Developing more efficient, transparent public institutions in the Bank's client countries requires a two-pronged approach. First, countries must build their capacity to perform functions such as policymaking and policy implementation, regulation, service delivery, and administrative management....

Although trade liberalization can create jobs and raise incomes, these benefits can easily be undermined if trade transactions involve excessive costs and delays-reducing a country's export competitiveness. Trade facilitation efforts aim to reduce such costs and delays by simplifying trade...

In 1997 the Korean government began reforming its notoriously complicated, nontransparent, corrupt public procurement system, introducing e-procurement to exploit the country's well-developed information and communications infrastructure. Through extensive business process reengineering and...

Countries across the globe are facing pressures to reform their public sectors. An effective, efficient public sector is vital to sustainable development, economic growth, and citizens' well-being. Similarly, assessing government performance is crucial in determining a country's progress toward...

Does trade improve prospects for women's employment and promote greater gender equality in wages? Trade creates or expands some activities and destroys or diminishes others. If an individual works in an expanding sector or is able to switch to one, she or he is likely to benefit. Evidence shows...

Downsizing programs are an important part of many public sector reforms supported by the World Bank. Although these programs can reduce budget deficits and address inefficiencies caused by state-led development strategies, many observers are concerned about the political and social consequences...

Many countries have initiated pension reform to cope with aging populations and fiscally unsustainable pension systems. The reforms often aim to separate the safety net and savings functions of pension systems, and to minimize incentive distortions. They usually involve moving from a single...

Compensation provides a major incentive for workers to perform well. Accordingly, bonus payments are often used to enhance staff effectiveness and efficiency-and have become increasingly common in revenue departments around the world. A recent World Bank study analyzed the bonus systems applied...

Recent international conferences have reflected a renewed interest in development. Among the most notable have been the 2001 Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Doha, Qatar, which launched the "development round" of talks on trade liberalization; the 2002 World Summit on...

Civil service reconstruction is important in post-conflict countries because conflict erodes institutions and civil service capacity. And because successful reconstruction-in all sectors -requires domestic capacity to implement projects, a weak civil service undermines overall reconstruction...