Book 394

Kyrgyz Republic

by World Bank

Published 1 September 1998
After the break-up of the Soviet Union, the economic contraction in the Kyrgyz Republic was among the worst experienced in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Their output declined by fifty percent between the years 1991 and 1995. The fiscal costs to the country were nothing short of disastrous. Just as the Kyrgyz Republic was about to decisively restore growth and macroeconomic stability, a series of natural disasters and a regional crisis caused another fiscal setback. This report details a set of measures which, if implemented, will restore fiscal stability to the country. It focuses on reforming public utilities and the tax system, citing these as in the most need of reform.

Book 406

'...the Chinese government remains aware of the potential threats to the economy (foreign capital flight, loss of competitiveness, drop in consumers' confidence, etc.) and is striving to continue to provide a stable environment for domestic investment and household consumption to maintain growth.' Since the early 1980s, the Chinese Government has eased restrictions on the power industry and ensured private participation in power sector development. In the aftermath of the Asian economic and financial crisis, concerns are being raised about Chinese currency (Renminbi) devaluation and the impact of the slowdown of electricity growth on the implementation of past contracts and new investment opportunities. To address these concerns, China's Ministry of Finance and the World Bank sponsored a two-day conference, held in Beijing June 22-23, 1999. The conference aimed to improve understanding and narrow the gap in perceptions of risks related to project development among government officials, representatives of provincial power companies and financial institutions, and private investors. The first part of this publication is dedicated to the narrative summary of the conference. The second part presents a background paper prepared for the conference to take stock of the progress achieved and identify issues and problems that still need to be addressed to create an environment conducive to further private involvement in power sector development. This publication will be useful to the international community that is interested in past and future development of private sector involvement in China's power sector, such as, Chinese government officials, power companies, private financial institutions, and private investors.

Book 407

Economic Growth with Equity

by World Bank

Published 22 March 2000
Since Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, it has undergone enormous changes on the road to reform. This report discusses the current policies, proposes a new framework for the policies in the future, and makes recommendations for their implementation. It covers the following sectors: - Agrarian - Education - Energy - Health Care - Fiscal - Industry and Trade - Shadow Economy - Social Protection

Book 416

This report proposes a three-stage approach for developing competitive pool markets in China's power sector. It also discusses key elements of competitive market development which includes the organization of transmission issues such as contending with stranded costs and lessening market power among generators.

Book 422

Environmental health remains at the periphery of sustainable development for a number of reasons. It is inadequately defined, rarely quantified, and institutionally fragmented. 'Environmental Health' helps fill a void in economic development thinking. It provides procedures to address multisectoral problems that require multisectoral solutions. It addresses those problems by: - proposing a new approach to targeted collaboration among different sectors; - devising new tools or enhancing existing ones to help different sectors contribute to the alleviation of health problems; and - putting theory into practice through a pilot in Ghana.

Book 423

This study analyzes the extent to which the India program is meeting the World Bank's objective of mainstreaming participatory approaches in project preparation and design. It includes ten projects in which participation was an overall project objective. These projects provided "good practice" lessons from a variety of social and natural resource management sectors.

Book 424

This study presents the results of the multi-country study for farm debt in five Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries - Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, and the Ukraine. It offers a comparative analysis of the level and composition of farm debt in these countries and reviews the major reasons for farm debt accumulation in the 1990s.

No.361.

China

by World Bank and Shao Shiwei

Published 1 November 1985
Action is urgently needed to develop China's market infrastructure, improve information access and commercial renewable energy capabilities, and implement policies necessary to enable expansion of commercial markets. This report summarizes recommended priority areas for international support to strengthen China's renewable energy development effort.

No. 333.

Participation in practice

by World Bank

Published 10 March 1998

No.393.


No.371.

Land Reform in Ukraine

by World Bank

Published 1 September 1997

No.381.

To preserve the environment with the lowest possible cost to the social sector means that private costs should be aligned with social costs. Many governments in the Latin American and Caribbean Region are doing this now using market-based instruments (MBIs). This publication investigates the use of MBIs in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) context. The investigation covers a sample of eleven countries in the region and a cross-section of environmental issues in an urban setting.

In November 1997 the World Bank and Singapore's Institute of Policy Studies sponsored a conference, 'Financing Health Care and Old Age Security, ' to assess and identify potential solutions to these concerns. It addressed a topic of concern to nearly every country, developing and industrial, that is, how to deal with the implications of financing medical care and income security for rapidly aging populations. The issues identified and the solutions proposed can provide insight and guidance for policymakers, researchers, and others interested in addressing these challenges now. Of special interest are the contributors' analyses of Singapore's unique, integrated approach to managing social risk, which is based on mandatory individual savings accounts

This paper contains two separate but intimately linked reports that deal with corporate social responsibility. The first explores the critical success factors supporting the integration of social concerns into the planning and implementation of privately financed projects in the mining, oil, and gas sectors. The second reviews corporate practices with respect to social and environmental assessment, and the integration between the two.

No.373.

A Poverty Profile of Cambodia

by World Bank

Published 1 September 1997

No.375.

Design of Social Funds

by World Bank

Published 1 December 1997

No.359.


This report examines the current state of Russian agriculture and agricultural research systems. It develops a conceptual framework for managing the transformation and rehabilitation of agricultural research systems in transition economies. Chapters examine the strategic importance of agricultural research, the status and importance of the agricultural sector, the status of the agricultural knowledge system, and challenges facing the system, as well as ways to transform it. This book is aimed toward agricultural scientists, research administrators, public officials, and agricultural leaders interested in the transformation of agricultural research systems in the transition economies.

Agricultural reforms, including privatization of land and farm restructuring, are an important cornerstone for overall transformation of the economies of the former socialist world. This paper summarizes the current status of land reform in Moldova and shows how there has been clear progress in creating a market-based agriculture and food sector in Moldova. The results of this study indicate that genuine restructuring and transition to full-fledged private farming have resulted in improved profitability and higher incomes for private farmers than those achieved by traditional collectives.

The World Bank is providing assistance to the Government of China to help develop recommendations for changes to China's present system of financial incentives for commercial renewable energy development. This book reports on a Bank workshop that examined international experience with financial incentives for grid-connected wind power systems and off-grid photovoltaic systems in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United States (California), India, and China. The collective experiences of the countries were further examined to indicate other directions for developing financial incentives for market-based renewable energy development, as well as the underlying reasons for these tendencies.