Series:

World Bank Discussion Paper

7 primary works • 35 total works

Cover of Public Expenditure Reform Under Adjustment Lending
This paper argues that the World Bank should follow a systemic approach to developing guidance on public expenditure reform. Suggested approaches are to: determine an appropriate role for government and its various agents and specify their partnership with the civil society and the private sector; clarify the goals of reform and specify performance monitoring and evaluation indicators; target unproductive and inequitable expenditures from elimination; emphasize poverty alleviation; and promote equity and adopt general guidelines on policy environment goals for external assistance.

No.355.

Cover of Agriculture and German Reunification

No.352.

Cover of China's Urban Transport Development Strategy

No.379.

Cover of Empowering Small Enterprises in Zimbabwe

No.378.

Cover of Trends in Financing Regional Expenditures in Transition Economies

No.351.

Cover of From Universal Food Subsidies to a Self-targeted Program

No.386.

Cover of Strategic Management for Government Agencies
This paper presents a conceptual framework for the strategic management of government agencies in developing and transition economies. It delineates a working model of an efficient government agency for which core strategy, internal organizational design, and external environment are aligned. It then demonstrates how the objectives of public sector management are ideally based on assessments of "areas of misalignment" in government agencies.

No.385.

Cover of Case-by-case Privatization in the Russian Federation
Since the advent of reform in 1992, the Russian authorities have made substantial strides toward creating a market economy through privatization. Recently, Russian authorities have established an institutional framework for a 'case-by-case' approach that ensures transparency and competition through the use of independent financial and other advisers. This paper contains the principal presentations made at a World Bank workshop on the lessons of international experience in case-by-case privatization.

No.369.

Cover of A Commercial Bank's Microfinance Program

No.380.

Cover of India's Public Distribution System

No.400.

Cover of Russian Enterprise Reform

Russian Enterprise Reform

by World Bank

Published 1 December 1998
To enhance and sustain economic prosperity, Russian authorities must improve the business climate so that firms restructure and the private sector thrives within a market environment. Meeting this challenge requires actions on several fronts. The Russian government asked the World Bank to write policy papers to address this issue. This volume contains those policy papers which were then presented at a high-level workshop in Moscow. The topics include: - removing impediments to robust interfirm competition, such as structural concentration, arbitrary regulatory practices, and entry barriers; - strengthening corporate governance incentive systems; - enhancing the nascent institutional framework for the exercise of creditor rights and implementation of enterprise bankruptcy procedures; - reducing barter and other nonmonetary forms of business transactions; and - fostering enterprise restructuring. The volume also contains formal comments on these papers presented by senior Russian officials at the workshop.

No. 411.

Cover of Making the transition work for women in Europe and Central Asia
Women in the Europe and Central Asia region complain about loss of employment, sexual harassment, violence, poor enforcement of the law, poor political representation, and poor health care. Many greet these complaints with skepticism or dismissal. Is it economic expedience due to the sheer magnitude of the changes taking place under the transition? Did the Soviet legacy delude observers into believing that there is gender equality in the region? While budgets shrink, how can gender be integrated into country department work programs? To answer these and other pressing questions regarding the gender issue, the World Bank held a conference in June 1999. Women from the ECA region, Western Europe and the United States gathered to address the lack of Bank knowledge of gender issues in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Region. The papers from the conference included in this volume describe the present conditions for women, emphasize the need to debunk the myth of gender equality in the Soviet era, and propose urgent legislative measures to address gender disparity. This publication gives women the opportunity to voice their concerns regarding this issue. It will be of interest to regional gender experts, ministries, and think tanks.

No.401.

Cover of Russian Trade Policy

Russian Trade Policy

by World Bank

Published 1 December 1998
Russia has manifested considerable interest in accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). This volume contains four policy papers that focus on the most prominent topics during the ongoing WTO accession process: 1. the dispersion of Russia's tariff structure; 2. trade and investment in the service sectors; 3. the treatment of state trading enterprises; and 4. the policy regime governing foreign direct investment. Bringing the Russian Federation into the rules-based WTO system is an objective broadly shared by the world community. Accession to the WTO comes at a critical juncture for the Russian government to focus on many important policy issues to stimulate growth. As part of the process of making liberalization commitments, as required by the existing members of the WTO, accession provides an opportunity to lock in reforms.

No.366.

Cover of Poverty Reduction and Human Development in the Caribbean

No. 409.

Cover of East Asian Corporations

East Asian Corporations

by World Bank

Published 14 February 2000
East Asian corporations differ from their counterparts in other countries in important ways. Before the recent financial crisis these differences were viewed as one of the reasons for the success of East Asian economies. The crisis altered that view, and many scholars now argue that the weak corporate governance and financing structures of East Asian corporations are partly to blame for the recent crisis. This paper reviews several features of East Asian corporations, showing that they have high leverage and concentrated ownership, are typically affiliated with business groups, and operate in multiple industries. These characteristics affected the performance of corporations prior to the crisis as well as their ability to deal with its aftermath. Each economy's level of development also affected how these characteristics interacted with firm performance and valuation. Finally, the concentration of ownership in the hands of a few large families may have influenced economies' institutional development.