Download or read book Improving Women s Health Services in the Russian Federation written by Patricia Stephenson and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Improving Women s Health Services in the Russian Federation written by and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1998-01-01 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World Bank Technical Paper No. 404. The health of Russian women has suffered during the economic crisis of recent years. Morbidity and mortality from chronic and infectious diseases have increased. Women's reproductive health has been compromised by an increase in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and by lack of access to up-to-date, high quality maternity and family planning services. This paper summarizes this current situation and reports on the findings of one element of the World Banks assistance to improve health care in the Russian Federation: a field testing of revised protocols for the care of women and infants.
Download or read book Improving Women s Health Services in the Russian Federation Results of a Pilot Project written by Patricia Stephenson and published by World Bank Group. This book was released on 1998 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Food Safety Issues in the Developing World written by Laurian Unnevehr and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Food safety is receiving more attention worldwide with the rising incidence of foodborne disease, concern over new potential hazards, and growth in agricultural trade. Investments to improve food safety in developing countries can reduce the burden of disease and remove the barriers to fresh food product exports, providing another source of income for the rural sector. International disputes over sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures influence the ability of developing countries to compete in export markets. These countries need to evaluate their interest in the SPS agreement under the World Trade Organisation (WTO); participate more fully in international agencies responsible for harmonisation; develop the capacity to assess equivalence for process standards, which are increasingly used for fresh food products; and resist the imposition of inappropriate standards.
Download or read book Albania written by Gloria La Cava and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During Albania's transition from a centralized economy to one anchored in a body of Western laws, deep social unrest, widespread poverty, uncontrolled migration, and the reemergence of clan-based loyalties have led to an increase in the most vulnerable population groups. These groups are more likely to be marginalized by the economic cycle, thus making it more difficult to ensure asuccessful transition. One purpose of the study is to identify key emerging social issues and problems in Albania and determine their causes. However, the main purpose of this report is to propose a short- to medium-term action strategy to guide and connect social policy and assistance initiatives targeted to the vulnerable groups in areas where they are most numerous, through a bottom-up approach.
Download or read book Structural Change in the Farming Sectors in Central and Eastern Europe written by Csaba Csáki and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Farm structures in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) today cover a whole spectrum of forms, which include small subsistence-oriented household plots, medium-sized commercial family farms, and large corporations. The agricultural sector in CEE definitely has not embraced the family farm as the dominant farming structure, thus confounding the original expectations of Western experts. On the other hand, agriculture did not collapse because of fragmentation and privatization, as predicted by conservative doomsayers. To address the concerns of the farming sector in CEE with relation to EU accession, a workshop was held in Warsaw, Poland in June 1999. This volume represents a selection of papers presented at this workshop. It examines the reforms and policy changes necessary in the food and agriculture sectors of the ten countries that have started the accession process for eventual membership in the European Union (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia). The papers are organized around the following three topics: Evolving farm structures and competitiveness in agriculture; Land laws and legal institutions for development of land markets and farm restructuring; and Development of farm services for improved competitiveness. This volume will be of interest to agricultural policy makers and government officials in the candidate countries, EU officials, World Bank and FAO staff, development scholars, and all others interested in the process of agricultural reform in CEE.
Download or read book Legal Impediments to Effective Rural Land Relations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia written by Roy L. Prosterman and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Excessive concentration of land ownership, as is feared by many transition governments, has not been a feature of land markets where they have been allowed to function relatively freely and where land has been allocated in kind to households and individuals."The World Bank has long been active in the Europe and Central Asia region in monitoring and evaluating land reform developments and supporting the development of land markets. Bank efforts to date have made a significant impact in our client countries, and studies produced by the Bank have been used as impartial references on this subject by both international organizations and the countries themselves. This report was developed as a result of these efforts. It focuses on: The principal issues faced by the transition economies of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union The potential approaches for resolving specific problem issues.
