World Bank Studies – serie

This publication presents the outcomes of a survey conducted by the World Bank Payment System Development Group, at the request of the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic, as a follow up to the World Bank-led mission that visited the country in 2008 to assess the market for remittances. The survey aimed at analyzing the main characteristics of the market for remittances in the Czech Republic and should serve as a guide for both public authorities and private sector in identifying possible actions to improve the efficiency of the market.880 migrants from eight different nationalities were interviewed during the summer 2009 in Prague. The nationalities selected represent the largest and most important migrant communities in the country: China, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, Ukraine, and Vietnam.

Small scale producers in developing countries lack easy access to efficient logistics services. They are faced with long distances from both domestic and international markets. Unless they consolidate their trade volumes they face high costs which diminish their ability to trade. However, the process of consolidation is not without cost nor does it occur on its own accord. As a result, the consolidation is typically handled by intermediaries.Using case studies of sisal and soybean supply chains in Brazil and India respectively, this study explores the role and impact of intermediaries in facilitating trade in lagging regions. The study assesses the horizontal relationships between the small scale producers in thin markets and the vertical connections between different tiers of the same supply chain. The study analyzes the traditional approach to linking producers namely through cooperatives and itinerant traders and the relatively newer innovations using ICT.The study finds that farmers linked through the different mechanisms are more integrated to international supply chains or are able to better manage supply chains longer than would otherwise be the case. Intermediaries play several roles including providing transport services and facilitating market exchanges, payments, risk sharing and quality improvements. Generally, information technology driven innovations make it easier to integrate adjacent steps in the value chain.This report on logistics performance at the sub-national level is an on-going endeavour. Similar analysis is being carried out in some countries in Africa to identify the evolving role of intermediaries in low income regions. The results will be developed into a major publication on this topic, with recommendations on how development agencies, civil society and the private sector can improve the design of strategies to reduce logistics costs in low income areas.

Science, Technology and Innovation in Uganda is part of the World Bank Studies series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank’s ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion.This study presents a unique methodology to view science, technology and innovation (STI) in developing countries. The study provides a set of cases studies drawn from a diverse range of experiences across the Ugandan private sector and offers concrete policy recommendations on how to support broader development of STI in Uganda. The study finds that of all the STI challenges facing firms, universities, and public research organizations in Uganda, the barriers to collaboration and communication are the most urgent in terms of STI priorities to address in the coming years.

This volume is devoted to an assessment of the performance and selected aspects of the management and pedagogical practices of Fe y Alegría, a federation of Jesuit schools serving approximately one million children in 20 countries, mostly in Latin America. Many observers consider Fe y Alegría a successful organization, but very few rigorous evaluations have been conducted.The available quantitative evidence suggests that the federation's schools often do reach the poor, and that students in Fe y Alegría schools tend to perform as well on test scores, if not slightly better, than comparable students in other schools. Qualitative data and case studies suggest that the factors that lead to good performance are complex and related not only to the types of 'inputs' or resources used by the schools in the education process, but also to the management of these resources and the ability to implement and test innovative programs. Other factors that support this argument include the capacity and fl exibility to implement and test innovative programs that take into account the local realities.This volume will be of interest to researchers, policy makers, and practitioners working on education and public-private partnerships, and especially to those interested in what is now commonly being referred to as the 'science of delivery.'

Since 1984, the World Bank has financed 87 Financial Management Information System (FMIS) projects in 51 countries totaling over US $2.2 billion, of which US $938 million was for FMIS related information and communication technology (ICT) solutions. This study presents the World Bank’s experience with these investment operations to share the achievements and challenges observed, and provide guidance for improving the performance of future projects. The report is structured according to four overarching questions:What historical patterns emerge from World Bank financed Treasury/FMIS projects? This includes an analysis of project scope, cost, duration, design, objectives, and ICT solutions, among other aspects.How have such projects performed according to various criteria?What are the key factors that contribute to the success and failure of projects?What have we learned that could be useful for future projects?The findings of this report are primarily based on the 2010 FMIS Database, which includes 55 closed and 32 active FMIS projects implemented between 1984 and 2010 (7 pipeline projects are also analyzed in some sections). The data was gathered primarily from internal World Bank documents and sources, and complemented with interviews with project teams. The Database contains a rich set of operational data and performance ratings for the benefit of the World Bank task teams, government officials and other specialists involved in FMIS projects. Compared to the previously prepared draft FMIS report in 2003 (Dorotinsky and Cho), this study is based on a broader set of projects and documents in analyzing the performance and outputs of the FMIS projects, and presents more in-depth analysis of the success and failure factors. Based on the findings of the current study, the interventions of the World Bank in the design and implementation of FMIS solutions have been reasonably successful in most countries.

