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,

The results of this paper challenge the
conventional wisdom in the literature that productivity
plays no role in the economic development of Singapore.
Properly accounting for market power and returns to scale
technology, the estimated average productivity growth is
twice as large as the conventional total factor productivity
(TFP) measures. Using a standard growth accounting
(production function) technique, Young (1992, 1995) found no

The Africa Gas Initiative (AGI) has been
established by the Oil and Gas Division of the World Bank,
to promote the utilization of natural gas in Sub-Saharan
Africa. The study focuses on coastal countries - Angola,
Cameroon, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, and Gabon - along the
West African coastline, and the Gulf of Guinea, where most
of the region's gas reserves are located, and where
significant proportions of the gas produced, is being wasted

Based on more than 240 real-life
examples in over 60 countries, Developing Value is the first
large-scale study analyzing the business case for
sustainability in emerging markets, the opportunity for
businesses to achieve benefits such as higher sales, reduced
costs and lower risks from better corporate governance,
improved environmental practices, and investments in social
and economic development. It pinpoints the many

Production in 2004 was actually running
higher than consumption prior to 1995 and this has caused the existence of a world surplus of
baled cotton in the form of stocks in warehouse. It is the existence of these “ending stocks” that
has a large effect on the international price of cotton. Consumption began to
outpace production in 2001 to 2003 period and this, mixed with crop disasters in various regions,
caused the international price to rise. The reaction from many countries was to increase

Inter-household transfers are an
important resource for low-income households, yet have been
almost ignored by donors. Though they are no substitute for
public programs, these private transfers merit more
attention in poverty research, gender analysis, project
design, and development strategies. The note provides
insight on what drives inter-household transfers - of money,
goods, and services - through anthropological, and

The more risk and responsibility a
government hands over to the private sector in water and
sanitation, the more powerful the incentives for better
performance-but also the more demands on the government in
commitment and preparation. So a government about to enter
into a long partnership for a water concession or
build-operate-transfer arrangement - typically for
twenty-five to thirty years - needs to be sure that it does

This Financial Sector Assessment (FSA)
is a summary of some of the findings of the Financial Sector
Assessment Program (FSAP) report for the Russian Federation,
which was prepared jointly by the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and the Bank in close cooperation with the
Russian authorities. Given the small size of the financial
sector, the effects of a potential financial sector distress
on the macro-economy would be relatively small. However,

The primary purpose of this paper is to update the Poverty Assessment from June, 2000, and to give an assessment of the poverty situation in Tajikistan in 2003 and changes since 1999. The paper is part of an on-going program of work conducted in close cooperation with the Government, based on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and the ongoing work of the PRSP Expert Group. The work program includes the production of a series of relatively short analytical papers rather than one full poverty assessment every four years or so.

Malaria kills over one million people
and causes 300-500 million episodes of illness each year.
The majority of the 3,000 deaths each day and ten new cases
every second occur in Africa. The disease not only takes a
high human toll; it also impedes development. Malaria has
economic impacts through labor efficiency and land use;
adversely affects school attendance, performance and
cognitive ability; and translates in monetary costs in terms