Since the past decade, several Sub-Saharan African governments, through technical assistance provided by the World Bank and other donors, have undertaken to reform their telecommunications sectors, by implementing market liberalization policies, privatizing the incumbent public operator, and...

This report completes the second phase of the Operations Evaluation Department's independent evaluation of the World Bank's involvement in global programs. This Phase 2 report is based on case studies of 26 (of a total of 70) Bank-supported global programs that accounted for 90 percent of the...

India's recent growth has been impressive, with real GDP rising by over eight percent a year since 2004 -- accompanied by a jump in innovative activities. Growth has been driven by rapid expansion in export-oriented, skill-intensive manufacturing and, especially, skill-intensive services. The...

The book consists of two papers which provide an overview of administrative barriers in Africa, and a very in-depth look at how one country, Mozambique, used a very large foreign investment as a mechanism to begin to tear them down. The first paper is based on a series of country-specific...

There are significant economic gains to be realized if the East Africa sub region improves the overall integration of its markets. But infrastructure development that links markets across countries faces particular challenges, political, institutional, and economic. In the case of East Africa,...

The report reviews the Bank's experience with aid coordination, which lies at the intersection of many development effectiveness challenges. While globalization has brought new opportunities for development rewards, poverty has increased, and concessional aid shrunk. In 1995, the Bank focused on...

The report is intended to provide a consistent, and convenient set of data to monitor development programs, and aid flows in the Africa region, while continuing the succession of data publication series, began in 1989 by the World Bank, in cooperation with the United Nations Development...

This report presents the results of research undertaken by The World Bank and The Asia Foundation to identify barriers to trade and investment in East Java. This activity was initiated by the World Bank and The Asia Foundation with several important aims: (i) to support private sector...

Economic zones have grown rapidly in the past 20 years. In 1986, the International Labor Organization's (ILO's) database reported 176 zones in 47 countries; by 2006, it reported 3,500 zones in 130 countries. This huge growth occurred despite many zones having failed to meet their objectives;...

This Port Reform Toolkit, consisting of eight modules, presents background information, concrete examples, and specific tools and methods that public officials can use to make effective, sustainable reforms of public institutions that provide port services in developing countries. In particular...