The government of the Republic of Congo is taking a system approach to reorganizing its health system. It is endeavoring to create a political, juridical, and regulatory environment to foster the development of its health care services under government leadership working with the private sector

Biochar is the carbon-rich organic matter that remains after heating biomass under minimization of oxygen during a process called pyrolysis. Its relevance to deforestation, agricultural resilience, and energy production, particularly in developing countries, makes it an important issue. This report offers a review of what is known about opportunities and risks of biochar systems. Its aim is to provide a state of the art overview of current knowledge regarding biochar science. In that sense the report also offers a reconciling view on different scientific opinions about biochar providing an overall account that shows the various perspectives of its science and application. This includes soil and agricultural impacts of biochar, climate change impacts, social impacts, and competing uses of biomass.The report aims to contextualize the current scientific knowledge in order to put it at use to address the development- climate change nexus, including social and environmental sustainability. The report is organized as follows: chapter one offers some introductory comments and notes the increasing interest in biochar both from a scientific as well as from a practitioner’s point of view; chapter two gives further background on biochar, describing its characteristics and outlining the way in which biochar systems function. Chapter three then considers the opportunities and risks of biochar systems, chapter four presents a typology of biochar systems emerging in practice, particularly in the developing world.New, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14040-based life-cycle assessments of the net climate change impact and the net economic profitability of three biochar systems with data collected from relatively advanced biochar projects were conducted for this report and are presented in chapter five, providing a novel understanding of the full life-cycle impacts of these known biochar systems. Chapter six investigates various aspects of technology adoption, including barriers to implementing promising systems, focusing on economics, carbon market access, and sociocultural barriers.Finally, the status of knowledge regarding biochar systems is interpreted in chapter seven to determine potential implications for future involvement in biochar research, policy, and project formulation.

Becoming a middle-income economy is an explicit development goal of many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. This book assesses the implications of that goal for secondary education in Ethiopia. It shows that a rapid expansion of secondary education will be needed to support the country’s transition from a low-income economy with substantial subsistence agriculture to a lower-middle-income economy with an increased share of commercial agriculture, as well as growing industrial and service sectors. As Ethiopia moves towards this goal, the demand for a labour force with skills beyond basic literacy and numeracy will increase, which in turn will fuel demand for secondary education. The implications of this demand are significant, as the profile of entrants into secondary education will change from students aspiring to higher education to students with a much more diverse range of aspirations and abilities. At present, the existing secondary curriculum is primarily designed to prepare students for university studies; if it is retained, it will not only fail students, it may also fail the country’s aspirations for middle-income status. A flexible curriculum that serves the needs of all students and helps them develop the higher-level skills demanded by employers is critically important. The massive expansion of secondary education needed in Ethiopia will require significant additional resources. The book argues that financing reforms aimed at using existing resources more efficiently and mobilising more nongovernment resources will be indispensible. Specifically, it advocates launching financing reforms within a broad framework that, among other components, includes governance reforms that implement school-based management, changes in teacher preparation and development, and improved student examinations. Finally, the report emphasises that the success of secondary reforms will to a large extent depend on the achievements of primary education, particularly in light of low primary learning outcomes and the unfinished agenda of universal primary education. This may be the first book to specifically address how secondary education should be reformed in order to help countries transition from low- to middle-income economies and is intended to help initiate deliberations on this important topic. The primary audience for the book is comprised of policy makers, academicians, development practitioners, the education bureaucracy, and teachers.

