The paper investigates determinants of
civic participation in local budget processes in rural areas
in the Kyrgyz Republic by using data from the Life in
Kyrgyzstan survey, conducted in 2012. The analysis of the
data suggests that although civic awareness and interest in
local budget processes is relatively high, the participation
rate in local budgeting processes is low. The paper also
shows that interest, awareness, and participation are

Despite the remarkable progress achieved
since the end of the conflict, Burundi still faces
significant development challenges. Since 2005, the
Government of Burundi has embarked on a potentially
transformative process of decentralization, with the aim of
strengthening social cohesion, improving local governance,
and promoting access to basic infrastructure and service
delivery. The weakness of the communal tax system, coupled

Women play an important role in rural
economic activity but face severe constraints to
productivity and socioeconomic security. Nigeria's
agriculture sector employs 35 percent of women and up to 44
percent of female heads of households. Yet a number of
factors constrain the expansion and diversification of
agricultural activities, including fewer rights to land than
men, lower access to credit, and inequitable access to

If states would interact more synergistically with communities, they could tap local energies and resources for development-- and help create a development-oriented society and polity in the process. The authors analyze experience in several countries to identify the actions required for state-community synergies in development. Two actions that seem especially important: 1) Broadening the distribution of power within communities, to facilitate collective action and reduce the potential for local capture.

The World Bank assessed the insolvency and creditor or debtor regimes (ICR) of Moldova pursuant to the joint international monetary fund (IMF) and World Bank initiative on the observance of standards and codes (ROSC). The Moldovan authorities have made remarkable progress over the last decade in taking on board a broad range of reform related to the commercial law regime, including the laws pertaining to creditor protection and insolvency.

Women in post-conflict economies face a
number of challenges. Often their businesses stay at
embryonic stages only, due to three key limitations relating
to: knowledge of business vision and management; access to
finance and markets; and access to role models and networks.
Added to the complexity is the risk of having to start all
over again due to their countriesapos; political instability
and the limited infrastructure to make their businesses

As a result of a determined regulatory
reform process and an economic modernization process over
the past two decades, Cambodia has experienced extraordinary
economic growth. In 2004, Cambodia became the first
low-income country to join the World Trade Organization
(WTO). Since then, Cambodia has grown to become one of East
Asia s most open economies, especially in the services
sector. Cambodia s impressive economic growth owes much of

Croatia, the newest member-state of the
European Union (EU), undertook significant justice reforms
during the last decade. Many were part of its
justice-related EU accession process, including the
enactment and implementation of new laws and amendment of
others, improved case management and enforcement and
computerization of land registers. Benchmarking
Croatia's justice sector indicates that it compares

This paper studies the credit market
implications and real effects of one the largest borrower
bailout programs in history, enacted by the government of
India against the backdrop of the 2008-2009 financial
crisis. The study finds that the stimulus program had no
effect on productivity, wages, or consumption, but led to
significant changes in credit allocation and an increase in
defaults. Post-program loan performance declines faster in

In this issue: dollar a day revisited;
focus: strategies for developing countries; farm policy in
developing countries: what next? Land in transition: reform
and poverty in rural Vietnam; unpredictable aid;
microfinance meets the market; and development impact of the
war on drugs.

In this issue: making finance work for
Africa; focus on water in the Middle East: how to manage
scarcity; fungibility, and the apos;flypaper effectapos; of
aid; do girls gain from migration-induced male absence? The
distributional effects of World Trade Organization (WTO)
agricultural reforms in rich and poor countries;
clientelism, credibility, and policy choices of young
democracies; and entry regulation as a barrier to entrepreneurship.

The Great Timber Heist: The Logging Industry in Papua New Guinea, exposes massive tax evasion and financial misreporting by foreign logging companies, allegedly resulting in nonpayment of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes.