In 2010, Kazakhstan entered into a
customs union with Belarus and Russia. The first, relatively
easy step in the implementation of the customs union was
accomplished in 2010 with the adoption of a common external
tariff, with varying exceptions in each of the three member
countries. It is the intention of the customs union to
eliminate the exceptions, in phases, by 2015. In fact, the
goals of the customs union are much more ambitious than

Zambia is endowed with an abundance of
natural resources that include, water, forests and wildlife.
The country's wildlife resources are managed through
government-supported National Parks and Game Management
Areas (GMAs) and private sector game ranches. The main
objective of this wildlife sector policy review is to
consolidate the findings collected from an extensive
bibliography published during the life of the current

Woodfuels (firewood and charcoal) are
the dominant energy source and the leading forest product
for most developing countries. Representing 60 to 80 percent
of total wood consumption in these nations, woodfuels often
account for 50 to 90 percent of all energy used. Although
woodfuels are widely perceived as cheap and primitive
sources of energy, commercial woodfuel markets are
frequently very large, involve significant levels of

Around the world, countries are becoming
urbanized at an astonishing pace. As countries develop
economically, their economies shift from mainly rural and
agrarian to increasingly urban and nonagricultural. This
rural-urban transformation presents both opportunities and
challenges for development. When managed effectively, the
transformation spurs growth and reduces poverty. When
managed poorly, however, the process can result in stark

A Country Environmental Analysis (CEA)
is a World Bank analytical tool used to integrate
environmental issues into development assistance strategies,
programs, and projects. To that end, the CEA synthesizes
environmental issues, highlights the environmental and
economic implications of development policies, and evaluates
the country's environmental management capacity. It is
composed of three analytical building blocks: the

Recent global initiatives on debt relief
and development assistance call for increasing aid for trade
to the poorest countries. The paper applies a multi-country
computable general equilibrium model to measure the
effectiveness of alternative aid for trade categories. The
findings show that aid for trade policies expand trade and
alleviate international income inequalities in the recipient
countries, that will benefit mainly from aid for trade

Pakistan experienced severe flooding
after torrential monsoon rains hit southern Sindh and the
adjoining areas of Punjab and north-eastern Balochistan in
August 2011. Flash floods triggered by the monsoon rain
caused severe damage to infrastructure in the affected
areas. Entire villages and urban centers have been flooded,
homes have been destroyed, and over a million acres of crops
and agricultural lands have been damaged. A Damage and Needs

This book challenges policy makers who
oversee the rice sector in Southeast Asia to reexamine
deep-rooted precepts about their responsibilities. As an
essential first step, it calls on them to redefine food
security. Fixating on national self-sufficiency has been
costly and counterproductive. In its stead, coordination and
cooperation can both improve rice production at home and
structure expanding regional trade. To enhance regional food

The Government of Burkina Faso (GoBF)
has indicated that it wishes to relocate the current
international airport of Ouagadougou, which lies close to
the centre of the capital, to an alternative site at Donsin,
35 km northwest of the city. This report briefly describes
the economy of Burkina Faso within which the airport
operates, the current infrastructure of the existing airport
and examines the reasons why the GoBF believes that it is

Competing theories increasingly support
the positive role of social capital in small loan default
costs of group lending; at the same time, potential group
collusion may increase loan delinquencies. Findings from the
available literature are mixed on the role of the various
attributes of group lending. But past studies suffer from
estimation bias due to the unobserved sorting behavior of
group members and their other attributes. This paper

In 2006, the government approved a
national livestock policy based on the premise that the
livestock industry has an important role to play in building
a strong national economy and in the process, reducing
inequalities among Tanzanians by increasing their incomes
and employment opportunities. This report presents an
analysis of rural livelihoods in Tanzania, with particular
emphasis on the livestock sub-sector, smallholder

The World Development Report (WDR) has
become such a fixture that it is easy to forget the
circumstances under which it was born and the Bank's
motivation for producing such a report at that time. In the
first chapter of this essay, the authors provide a brief
background on the circumstances of newly independent
developing countries and summarize some of the main strands
of the emerging field of development economics. This