The paper ‘Challenges and Approaches to Electricity Grids Operations and Planning with Increased Amounts of Variable Renewable Generation: Emerging Lessons from Selected Operational Experiences and Desktop Studies’ focuses on analysing the impacts of variable renewable energy on the operation and planning of the power system (mostly, generation system). It is aimed at informing stakeholders in power utilities, regulatory bodies and other relevant audiences, on the fundamentals of technical challenges and approaches to operate electricity grids with renewable energy. It covers renewable energy as a whole, but in particular, focusses on wind and solar energy. It also presents three case studies of countries, including China, Germany and Spain. The total worldwide installed capacity of wind and solar projects is growing rapidly, and several countries are noticing increased penetrations of wind and solar in their electricity generation mix. In addition to operating experience being gained from adding wind and solar capacity, several grid integration studies have been performed that assess potential grid and operating impacts from adding higher amounts of wind and solar capacity. Perhaps just as important, the electric power industry and those that conduct research on grid integration have not found a maximum level of variable generation that can be reliably incorporated, and it is clear that it is as much an economic question (how much cost in additional reserves or grid impacts is acceptable) as a technical question regarding grid operators’ ability to adapt to the new challenges. In addition, while their contributions to capacity or “firm” power and associated costs are different from those of conventional power sources, variable renewable generation technologies can contribute to long-term system adequacy and security. The paper describes on the contribution of variable power sources to long-term supply adequacy requirements, i.e. how much sources like wind and solar power contribute to “firm supply” in a system. It also describes methods to find out to what extent they contribute and at what cost. It also aims at providing indicative answers to how costs to system operations be determined and when and how an integration study be done to estimate the short-term reserve costs of renewable energy. The concepts in the paper should be of interest, especially to grid planers. For grid operators, the paper summarizes a menu of strategies that the operational practices and desktop research tell about managing wind in a system at different levels of penetration. It also elucidates available strategies, amongst other crucial questions of operational impacts and challenges that operators need to be aware of, to integrate variable generation.

This report is among the first analyses in Africa to examine how parents and communities have taken up the challenge of feeding their children during the school day. It carries important messages for countries throughout Africa and beyond that are seeking to develop sustainable, community-led school feeding programmes.Many school systems in Africa have expanded through the introduction of mass education. Uganda has been at the forefront of this reform process and currently grappling with improving the quality of education as is the case with many other countries in the region. Quality enhancement efforts are focused on provision of key inputs. However, with 92 percent of rural children attending school without breakfast and more than 70 percent spending the school day without lunch-there may be a missing element in realising the desired outcomes. Children who are hungry and/or unhealthy cannot learn, and it also affects their ability to attend and complete school. The book underscores the potential for Uganda to unleash the power of this legislated partnership with parents by removing some of the barriers that currently prevent parents from realising their full potential to play a role in feeding their children at school. The analysis is grounded on direct observation of sparsely spread school experiences, together with an examination of the cost implications for a national school feeding program. Various school feeding options that could be made available for parents are presented. The need for Government to think beyond a single modality and instead to recognize the need for multiple approaches that reflect the socioeconomic and cultural heterogeneity across households and geographical zones in Uganda stressed. This could be achieved through a sustained and school-led dialogue guided by clear policy spelling out the roles and responsibilities of duty bearers at various levels. The book also recognises that school feeding not only addresses education needs, but also has the potential to provide a productive safety net by targeting the extremely poor and those vulnerable to exclusion. The emerging role for government to support parental efforts with complementary programmes such as de-worming and other school health initiatives is also articulated.

