For the past two decades, experiments in decentralization and federalization have been developing in Africa, Asia, and the formerly communist states of Eastern Europe. Many of the powers previously in the hands of the central government or its de-concentrated structures have been transferred to...

This paper is organized as follows: Chapter 1 Introduction. Chapter 2 investigates the extent to which the supply of banking services has increased or diminished over time, and also analyzes factors underlying the spatial distribution of banking services, and the relative roles of public and...

In this survey the author assemble recent theoretical and empirical advances in the literature on economic informality, analyzing the causes and costs of informality in developed and developing economies. In accordance with recent evidence, the author discusses the nature and the roots of...

This publication reviews the experiences of the World Bank and its clients in employing public communication programs during the processes of privatization and private sector participation. Drawing from academic and policy research as well as from case studies, it highlights good practices and...

This publication is the third in a series of volumes based on the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency-Georgetown University Symposium in International Political Risk Management. Like its predecessors, this volume offers expert assessments of needs, trends, and challenges in the...

This paper reviews the evolution of the World Bank's strategies in the health, nutrition, and population (HNP) sector in relation to both internal and global events, as background for the forthcoming evaluation by the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the Bank's support for HNP. It...

This paper explores the extent to which formal, regulated financial institutions such as banks have been able to partner with "correspondents"- commercial entities whose primary objective and business is other than the provision of financial services. The paper illustrates the case of Brazil,...

The current global financial and economic crises are likely to put enormous pressure on governments to respond with immediate measures and to undertake far-reaching reforms in the medium term, requiring a substantial increase in donor support. To protect the poor and enhance benefits to them,...

The clothing sector has traditionally been a gateway to export diversification and industrial development for low-income countries (LICs) but recent developments may condition this role. In most developed and middle-income countries, the clothing sector was central in the industrialization...

This book identifies the binding constraints to growth of Morocco. It applies an innovative procedure known as "growth diagnostic" and has a central finding. The Moroccan economy suffers from a too slow process of structural transformation for achieving higher growth, especially for its exports...