Since the early 1990s, Jordan has
initiated efforts toward far-reaching stabilization and
structural reform. The reforms have aimed at laying the
foundations for a reduced role of the state,
private-sector-export-oriented-growth, employment, poverty
reduction, and overall improvement in the welfare of the
population. Due to this intensive effort, inflation has been
reduced, the current account of the balance of payments has

This case study is one of six
evaluations of the implementation of the World Bank's
1991 Forest Strategy. This and the other cases (Brazil,
Cameroon, China, Costa Rica, and India) complement a review
of the entire set of lending and nonlending activities of
the World Bank Group and the Global Environment Facility. A
review of World Bank assistance to Indonesia in the forest
sector since 1991 faces two challenges. The first is

The report reviews the macroeconomic
perspectives of Uruguay, focused on its rural development
and natural resources intensive sectors, to form the basis
for expanding agricultural production, and increasing
productivity. It reviews the country's sectoral
composition, exports of natural resource intensive products,
and labor and capital use, as well as the tax burden.
Although agriculture represents less than ten percent of the

Central control of forests takes
management responsibility away from the communities most
dependent on them, inevitably resulting in tensions. Like
many African countries, Tanzania--which has forest or
woodland cover over 30-40 percent of its land--established
central forestry institutions at a time when there was
little need for active management and protection because
population pressures were low. But in the face of scarce

The book examines the impacts of medium-
and large-scale mines on local communities, through six case
studies, analyzing both the socioeconomic and cultural
effects, as well as environmental impacts of mining
operations on the communities. From a multidimensional
perspective, studies investigate mining operations costs,
and benefits, with an emphasis on the sustainability of
benefits, and the outcomes of the legal, and consultative

This review aims to provide the
Government of Madagascar with a situation assessment and
insights and guidance on how to position the rural and
environment sector as an engine for inclusive and
sustainable economic growth. The review has cast the
analytical net quite widely with the aim to come up with a
comprehensive overview of the sector. In view of the
intimate linkages between rural development and the

Using household survey data for 1998, the authors assess the distributional impact of the recent economic crisis in the Philippines. The results suggest that the impact of the crisis was modest, leading to a five percent reduction in average living standards, and a nine percent increase in the incidence of poverty - with larger increases indicated for the depth, and severity of poverty. The greater shock came from El Nino, rather than through the labor market. The labor market shock was progressive (reducing inequality) while El Nino shock was regressive (increasing inequality).

Despite its healthy economic growth, due
to good macroeconomic management, and progress in trade
liberalization, Sri Lanka's development is perceived to
be well below its potential. Certainly, the civil conflict
has taken a heavy social, and economic toll on the
country's performance, but also governance, and public
institutions have weakened, though maintaining a dominance
on the financial sector, and utilities, which further

The performance of the East Asian
transition economies in export and income growth has been
strikingly better than that of countries in Eastern Europe
and the former Soviet Union. The East Asian economies have
achieved remarkably high growth rates in outputs and exports
without the often large declines in output and exports
observed in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. East
Asian reformers have successfully made many of the parallel

This paper deals with economic rents
arising from the development of hydroelectric generation on
international watercourses. The paper briefly defines the
concept of economic rent and its application to
hydroelectric developments. It explores two areas of
precedents that shows how the concept could be applied in
developments on international watercourses. First, it looks
at international law on the ownership and rights of use of

The major constraints to RNF growth,
according to a large survey of rural entrepreneurs,'
include (1) flood and natural disasters; (2) access to
electricity; (3) road conditions, (4) access to finance and
(5) transportation to markets. Bangladesh's
vulnerability to frequent floods and other natural disasters
severely hampers operations of more than a third of rural
firms. The next most important constraint to RNF growth is

The Global Poverty Report considers
the effects of globalizing markets on poverty in developing
countries. It outlines the channels through which increased
trade openness can affect poverty and examines the evidence
from four regions: Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific,
Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the
Caribbean. Written at the request of the G8, the report is
the result of a joint effort of the regional development