Azerbaijan experienced a 'golden age' in the last decade, during which the average growth rate reached record high levels and poverty decreased significantly. On average, the economy grew by 15.3 percent per year in real terms during this period. As a result, poverty declined dramatically from 49.6 percent in 2001 to 15.8 percent in 2008. This study takes an inclusive growth approach to investigating the ways in which the country’s high growth was translated into significant poverty reduction. The report first investigates the sources of growth in Azerbaijan with an emphasis on sectoral composition and structural transformation, and then explores how growth helped to reduce poverty. Next, it analyses the sustainability and inclusiveness of the recent growth, and focuses on the structural obstacles that constrain further inclusive growth in Azerbaijan. Finally, it recommends a set of policies to overcome these obstacles.The main findings of this study call for a careful strategy in promoting further inclusive growth in Azerbaijan. Poverty is found to be reduced mainly by oil-financed social transfers and real wage growth, which in turn were made possible by Azerbaijan's sharply increasing oil revenues. However, as the share of hydrocarbon sector grew in the economy, structural transformation towards diversification and balanced growth stalled. Moreover, the sectoral composition of recent growth has not been conducive to employment creation. To further strengthen inclusiveness, therefore, there is a need for diversification and improvement in labour market outcomes. This study also identifies areas where policy adjustments can unleash further inclusive growth in the non-oil economy. These include promotion of a greater economic integration into world markets, introduction of a robust and long-term oriented fiscal rule that limits and smoothes the domestic absorption of oil revenues, removing the skill mismatches and distortionary tax incentives that may create adverse incentives in the labour market, and improving institutional aspects of the business environment. A broad strategy for promoting inclusive growth involves implementing these policies in a systematic fashion.

Given the chronic power shortages faced by numerous developing countries, and the need everywhere to keep pace with demand, understanding the drivers of public private partnerships (PPPs) in energy is critical. While many private electricity projects have been delayed and financing costs have increased, the impact of the global financial crisis was less severe than that of previous crises that originated in developing countries. This resilience stems from developing countries - need to expand generation capacity, electricity sector reforms and better regulatory frameworks, and short-term solutions (such as rental power plants). The study reports the evidence from statistical analysis and a sample of case studies selected based. It proposes a novel analytical approach to model PPPs, using a two-stage procedure based on Heckman’s sample selection distinguishing between those factors that determine whether private investment in energy takes place, and those that influence the volume of investment. The results of the analysis provide the following conclusions: Both general governance and regulatory instrument primarily affect investors’ decisions to enter the various power sector markets, not the subsequent level of investment - indicating that investors seem to be adequately protected against risks. Support mechanisms, like feed-in tariffs, are crucial for attracting investors in renewable generation, but they do not succeed in displacing fossil fuel investment and they could play a bigger role in affecting the level of investment in renewables. There is a significant trade-off between effectiveness and efficiency of alternative instruments for deploying renewables. Feed-in tariffs tended to be quite effective but to be set on the high side, reducing incentives to cut costs and posing significant strains on already stripped national budgets. Competitive auctions, on the other hand have tended to be efficient but initially low and not always the most effective instrument.Countries can scale up renewables following different paths. For Brazil, the move from feed-in tariffs to auctions enabled it to both reduce costs and deploy additional capacity. Peru followed in Brazil’s path, opting for auctions instead of introducing feed-in tariffs. On the other hand, China’s move from competitive tenders to feed-in tariffs allowed for discovery effects to determine the right level of prices to attract private investment in renewables.

In the past decade the global financial assistance for AIDS responses increased tremendously and the donor community provided greater resources to community responses. Yet little is known about the global magnitude of these resources and their allocation among HIV and AIDS activities and services. To address this knowledge gap, this report pulls together evidence from several different sources (donor data bases, surveys of civil society organisations, country funding profiles) to determine, among other things, how funds are reaching civil society and community-based organisations, how these funds are being used, and the degree to which these organisations rely on other sources of funding. The analysis suggests that funding flows have increased dramatically for civil society organisations (CSOs), reaching at least $690 million per year on average during the period 2003 - 2009. However, much smaller funding is reaching organisations at local level. The report documents the impact achieved by this funding. Traditionally, civil society organisations have been perceived at times to be providers of humanitarian aid, innovators in implementing responses adapted to local needs, or inefficient actors diverting public funds from more effective uses. The report argues that current evidence shows that community responses play a useful complementary role to national AIDS programs that has been achieved with relatively little funding. Contrary to a widespread view, the report highlights that community responses add resources to national programs. In Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, substantial mobilisation of resources in the form of volunteers are mobilised by communities. There is a strong risk that in the current environment of increased resource scarcity, prevention programs implemented by civil society organisations would be cut unless there is strong evidence of value for money being generated. Community-based organisations are ill equipped to answer that question, but there is scope for improving the results that they generate. The report argues that improving coordination with national programs, strengthening consistency between local activities and HIV epidemics, building stronger network of civil society organisations, and mobilising sustainable funding are the most important ways for community responses to move forward and address the challenges faced by community responses.

