Over a two-year period, beginning in
late 2004, the Nigerian federal government implemented one
of the most ambitious port concessioning programs ever
attempted. The success of this program resulted from the
government's vision and decisiveness, as well as the
need to remedy massive shortcomings in the sector, which
were sharply inhibiting economic development. But the
program also benefited strongly from policy reform

Ignoring gender in the planning and
evaluation of credit and transfer programs can lead to
erroneous conclusions about who benefits from them. Access
to institutional credit and targeted transfers can be an
important mechanism in poverty reduction, social protection,
and income redistribution programs. These formal sources of
financing, however, may undermine traditional sources of
support, such as inter-household transfers and informal

The Conflict Analysis Framework (CAF),
developed by the CPR Unit, aims to integrate sensitivity to
conflict in Bank assistance, and to help Bank teams consider
factors affecting both conflict and poverty when formulating
development strategies, policies, and programs. Conflict
sensitive approaches that take account of problem areas and
potential sources of conflict may help to prevent the onset,
exacerbation, or resurgence of violent conflict.

In 1993 the Board of the World Bank
endorsed a Water Resources Management Policy Paper (WRMPP).
In that paper, and in this Strategy, water resources
management comprises the institutional framework (legal,
regulatory and organizational roles), management instruments
(regulatory and financial), and the development, maintenance
and operation of infrastructure (including water storage
structures and conveyance, wastewater treatment, and

The report presents findings, and the
way forward in respect of the Knowledge and Research (KAR)
Project on vehicle operations in Sub-Saharan Africa,
basically undertaken in Uganda and Ghana. In the first
phase, the study identified problems faced by transport
operators in both countries, and analyzed their impact on
vehicle operating costs, as well as examining transport
regulations, and current organization of transport services

(covering the activities of IBRD/IDA), the Operations Evaluation Group (covering IFC), and
the Operations Evaluation Unit (covering MIGA). The purpose of the evaluation is to assess
the effectiveness of the World Bank Group (WBG) in helping its member countries improve
their investment climates, within the context of the WBG’s overall mission of poverty
reduction and sustainable development. Its findings and recommendations provide guidance for
the WBG’s future strategy and activities in this area. The evaluation was conducted in parallel

Major changes are needed if Africans and
their children are to claim the 21st century. With the
rapidly growing population, 5 percent annual growth is
needed simply to keep the number of poor from rising.
Halving severe poverty by 2015 will require annual growth of
more than 7 percent, along with a more equitable
distribution of income. Trends in Africa will need to change
radically for a catch-up process to materialize. This will

The Argentine government is using
output-based contracts with the private sector for
rehabilitation and maintenance of its nonconcessioned road
network. The multiyear lump sum contracts, funded by the
government, specify required road service outputs and use
incentive-based payment schedules to ensure the quality of
the work. After three years of operation the 60 contracts
(averaging US$10 million) in the first phase are working

The paper analyzes the linkages between the reform strategies in transition countries and
economic performance. We focus on agriculture because of the sharpness of the policy
changes, fundamental differences among countries, and relative simplicity of agricultural
relationships. We document post reform performance in the transition countries of Asia and
Europe. We show how: a.) pricing reform and subsidy reductions; b.) land rights reform
and policies that affect farm restructuring; and c.) the presence institutions that facilitate

The assessment team interviewed a cross
section of country stakeholders regarding the effectiveness
of the legal infrastructure, and its implementation
supporting debtor-creditor relationships, corporate
insolvency and credit risk management, and resolution
practices, including among others, members of the
Inter-Agency Commission for the preparation of a new
insolvency law, and members of the drafting team for the new

The author uses date from the 1992-93
and 1997-98 Vietnam Living Standards Survey (VLSS) to
describe patterns of money transfers between households.
Rapid economic growth during the 1990s did little to
diminish the importance of private transfers in Vietnam.
Private transfers are large and widespread in both surveys,
and are much larger than public transfers. Private transfers
appear to function like means-tested public transfers,

Facilitating trade flows between
countries belonging to the same sub-region does not only
require adequate transport infrastructure, or the
availability of competitive and reliable transport services.
Both will be used effectively only to the extent allowed by
the legal framework governing their operations. Similarly,
better regional economic integration will be served not only
through harmonization of national development policies, but