on the ground – particularly in relation to the 94 per cent of Zambian land that is held in ‘customary’ tenure.

Presentation of 5 brief case studies of what Oxfam actually did with regards land in post-conflict situations in Africa, in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Rwanda and Angola, concluding with the common themes, conclusions and lessons that emerged from the case studies. Also includes a critique of the role of USAID.

Short analysis of the farm invasions from the perspective of Zimbabwe’s 300,000 farm workers, who are among those excluded from the distribution of land. In the past land invaders have been evicted by government which makes those now settled uneasy. Criticises technocratic proposals by the opposition which would also disqualify farm workers. One solution is to look at the local level, where various new forms of cooperation and sharing are occurring.

This paper draws on research on the enforcement of the Land Act of 1979 in Lesotho. It seeks to show that illegal settlements occur under the shadow of formal state rules, from which social actors borrow selectively and in opportunistic ways to acquire urban property rights. This is possible because of inconsistencies and contradictions in state rules and enforcement methods.

World Bank Group President, James Wolfensohn addressed the Board of Governors. In the past year the Bank launched a new initiative—the Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF). The aim was to bring the social and the structural aspects of development together with the macroeconomic and the financial so as to establish a much more balanced and effective approach. The Bank will work with the broad development community—the United Nations, the European Union, bilaterals, regional development banks, civil society, and the private sector—to build genuine partnerships.