This publication aims to assist countries in understanding the specific challenges and opportunities posed by climate change in the agricultural sector in order to increase climate resilience and adapt to climate change. The report presents local-level priorities, informed by stakeholder input, to build agricultural resilience in both countries. The objectives of this study are threefold: 1. To improve the understanding of climate change projections and impacts on rural communities and livelihoods in selected regions of Jordan and Lebanon, specifically the Jordan River Valley and Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.2. To engage local communities, farmers, local experts, and local and national government representatives in a participatory fashion in helping craft agricultural adaptation options to climate change. 3. To develop local and regional climate change action plans that formulate recommendations for investment strategies and strategic interventions in local agricultural systems. Therefore, this publication may serve as the analytical underpinning for ongoing discussions taking place within the governments, including the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment, on how to best move forward in building agricultural resilience to climate change.

This book takes both a global as well as a local perspective in assessing the impacts of climate change on the economy, agricultural sector, and households in three of the MENA countries; Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. The major channels of impact for global climate change are through changing world food (and energy) prices, especially since all the countries under analysis are or have become net importers of oil and petroleum products and many food commodities in recent years. The impacts of local climate change decrease crop yields in the longer run and through them, productivity in the agricultural sector and all the implications this may have on both, the livelihoods of those dependent on the sector as well as the rest of the economy. The analysis also covered what happens when both global and local climate changes work simultaneously for each country. Findings show that in all three countries the effects of climate change are negative for people and the economy—GDP falls and livelihoods suffer. Furthermore, the prevalence of extreme variations in climate—such as the droughts affecting Syria and the floods impacting Yemen—draws attention to the potentially significant drawbacks that are likely to not only affect any strides towards economic growth and development, but may also reverse such strides if appropriate policies are not in place to weather this storm. The analyses in this book apply CGE models.

Disaster risk management is essential in the fight against poverty. Disasters can, in an instant, wipe out decades of hard-fought poverty reduction and development gains and push countless households into poverty. Disasters disproportionately affect the poor: Vulnerable and marginalised groups, including women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, are at particular risk.East Asia and the Pacific is the most disaster-stricken region in the world, suffering from both small recurrent and rare high-impact events. East Asia is rapidly urbanising, and cities are becoming disaster hotspots. Unplanned or poorly planned urbanisation, which puts more people and assets in harm's way, is the single largest driver of disaster risk. There is much uncertainty about future disaster and climate risks, challenging the region's ability to adapt to new developments and the changing physical and natural environment.Decision makers can make a significant difference by effectively managing disaster risk and building resilience. Strong, Safe, and Resilient: A Strategic Policy Guide for Disaster Risk Management in East Asia and the Pacific helps them to identify the key challenges, best practices, and priorities in the short, medium, and long term. With communication, preparedness, and investments, urbanisation can be channeled as a positive force for development. By decreasing disaster exposure and vulnerability through systematic assessments and communication of risks, better land-use planning, and many other practical measures, the impacts of natural hazards can be reduced significantly. At the same time, it is necessary to recognise that disaster risks cannot be entirely eliminated, and countries need to plan for failure by considering different scenarios, especially within complex systems and networks.Preventive investments in risk reduction and emergency preparedness can be cost-effective and can greatly reduce the impact of natural hazards. By mainstreaming systematic risk assessments into relevant public investment planning processes, governments can prioritise actions based on informed decisions about the level of risk. Public investments, such as early-warning systems and retrofitting of critical infrastructure at risk, planned and implemented together with communities and stakeholders, including the private sector, can help to reduce poverty and promote sustainable economic growth. Strong, Safe, and Resilient: A Strategic Policy Guide for Disaster Risk Management in East Asia and the Pacific presents a comprehensive disaster risk management framework that offers practical opportunities for targeted policy action and investments, stretching across sectors and jurisdictions and reaching all the way to communities at risk and the most vulnerable populations. The World Bank supports countries around the world in developing a comprehensive and integrated approach to disaster risk management by providing analytical and advisory services, helping to build climate and disaster resilience into core investments across sectors, and offering unique financial solutions to better manage the contingent fiscal risks from disasters.

