The World Bank has published the Logistics Performance Index since 2007. The Logistics Performance Index used to be based exclusively on perception ratings from a global survey of logistics professionals. In 2023, it was augmented with key performance indicators derived from massive global...

Although attention has focused on public sector initiatives to fight corruption on the demand side, private companies in every region have developed programs to fight it on the supply side. Policymakers and advocacy groups-such as Transparency International-consider such preventive efforts to be...

The critical need for private sector involvement in the fight against corruption is now an accepted fact, particularly in East Asia, where there is a buoyant private sector and where corruption has often been equated with cronyism. Cutting off corruption's supply side is a vital step in limiting...

Customs have been at the core of development concerns, especially in developing countries. In this context, customs are developmentally important to the extent that they sit at the intersection between fiscal imperatives-due to their revenue collection potential and trade-related...

The objective of this report is to identify ways of enhancing competitiveness through sector reforms in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali (the Cotton-4). The report promotes best practices to manage cost and define sales strategies so as to enhance the contribution of the cotton sector to...

Based on quantitative and qualitative data, this paper attempts to identify the main reasons why cargo dwell time in Durban port has dramatically reduced in the past decade to a current average of 3-4 days. A major customs reform; changes in port storage tariffs coupled with strict enforcement;...

The international community has been increasing investment in projects that promote trade facilitation and improve logistics in the developing world, including in ports. In Africa, a key motivation for such projects has been a presumption that poor infrastructure and inefficient border control...

A large proportion of the least developed countries are landlocked and their access to world markets depends on the availability of a trade corridor and transit systems. Based on empirical evidence from World Bank projects and assessments in Africa, Central Asia, and elsewhere, this paper...

This paper uses Zambia as a case study to assess empirically whether political interference in a low-governance environment has diminished in the past years as expected after a semi-autonomous agency model was set up ten years ago. The road sector in Zambia has experienced some significant...

Are politically connected firms more likely to evade taxes This paper presents evidence suggesting firms owned by President Ben Ali and his family were more prone to evade import tariffs. During Ben Ali's reign, evasion gaps, defined as the difference between the value of exports to Tunisia...