Forest resources directly contribute to
the livelihoods of 90 percent of the 1.2 billion people
living in extreme poverty and indirectly support the natural
environment that nourishes agriculture and the food supplies
of nearly half the population of the developing world.
Forests also are central to growth in many developing
countries through trade and industrial development. However,
mismanagement of this resource has cost governments revenues

This Country Economic Memorandum reviews
the significant changes Mozambique underwent in the last
five years, specifying that to continue its rapid growth,
and reduce its high levels of poverty, the country will need
to adopt a new set of reforms. Such reforms, focused on
increasing the profitability of agriculture, and promoting
labor-intensive manufacturing activities, hold the best hope
to move poverty into prosperity. Three factors - increased

Bhutan has shown remarkable economic
performance over the last two decades. Growth during the
second half of the 1990s was particularly strong, with
annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth averaging 6.5
percent. A large part of this performance has been supported
by generous inflows of foreign aid and buoyant electricity
exports to India, which have spurred growth both directly by
expanding export earnings and indirectly by stimulating

In a globalizing world, cities at or
near the apex of the international urban hierarchy are among
the favored few--New York, London, and Tokyo--that have
acquired large economic, cultural, and symbolic roles. Among
a handful of regions that aspire to such a role--such as
Hong Kong, Miami, and Sao Paulo--Shanghai has reasonable
long-term prospects. If the Chinese economy can sustain its
growth rate, it will rival the United States in a few

Discussions of competition and
regulatory reform typically focus on price and quantity
effects. But improving certain infrastructure services can
also stimulate entry, and competition in user industries
downstream, allowing new firms to enter, incumbent users to
offer new products, and rivalry to intensify. The authors
present a case study of how innovations in road freight
services affect selected downstream users of those services

The report reviews basic growth, as
being one of four pillars for Nicaragua's poverty
reduction strategy. The well-being of the rural poor will
continue its dependence on - to a great extent -
agriculture. The study analyzes main agricultural
development aspects, and stipulates the broad basic growth
may be enhanced by strengthening agricultural
competitiveness. Yet, export growth is key to economic

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

Farming households that differ in their
ability, or willingness to take on risks are likely to make
different decisions when allocating resources, and effort
among income-producing activities, with consequences for
productivity. The authors measure voluntary, and involuntary
departures from efficiency for rice-producing households in
Bicol, Philippines. They take advantage of a panel of
household observations from 1978, 1983, and 1994. The

This regional study encompasses three
Central American countries: Nicaragua, Guatemala and
Honduras. The focus of this report is Guatemala. The study
is motivated by several factors: First is the recognition
that sub-national regions are becoming increasingly
heterogeneous, and economically differentiated as part of
ongoing processes of development and diversification, with
some areas advancing, and others being left behind. Second

This regional study encompasses three
Central American countries: Nicaragua, Guatemala and
Honduras. The focus of this report is Guatemala. The study
is motivated by several factors: First is the recognition
that sub-national regions are becoming increasingly
heterogeneous, and economically differentiated as part of
ongoing processes of development and diversification, with
some areas advancing, and others being left behind. Second

The Russian Federation has one of the
richest natural resource endowments in the world. Despite
their importance in the Russian economy, natural resources
do not contribute as much as they could to public revenues.
Large resource rents (excess payments, or above-normal
profits generated by natural resources in scarce supply) are
dissipated through subsidies and wastage, or appropriated by
private interests. Failure to tax this rent means that taxes

Are the household characteristics that
are good for transition to a more diversified
market-oriented development process in Vietnam also
important for reducing poverty? Or are there tradeoffs? The
determinants of both poverty incidence and participation in
rural off-farm activities are modeled as functions of
household and community characteristics using comprehensive
national household surveys for 1993 and 1998. Despite some