The Uganda school system has expanded over the years resulting from mass education reforms at the primary - since 1997, and the lower secondary level - since 2007. This has enabled provision of key inputs to schools by Government which include tuition, trained teachers, school infrastructure, and learning materials. The curriculum for the primary level was also reviewed. However, completion rates and learning outcomes are still low which points to inefficiency and low quality of education provided. Current discourse on education is focused on the need to improve efficiency and quality of education. This study is therefore, an attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis of learning outcomes and teacher effectiveness, drawing from the nationally owned and multi-year assessment data sets for Uganda between 2006-2011. This book provides some answers to questions like: What are the performance levels of learners over the years? What are the curriculum areas that learners find most difficult as measured by their performance and have these been the same over the years? What determines learners' performance? What is the content knowledge level of the teachers? What are the teacher characteristics that determine learners' performance? How effective are the teachers? Guidance on next steps is also provided.

Road freight transport plays an indispensable role in international economic cooperation and foreign trade. For short and medium distances in particular, road freight transport constitutes a predominant share of overall traffic, but it also plays a significant role in long distance haulage, where time is more of an issue. Therefore, efforts should be made to minimize any physical or administrative barriers hampering international road freight transport, given the integral part it plays in the global trade logistics industry. This study was motivated by a realisation that, in the absence of full liberalisation of market access, bilateral agreements are the main instrument used to govern and regulate international road transport services. Depending on their scope and the rights they grant, bilateral agreements reflect the degree of market openness between countries. The study finds that: The texts of the bilateral agreements remain, for the most part, unknown to their intended users. Even bilateral agreements regulating the same area tend to be different in their content. There is no overarching international template for bilateral road transport agreements. Where model agreements have been used to fill the void, their objective and limitations are not clearly defined. There are several core elements that any bilateral road transport agreement should contain, including provisions on scope, permit management, transit rights, cabotage and other limitations, and routes. Agreements should limit the possibilities of interpretations, rent seeking behaviours and other inefficient practices. Assessing the extent to which bilateral agreements have been implemented is difficult, yet any agreement is only as good as the extent of its implementation and enforcement. More energy should be invested in supporting the proper implementation of trade facilitation measures. The report demonstrates that it is possible to follow a systematic methodology to assess bilateral agreements between countries, and the extent to which any agreement contributes to integrated and efficient international road transport services. The report’s main message is that reform should navigate a clearly defined path, which takes into account different technical, political and economic considerations.

Tunisia in a Changing Climate: Assessment and Actions for Increased Resilience and Development is part of the World Bank Studies series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion. This book provides an assessment of climate risks, as well as opportunities and possible actions for addressing climate change, in Tunisia. It recognises that the Tunisian revolution of January 14th, 2011, created significant change in the country, resulting in new challenges and opportunities for addressing further change. Following the revolution, improvements in access to information, institutional capacity, and accountability have enhanced the governance and transparency that are essential for effective climate change responses. However, political uncertainty has affected both foreign direct investment and tourism, which have further impacted already high rates of poverty and unemployment.

The 'National Policy on PPP' recently approved by the Government of Ghana (GoG) sets out the government's intention to use Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to 'improve the quality, cost-effectiveness, and timely provision of public infrastructure in Ghana.' The PPP Policy highlights the role of the government's financial support to PPPs, as well as the importance of putting in place a system to manage the associated fiscal commitments (FCs). This study proposes an operational framework for managing fiscal obligations arising from PPPs in Ghana. This framework aims to ensure that PPP FCs are consistently identified and assessed during PPP project preparation, and that these assessments are fed into project approval. The framework will also ensure that PPP FCs are monitored, reported on, and budgeted for appropriately over the lifetime of PPP projects. To that end, the report outlines roles and responsibilities, concepts, and processes for managing PPP FCs, drawing on international standards and practices, bearing in mind existing institutions and capacities in Ghana. The report also suggests legislative additions and capacity-building needed to establish this framework in practice.