Download or read book Food and Agriculture in the Czech Republic written by Csaba Csáki and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Becoming a member of the European Union is one of the most important objectives of the Czech Republic for the coming years, both for the government, and for the Czech society as a whole." With the exception of a few traditional Czech products, the Czech Republic is not a major exporter of agricultural goods due to its land-locked position and relatively poor product differentiation. Since the "velvet revolution" in 1989, agricultural production has declined. To conform to European Union standards for accession, the Czech Republic needs to make some adjustments. This report reviews the current state of Czech agriculture and agro-industry in the context of EU accession. It analyzes institutional reforms and their actual impacts and proposes a series of adjustments to complete the reforms in the agricultural sector. This report is intended for agricultural scientists, public officials, agricultural and agro-industrial leaders, and researchers interested in the transformation of agriculture in the transition economies and in issues pertaining to accession of Central and East European candidate countries to the European Union.
Download or read book Regional and International Trade Policy written by Csaba Csáki and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With appropriate preparation and policies, the enlargement of the European Union (EU) will result in a broader and higher-level integration of European agriculture, create an environment more conducive to further liberalization of global agricultural trade, and lead to further opening of European markets.As part of the World Bank's Strategic Compact Initiative, the Bank has coordinated activities to help the ten EU accession countries achieve EU membership. These activities include the preparation of studies to facilitate implementation of necessary reforms and sponsoring seminars and workshops to disseminate and analyze the results. This volume presents the major papers and summaries of one of the Workshop deliberations. This volume includes the following topics: • lessons learned from other regional agricultural trade agreements • the evolution of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) • an analysis of the economic impact of trade flows • the harmonization of agricultural policies within trade agreements • the implications of the external trade environment for the accession countries • the role of sanitary and phytosanitary trade rule in EU accession • quantifying the incentive and farm income effects of agricultural support policies in transition economies • major challenges to agricultural input regulation and trade during transition and EU accession • concluding comments by the World Bank.
Download or read book Food and Agriculture in Bulgaria written by Csaba Csáki and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2000 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agriculture traditionally played a significant role in the Bulgarian economy. Before the present decade, Bulgaria was a major exporter of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables within Eastern and Central Europe. While the Bulgarian government has progressed rapidly since 1997, the delay in reforms has rendered Bulgarian food products as noncompetitive on the international market. Also, many important components of the transition are not completed. This report reviews the recent history and current state of Bulgarian agriculture and agroindustry. It examines the status of the sectoral reforms program, including reforms affecting pricing and trade, rural finance, land markets, and agroindustry, with emphasis on evaluating its progress toward meeting the criteria for EU accession. It highlights the tremendous advances made recently, and also suggests an agenda for prioritizing the remaining obstacles. This report is intended for agricultural scientists, public officials, politicians, agricultural and agroindustrial leaders, economic researchers and others interested in the transformation of agriculture in the transition economies and in issues pertaining to accession of Central and East European candidate countries to the European Union.
Download or read book Institutional Frameworks in Successful Water Markets written by Manuel Mari©?o and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Water is increasingly recognized as a scarce resource that must be managed more efficiently than in the past. In addition to physical scarcity, the cost of accessing these resources is climbing. This publication explores institutional frameworks in three case studies of long-standing and successful water markets. These cases demonstrate the common features and essential elements of water markets. They also show how to design markets that consider the local institutional, social, and political conditions and how to integrate those markets into existing water resource management arrangements. The papers are written for practitioners interested in how water markets operate, for decisionmakers faced with the challenge of selecting a water resource allocation system, and for academics interested in analytical-descriptive case studies that provide information on how to conceptualize the functioning of water markets from an institutional perspective.
Download or read book Management of Water Resources written by Musa Asad and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Although procedures for pricing "retail" distribution have been established for a long time, methods for pricing bulk or "wholesale" water supplies are still evolving." How to finance the infrastructure and service of bulk water supply, and how to use pricing to achieve efficient allocation and use of water as a resource are the central issues that emerge from discussions about bulk water pricing. Efficiency will lead to allocating water resources better, reducing water losses caused by poor maintenance of the supply systems, and increased monitoring of water quality. At first glance, Brazil may not appear to be a relevant country from which to draw lessons in distributing scarce water resources, since it contains 12 percent of the world's fresh water supply. However, with its vast territory and issues of regional drought and population explosion, Brazil provides a unique environment in which to demonstrate how adequate pricing of bulk water on a regional level can help allocate water efficiently. This paper offers a framework for bulk water pricing reform and examines the lessons from recent analytical work and practice in Brazil, as well as relevant international experience. It then offers recommendations for the development of both water pricing and allocation policies to facilitate continued implementation of bulk water pricing in Brazil.
