This paper investigates the main factors
explaining long container dwell times in African Ports.
Using original and extensive data on container imports in
the Port of Douala, it seeks to provide a basic
understanding of why containers stay on average more than
two weeks in gateway ports in Africa while long dwell times
are widely recognized as a critical hindrance to economic
development. It also demonstrates the interrelationships

This paper was based on a desk review of
the literature relating to best practice in public policy
supporting business incubation, supplemented by four
national case studies covering Brazil, Ma-laysia, New
Zealand and South Africa. These country studies were
prepared through engage-ment of stakeholders, site visits
and other sources of primary and secondary information
collection. In the context of the study, we focused on best

Based on quantitative and qualitative
data, this paper attempts to identify the main reasons why
cargo dwell time in Durban port has dramatically reduced in
the past decade to a current average of 3-4 days. A major
customs reform; changes in port storage tariffs coupled with
strict enforcement; massive investments in infrastructure
and equipment; and changing customer behavior through
contractualization between the port operator and shipping

This note examines changes in
vulnerability to oil price increases over a five-year period
ending in 2008. A decomposition analysis applied to one
hundred and fifty-eight countries found that vulnerability
had increased in eighty-two percent of countries, with more
than half experiencing vulnerability exceeding five percent
in 2008 and one fifth experiencing vulnerability exceeding
ten percent. This document explores the background of the

Lessons from six case studies illustrate
the complex relationships between international trade,
vulnerable ecologies and the poor. The studies, taken from
Africa, Asia and Latin America and conducted by local
researchers, are set in places where the poor live in close
proximity to ecologies that are important to global
conservation efforts, and focus on the cascading
consequences of trade policy for local livelihoods and

This report provides an assessment of
the corporate sector accounting, financial reporting, and
auditing practices in Liberia. The assessment undertaken is
positioned within the broader context of the country s
institutional framework and capacity needed to enhance the
quality of corporate financial reporting that is a key
contributor to improving investor confidence and ultimately
economic growth. Efforts are necessary for strengthening the

This paper examines the effect of the
financial crisis on off-farm employment of China's
rural labor force. Using a national representative data set
collected from across China, the paper finds that there was
a substantial impact. By April 2009 the reduction in
off-farm employment as a result of the crises was 6.8
percent of the rural labor force. Monthly earnings also
declined. However, while it is estimated that 49 million

Deliberative decision-making processes
are becoming increasingly important around the world to make
important decisions about public and private goods
allocation, but there is very little empirical evidence
about how they actually work. In this paper the authors use
data from India extracted from 131 transcripts of village
meetings matched with data from household surveys conducted
in the same villages prior to the meetings, to study whose

Provides a brief assessment of how natural resource scarcity and global climate change may alter the risk of violent conflict in the future. Resource scarcity to meet basic needs such as food and land and water can be worsened by governmental ineffectiveness, and vulnerability of populations, ecosystems, economies, and institutions can outweigh the magnitude of climate or scarcity impacts themselves. Resource availability must be seen not as a stand-alone issue, but rather in the context of the overall political economy landscape.

Reconsiders how natural resource abundance in minerals, oil and gas, water, and land is frequently associated with various negative development outcomes. Policy making has been affected by the theories on (1) economic performance of resource abundance; (2) political behavioral variables; and (3) civil war onset, duration, and intensity.

This report evaluates International
Development Association (IDA) support to Nepal during
2003-2008. IDA’s overarching goal during this period was to
support the Government’s efforts to reduce poverty and
improve human well-being. IDA focused on helping to foster
broad-based growth, social development, social inclusion,
and good governance. The evaluation highlights the need to
introduce greater realism into the country assistance

The aim of this paper is to review the
state of the productive infrastructure of Uruguay and the
development policies that govern it and to propose policy
options for the long term contribution to achieving a higher
level of economic and sustainable development, based on the
premise that there is a link between the development of a
country's infrastructure and its economic growth. The
study analyzes the institutions and pertinent regulations.