Old Risks-New Solutions, or Is It The Other Way Around is the latest in a series of volumes which examines new developments in the political risk insurance (PRI) industry. Based on presentations made at the 2010 MIGA Georgetown Symposium, it provides important insights into challenges facing investors and practitioners from the political risk insurance (PRI) industry, including investors, insurers, brokers, lenders, academics and members of the legal community.This volume reflects the key issues which have faced investors and insurers alike including arbitration and a dynamically evolving marketplace. Contributors to this volume reflect on the evolution of the PRI industry during a period of dramatic changes in the marketplace. Not only has the crisis had a tremendous impact on the volume of investment projects, particularly into developing countries, but also on the perception of risk and claims management. The volume begins with a look at the global market place in the aftermath of the financial crisis from an insurer’s perspective. It continues with an overview of claims experience and key issues investors should understand when relying on bilateral investment treaties. The volume then examines challenges facing investors and insurers alike when considering sovereign risk within the context of political risk. The volume concludes with an overview of the PRI industry and its evolution over time – how did insurers see the global marketplace evolving over time, what are they predicting now, and how much has it really changed? Old Risks – New Solutions provides valuable insights for practitioners and investors alike, particularly in today’s turbulent and uncertain markets.

Enhancing the Capabilities of Central Finance Agencies: Synthesis Report presents the findings of a study of the functions performed by CFAs, defined as government organisations that carry out financial management functions for the whole of government. Using a political economy approach to the analysis of CFAs in ten case studies of low-income countries, the report identifies the principal constraints on the capability of CFAs as: interventions by the head of the state, sometimes outside the provisions of the constitution and budget law, in executive decisions on the institutional arrangements and fiscal policy; deficiencies in management, ranging from excessively centralised and hierarchical decision-making processes to poor staff management and record keeping; and inadequate coordination among donors - and between donors and their clients in finance and planning ministries - in designing and implementing strategies for reforming CFAs and PFM systems. Drawing on results of the cross-country survey of CFAs, the first of its kind, the report presents evidence and offers explanations for an inverted U-curve for the concentration of central finance functions across country income groups. In low-income countries, CFA functions are often poorly defined and may be performed by agencies other than the Finance Ministry, leading to fragmented and inconsistent policy implementation. Middle income countries tend to concentrate central finance functions in the Finance Ministry to strengthen their control. In high-income countries, Finance Ministries tend to retain control of policy but delegate operational functions to specialised agencies. The report will be of interest to country authorities seeking to improve coordination across central finance functions and other stakeholders in the reform process

Seizure and confiscation of proceeds of crime, and funds intended to finance terrorism, are key objectives of the global initiative to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. The timely identification and immobilisation of such funds are critical to permit the action necessary to prevent the flight of illicit assets beyond the reach of national law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities.Among the measures and tools that have been developed is the power for Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) to order the postponement of transactions involving funds suspected of being related to money laundering or terrorism financing. This power has been given to a significant number of FIUs, but is not a mandatory element of the international anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing standards. The World Bank and the Egmont Group undertook a joint study to gather information about the legal basis of this power and its practical application as well as the frequency and modalities of its use. Detailed findings of this study are reported in this booklet, together with a series of recommendations that address anomalies, or perceived weaknesses, in the structure and scope of this power, and the manner in which it is used by FIUs.In this regard it is worth mentioning some of the key recommendations flowing from the study that urge national authorities to:Provide an explicit legal basis for the FIU's power to postpone suspicious transactions. Identify the minimum requisite conditions for the FIU's exercise of this power. Ensure that the legal provision for this power mandates a reasonable maximum duration for the FIU postponement order. Introduce legal provisions to require the FIU to issue a written postponement order, while allowing for an oral order in urgent cases. Develop and implement effective mechanisms for coordination of the activities of reporting entities and public authorities involved in the postponement of transactions and follow-on interventions that may be triggered by the postponement. The report's findings and recommendations are intended to provide practical advice to those countries that may wish to review, upgrade or strengthen their FIU's capacities to use this power. It will also be an invaluable source of information and guidance to policy makers, FIUs, as well as law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities of countries that may be considering the introduction of this power.

