Urban growth is, in all parts of the
world, inevitable and welcomed. Despite concerns that local
governments will not be able to address those issues
associated with increased urban population, the number of
people living in urban centers will sur-pass those of the
rural population by 2030. Since productivity levels are
consistently higher in urban areas than in rural settings,
this would seem a reason to rejoice since it suggests more

This review of the active portfolio of
World Bank projects aimed at improving urban environmental
quality was carried out during 2002-03 in order to assess
the level of commitment of the institution to urban
sustainability. The review focuses on the contributions of
key sectors to urban environmental improvements, in
particular on those belonging to the Infrastructure
Vice-Presidency, and on how projects are contributing to

Bangladesh has marked considerable
progress since independence in 1971 despite its dire initial
conditions. Real per capita income is about 60percent higher
now than in 1971. The share of population in poverty
currently stands at about 50 percent, compared with over 70
percent in the early 1970s. Even more impressive has been
the progress in improving the social and human dimensions of
poverty. Bangladesh's faster gains in human development

The country environmental safeguard
review provides an overall assessment of Bhutan's
environmental safeguard system. The study is not intended to
be comprehensive or prescriptive. It is meant to provide a
broad overview of some key legal, policy, and institutional
challenges and highlight some options for possible future
action. The following points identify the broad focus of the
review: (i) identify critical gaps in Bhutan's policies

The purpose of this study is to assess
agriculture's competitiveness in Colombia. During the
past 12 years, Colombia's agricultural sector has
performed poorly, resulting in the continuation of extensive
rural poverty. Improving the sector's competitiveness
is the only sure and lasting way to improve its growth
performance and reduce poverty. Thus, the main objectives of
this study are to assess: (a) the sector's current and

A major objective of this report is to provide a deeper, more policy relevant understanding of the welfare impacts of the coffee crisis - including the effects of the crisis on household income, consumption, poverty, as well as on basic human development outcomes, such as education and child nutrition. To do this, the study has generated a body of new empirical evidence, drawing from an unusually rich collection of household survey data from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

How has environment mattered for the
World Bank? The aggregate figures suggest that it has
mattered a great deal, since the Bank's total
environmental lending has exceeded $US 9 billion over the
past six years. In this paper the authors use newly
available data to address a more precise version of the
question: Across countries and themes, how well has the
Bank's environmental lending and analytical and

This report summarizes and consolidates the findings of three Bank studies on poverty issues in Mexico, written as part of the second phase of this work: Urban Poverty, Rural Poverty, and Social Protection. It also expands on how Mexico will seek to use social protection policy as a vehicle for redistribution. Discussed in Chapter 1, the state has a clear role in providing risk-pooling mechanisms where private insurance markets fail (e.g., old age and health insurance), but the role of social protection policy in promoting redistribution is more an issue of national choice.

This report is part of a strategy to
promotes trade competitiveness within the East Asia and
Pacific Region. It presents an overview of the logistics
issues facing East Asia countries and proposes a development
agenda for them. Based on the recognition that the
countries have basic differences in their level of
development, extent of openness, and composition of trade,
it begins by discussing the benefits of improved logistics.

Poverty and economic stagnation
characterize most rural areas in Peru. National growth has
been slow and uneven since the mid-1970s, benefiting urban
areas rather than rural ones. Between 1985 and 2000, the
number of poor people increased by 71 percent. The incidence
of poverty (67 percent) and extreme poverty (40 percent) is
highest in rural areas, reaching 73 percent (poverty) and 41
percent (extreme poverty) in the sierra. This means that 4.2

The objective of this study is to analyse the impact of various types of
government spending on growth and poverty reduction, using provincial level data over
the last decade. Government spending reduces poverty through many channels such as
agricultural growth and improved nonfarm employment. We will try to capture all these
different effects in the analysis if the data allow. This paper opens with a review of
Vietnam’s economic reforms and growth over the past decade. We then sketch Vietnam’s

The Little Green Data Book 2005 is based on the World Development Indicators 2005, and represents an abbreviated collection of information. Its production is a collaboration between the Development Economics Data Development Group, and the Environment Department of the World Bank. Development and poverty alleviation-the World Bank's mission-call for a long-term vision. Enhancing environmental quality, improving natural resource management, and maintaining global ecosystems are all important steps toward this goal.