This study addresses the question with a rigorous econometric approach and distills global results from a multitude of evidence. The data set compiled is unique in its coverage, size, and composition, making it possible to address for the first time methodological problems that have plagued...

This study is a product of the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), a project designed to expand the world's knowledge of physical infrastructure in Africa. The AICD provides a baseline against which future improvements in infrastructure services can be measured, making it possible...

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been a remarkable success in Africa. Across the continent, the availability and quality of service have gone up and the cost has gone down. In just 10 years dating from the end of the 1990s mobile network coverage rose from 16 percent to 90...

This report presents the findings of a first-ever, comprehensive study of how Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region airports have evolved during a notable period of transition in airport ownership. It is an unbiased, positive analysis of what happened, rather than a normative analysis of...

In recent years, the power sector in several developing countries has suffered from a frustrating gap between strong, pro-reform rhetoric at the political level, and weak, hesitant implementation of the reform measures on the ground. Focusing on the recent experience of power sector reform in...

For the purposes of this book, "open skies" refers to a bilateral or multilateral air service agreement that liberalizes the rules for international aviation markets and minimizes government intervention. It can apply to passenger or cargo services or both, for both scheduled and charter air...

The International Finance Corporation is at the forefront of private sector development: it is redefining how poverty can be reduced and lives improved through a stronger private sector in emerging markets. Accomplishing this goal means reaching people, regions, and sectors that have not yet...

Enterprise Size, Financing Patterns, and Credit Constraints in Brazil investigates the importance of firm size with respect to accessing credit. The principal findings are that size strongly affects access to credit compared to firm performance, and other factors, such as management education,...

Financial inclusion has become a major subject of interest among policymakers, researchers, and other financial sector stakeholders. Many countries, for example, have recently adopted explicit financial inclusion strategies with targets for financial inclusion. The interest reflects an increased...