This report summarizes the findings of
Investment Climate Assessments (ICAs) carried out for all
countries in the South Asia region. It compares South Asian
countries to countries in other regions, analyzes
similarities and differences within the region, and
identifies the way forward in improving the investment
climate. The first volume analyzes similarities and
differences within the region and between South Asia and the

This Country Economic Memorandum (CEM)
looks at the broad reform program, including institutional,
governance, and economic restructuring reforms Romania is
pursuing, which are anchored in its process for accession to
the European Union (EU). The challenge is to expand
integration with the EU more broadly throughout the economy,
by relying on market driven mechanisms in a predictable
rules-based policy environment, with the state sharply

This article reviews trends in poverty,
economic policies, and growth in a sample of African
countries during the 1990s, drawing on the better household
data now available. Experiences have varied. Some countries
have seen sharp drops in income poverty, whereas others have
witnessed marked increases. In some countries overall
economic growth has been pro-poor and in others not. But the
aggregate numbers hide systematic distributional effects.

States can do much to tap
community-level energies, and resources for development, if
they seek to interact more synergistically with local
communities. The broader spin-off is creating a
developmental society, and polity. Using case studies from
Asia and Latin America, the authors show how: 1) State
efforts to bring about land reform, tenancy reform, and
expanding non-crop sources of income, can broaden the

This evaluation examines the track
record of the regional development programs that the World
Bank has supported over the past 10 years. While these are
relatively few in number, together they offer valuable
lessons for how such programs can be designed and
implemented to deliver good outcomes. This evaluation, which
assesses World Bank support for regional development
programs over fiscal years 1995-2005, finds that a majority

This IEG evaluation brings a fresh
perspective to the debate by assessing the development
effectiveness of the Bank's recent work. It presents
evidence -- including views from the client countries
themselves -- about the outcomes of the Bank's support
to individual countries over the past 12 years. It also
spotlights three growing dimensions of the Bank Group's
role -- sharing knowledge across countries, engaging

The objective of the Botswana Investment
Climate Assessment (ICA) is to evaluate the investment
climate in Botswana in all its operational dimensions and
promote policies to strengthen the private sector. The
investment climate is made up of the many location specific
factors that shape the opportunities and incentives for
firms to invest productively, create jobs, and expand. These
factors include macroeconomic and regulatory policies; the

This Public Expenditure Review (PER) builds on the commitments of the 2003 Country Economic Memorandum (CEM), and 2002 Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) Progress Report, being its primary objective to assess strengths and weaknesses in key areas of public expenditure, and identify policy options for fiscal sustainability. Jamaica's high debt aggravates debt sustainability and efforts to improve growth. Revenue performance is also a weak element in the country's overall fiscal framework, while the current level of public sector investment is too low to support strong sustained growth.

This survey report will help the
government of Afghanistan think through its approach to
private sector development. Historically, there has been a
dearth of information and reliable statistics about
Afghanistan's economy. This report reviews the
constraints that firms currently operating in Afghanistan
face and provides a basis for possible policy
recommendations to address these constraints. It is hoped

In view of its increasing importance,
and the dearth of information on return migration and its
impacts on source households, this study uses data from the
2005 Albania Living Standards Measurement Study survey and
assesses the impact of past migration experience of Albanian
households on non-farm business ownership through
instrumental variables regression techniques. Moreover,
considering the differences in earning potentials and

This report has the following
objectives: (i) identify the underlying constraints to
strong and sustained growth, in particular, the dynamic
circles that lock Niger in a low-growth/high poverty
equilibrium; (ii) understand the key determinants of growth
and poverty traps and the role increased foreign aid could
play to promote growth and help achieve the
MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs); and (iii) help

The purpose of this Transport Sector
Note (TSN) is to assist the Palestinian Authority (PA) in
developing a strategy for the sector that can aid in
addressing the immediate constraints and transport issues in
support of the PA's effort to revive the national
economy, improve mobility and reduce poverty. The TSN also
aims to assist the responsible sector ministries prepare a
coherent strategic framework and program for the sector.