South East Asia’s largest middle-income economies are highly integrated into global financial markets. While this provides considerable benefits, it also exposes them to sudden retrenchments of portfolio...
The results of an impact evaluation of the introduction of a risk-based approach to sampling import shipments by the Macedonian Food and Veterinary Agency indicate that the sampling plan was not effectively...
Reforms of national customs agencies are supported by increasingamounts of development aid. However, there have been very fewformal evaluations of their effectiveness. This note summarizesresearch about...
Simplified tax regimes for micro and small enterprises in developing countries are intended to facilitate voluntary tax compliance. However, survey evidence suggests that small business taxation based...
The World Bank Group has been working on investment climate reform in Sub-Saharan Africa for nearly a decade, a period characterized by dramatic economic growth on the continent. Establishing links between...
Research into the economic impact of a customs reform in Albania shows the promise of the broader trade facilitation reform efforts that are gaining momentum in developing countries worldwide. The research...
Much of the primary curative care provided to the poor by the private sector occurs not at large hospitals but at small, single-person clinics. While such micro-health providers increase access, questions...
Contract farming involves production by farmers under agreement with buyers for their outputs. This arrangement can help integrate small-scale farmers into modern agricultural value chains, providing them...
Compliance with public and private food safety standards has been the subject of increasing attention. Much of the literature on impacts of food safety regulation in developed countries focuses on public...
Unreliable electricity supply hinders economic growth in low-income countries. The private sector can play a significant role in supporting national power goals through small-scale ‘alternative private...
Deposit insurance is increasingly being recognized as an important part of a country's financial sector safety net. Deposit insurers are using the core principles for effective deposit insurance systems...
Is it possible to register a limited liability company anonymously? According to data from the 2012 World Bank entrepreneurship database, a majority of the economies surveyed require the name of the principal...
Feed in tariffs have been the most widely used support mechanism to encourage the growth of grid-connected renewable energy. But could competitive tenders or auctions offer lower prices while still providing...
This note provides an introduction to the issues surrounding the design of Power Purchase Agreement's (PPAs). Programs to attract investment in small-scale electricity generation, often powered by renewable...
In response to the financial crisis in developed countries, the G-20, the financial stability board, the Basel committee on banking supervision, and other standard setters are pursuing an agenda of reforms...
This note reviews the literature on the effects of reforms improving trade logistics systems and services. Three key insights emerge. First, trade logistics reforms have a notable effect on the ability...
Since 1982 more than half the world's countries have reformed their electricity sectors. Implemented correctly, the standard reform model, with competition, unbundling, and effective regulation, can lead...
A literature review shows that competition policy reforms allow markets to work more efficiently for the benefit of consumers and drive sustainable economic growth. Three main insights emerge: greater...
An update of the World Bank Group's privatization database shows that in 2007 privatizations in developing countries amounted to US$133 billion a record in nominal terms. The high value came from partial...
Many studies have found that countries with abundant natural resources grow more slowly than those without—a phenomenon often known as the “resource curse” or the “curse of oil.” Some development specialists...