This paper evaluates World Bank activities to prevent and mitigate the effects of AIDS in all regions of the developing world during fiscal years 1986 to 1996. It first proritizes HIV-prevention and treatment interventions using the principles of public economies. Based on this framework, it...

Health care demand price elasticies are often estimated from samples conditioned to include only sike people. This paper shows that not only may such estimates be statistically biased, but even when properly estimated they can only be interpreted as short-run price responses.

Human exposure to lead represents a serious environmental health problem in many urban areas. Based on a review of health and technical issues, th is report points out that the phase-out of lead from gasoline is a desirable policy measure which can yield significant social benefits. Country...

Outlines Tunisia' innovative strategy of reducing the budgetary costs of food subsidies in a manner that is politically acceptable and that protects the nutritional status of the poor. The government uses "self-targeted programs," whereby subsidies are shifted to items consumed primarily by...

This paper surveys health reform in the former Soviet countries of Central Asia. Reform efforts are evaluated in the context of achieving the goals of improving people's health status, maintaining acces and equity, improving efficiency, increasing clinical effectiveness, and assuring quality and...

The health of Russian women has suffered during the economic crisis of recent years. Morbidity and mortality from chronic and infectious diseases has increased. Women's reproductive health has been compromised by an increase in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and by lack of access...

The seasonal worker program (SWP) was formally introduced in 2012 following a four-year pilot scheme. The program maintains the dual objectives of: (i) contributing to the economic development of nine participating Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste; and (ii) filling labor shortages in the...

Many economies are yet to adopt broadly recognized good practices to prepare, procure, and manage Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). The report flags potential improvements that can help governments fill the gap in an effort to provide better PPP procurement and enable better infrastructure...

Resilient economic infrastructure plays an increasingly significant role in mitigating natural disaster risks, including hydrometeorological and geophysical hazards, especially in the contexts of climate variability and change. Building on the theoretical approaches to the key challenges in...