A number of countries have recently discovered and are developing oil and gas reserves. Policy makers in such countries are anxious to obtain the greatest benefits for their economies from the extraction of these exhaustible resources by designing appropriate policies to achieve desired goals. One important theme of such policies is the so-called local content created by the sector―the extent to which the output of the extractive industry sector generates further benefits to the economy beyond the direct contribution of its value-added, through its links to other sectors. While local content policies have the potential to stimulate broad-based economic development, their application in petroleum-rich countries has achieved mixed results. This paper describes the policies and practices meant to foster the development of economic linkages from the petroleum sector, as adopted by a number of petroleum-producing countries both in and outside the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Examples of policy objectives, implementation tools, and reporting metrics are provided to derive lessons of wider applicability. The paper presents various conclusions for policy makers about the design of local content policies.

Traditionally piracy has produced sentimental notions of adventure, freedom, and independence. However, piracy is a criminal act and often involves high levels of violence that can have a devastating impact on the victims. 21st Century piracy has evolved into a highly complex system involving a cast of characters, each motivated by a mix of economic and social reasons. While the focus of the international community has been on dealing with piracy through counter piracy operations that include naval, air, and military operations, this book attempts to understand the illicit financial flows from the proceeds of piracy and to espouse the cause for the detection, disruption, and confiscation of proceeds from acts of piracy.

The purpose of this study is to build a stronger evidence base on the role of faith-inspired, private secular, and public schools in sub-Saharan Africa using nationally representative household surveys as well as qualitative data. Six main findings emerge from the study: (1) Across a sample of 16 countries, the average market share for faith-inspired schools is at 10-15 percent, and the market share for private secular schools is of a similar order of magnitude; (2) On average faith-inspired schools do not reach the poor more than other groups; they also do not reach the poor more than public schools, but they do reach the poor significantly more than private secular schools; (3) The cost of faith-inspired schools for households is higher than that of public schools, possibly because of a lack of access to public funding, but lower than that of private secular schools; (4) Faith-inspired and private secular schools have higher satisfaction rates among parents than public schools; (5) Parents using faith-inspired schools place a stronger emphasis on religious education and moral values; (6) Students in faith-inspired and private schools perform better than those in public schools, but this may be due in part to self-selection.

The purpose of Tajikistans Winter Energy Crisis is to assist the Government of Tajikistan (GoT) in exploring ways to overcome electricity shortages due to rising demand for electricity. It focuses on investments and policy reforms in order to strengthen the financial, technical, and institutional capacities in the power sector and to prepare the Government for undertaking a major expansion of power supply capacity until the year 2020. The Study explores a range of supply and demand alternatives (e.g., thermal, run-of-river hydro, other renewables, energy efficiency and demand management) excluding the option of large hydropower plants especially those requiring storage capacities, given the complexity and delays in their establishment. The option of a large hydropower project in Tajikistan, such as Rogun, is being explored by the various studies conducted by the Government and has involved a long process of information sharing on the findings of the studies for consensus building among stakeholders including Tajikistan, riparian Governments and their various Civil Society Organizations. Such a process requires the assurance of international quality standards, and incorporation of the concerns of all stakeholders.Without prompt actions, as recommended by the Study to address the causes of Tajikistan's electricity crisis in the next 4-5 years, the shortages could increase to about 4,500 GWh by 2016 - translating to over a third of winter electricity demand. Following the recommendations of the current Study, the GoT will be on the road to establishing a long term energy security in Tajikistan.

Climate change and migration are major concerns in the MENA region, yet the empirical evidence on the impact of climate change and extreme weather events on migration remains limited. Information is broadly lacking on how households in vulnerable areas perceive changes in the climate, how they are affected by extreme weather events, whether they benefit from community and government programmes to help them cope with and adapt to a changing climate, and how these conditions influence the decision of household members to migrate, either temporarily or permanently. This introductory chapter summarises briefly the main results of the study which relied on existing data as well as focus groups and new household surveys collected in 2011 in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Syria, and Yemen. The results suggest that households do perceive important changes in the climate, and that many households are being affected by extreme weather events resulting in losses in income, crops, and livestock. The coping and adaptation strategies used by households to deal with weather shocks are diverse, but also limited, with most households not able to recover from the negative impact of weather shocks. The ability of community level responses and government programmes to support households is also very limited. Finally, while climate change is not today the main driver of migration flows, it does appear to contribute substantially to these flows, so that worsening climatic conditions are likely to exacerbate future migration flows.