This French edition of the proceedings of the Regional Workshop on Civil Service Reform in francophone Africa is a timely and useful addition to the studies in the field of public sector management. The workshop focused on four main themes: strategies and sequencing of civil service reform;...

It is generally accepted, both within Poland and abroad, that structural transformation, modernization and increased market efficiency are key to increase competitiveness and raise farm incomes ina country's rural sector. Parallel investments in physical infrastructure and human capital as the...

A growing body of literature indicates that reducing gender inequalities and increasing women's access to productive resources greatly improves both welfare and economic productivity. Despite recent gains in some areas, significant gender inequalities continue to limit women's capabilities and...

This research analyses the determinants of demand for medical services in urban areas of Bolivia. It also examines the possible trade-offs between cost recovery and the use of health services for different age, sex, ethic, and income groups. The data are from the third year of the Encuesta...

Describes the elements of health reform in Sierra Leone as the West African nation attempts to overhaul its health system and focus it on the neediest populations. To highlight the role of key stakeholders, the study reviews the actions proposed and taken for reforming a package of health...

The World Bank has become the world's largest lender in the health, nutrition, and population (HNP) sectors, requiring the institution to seek ever greater evidence that its work is effective on the ground. This paper reviews the literature on the causes of observed changes in health and...

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.

This volume contains thirteen papers prepared for the World Bank Conference on Innovations in Health Care Financing, held in Washington, D.C., on March 10-11, 1997. Together these papers provide conceptual and practical policy prescriptions for financing health care systems in developing countries.

This cross-national study provides empirical evidence of some of the trends in health status, health services, and health care financing that have occurred in countries undergoing economic transition in Central and Eastern Europe. Evidence shows that the transition has led to a significant...

The appropriate role of the state in health is complex both in economic theory and in practice. Theory identifies three reasons for state action: public goods or services with large externalities (involving efficiency); poverty (involving equity); and failings peculiar to insurance markets for...