Download or read book Foreign Investment and Restructuring written by Michelle Riboud and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2000 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the official rhetoric in most transition economies has been in favor of foreign direct investment (FDI), few countries have succeeded in attracting sizable inflows. Hungary stands out among those countries that have done so effectively. Several factors helped Hungary to get ahead of other transition economies in terms of attracting FDI. This volume analyzes Hungary's achievement, the scope and depth of FDI and the effect of FDI on Hungary's economy and foreign trade. This report will interest European Union member and candidate countries, foreign ministries, think tanks, and libraries.
Download or read book Farm Sector Restructuring in Belarus written by Csaba Csáki and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2000 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agriculture remains the main source of employment and livelihood for the large rural population of many transition countries, especially among the former Soviet republics. Accordingly, the World Bank continuously monitors the progress of land reform and farm restructuring in the region because of the potential impact of these processes on rural development and poverty alleviation in rural areas. The present study on Belarus is the latest addition to a long and growing series of World Bank publications on land reform and farm restructuring in the former socialist countries of Europe and Central Asia. The unique features of all these publications is their reliance on first-hand empirical information collected through extensive farm surveys of various rural constituencies. Analysis of survey findings enables the World Bank to base its policy dialogue with governments in the region on solid empirical facts, making the Bank's recommendations more credible and relevant. The survey findings in this volume will provide a platform for useful policy discussions with this country's government and supply international donors that are active there with essential information to design their strategic programs.
Download or read book Kazakhstan written by John Gray and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The success achieved in stimulating real change in farm ownership, control, and management in some areas, combined with the extremity of the difficulties faced by farms in less-favored areas, point to the need for an active process of policy reformulation to address the problems which are now emerging from the restrcturing process." Agriculture in Kazakhstan is in crisis the majority of farms are insolvent and production has fallen to the lowest level in 30 years. Initial restructuring efforts yielded disappointing results and mostly failed to lead to new patterns of ownership or management. However, since 1998 the government has pursued a more aggressive approach to farm restructuring based on increased reliance on farm bankruptcy. This report reviews the experience of the farm restructuring policies and programs pursued in 1998 and 1999 and draws conclusions for the continuing development of agricultural sector policies. This review forms one of a group of simultaneous agricultural sector studies undertaken by the World Bank at the request of the Government of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan: A Review of Farm Restructuring reviews the progress to date in the implementation of the government's reform measures which were begun in late 1998. The report is based on a field mission undertaken in April-May 1999, which concentrated primarily on the Northern oblasts and information provided by the staff of the Headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture in Astana.
Download or read book Energy from Biomass written by Peter Quaak and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While energy is essential for development, standard fossil fuels are often in short supply in countries where it is needed most. However, alternative fuel resources abound in the form of agricultural and municipal waste or "biomass." This report reviews the state of the art of biomass combustion and gassification systems, their advantages and disadvantages. It also encourages investment in use of these technologies to enable developing countries to better exploit their biomass resources and help close the gap between their energy needs and their energy supply.
Download or read book Evaporative Air conditioning written by Gert Jan Bom and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1999 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Under the right conditions and applications, evaporative air-conditioning (EAC) technologies can provide excellent cooling and ventilation with minimal energy consumption." Evaporative air-conditioning technologies are being used increasingly in residential and commercial applications worldwide. EAC technologies, which rely on water as a coolant rather than on chemical refrigerants, are economical to produce and use and have important environmental benefits. This paper introduces the technical aspects of EAC, reviews EAC's scope of application, and surveys the specific climatic conditions under which EAC can be used most effectively in industrialized and developing countries.
