Download or read book Looking Beyond Tariffs written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Reforming Non Tariff Measures written by Olivier Cadot and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2018-06-26 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Non-tariff measures (NTMs) in international trade continues to cause trade costs to be high and to impede the further growth of trade and the gains that can be derived from trade. This book discusses some of the analytical methods that can be used to estimate the impact of NTMs on international trade, and the possible gains from their reform.

Download or read book Reform by Numbers written by Thomas Cantens and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-11-13 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book was written in the context of new and innovative policies for customs and tax administration reform. Eight chapters describe how measurement and various quantification techniques may be used to fight against corruption, improve cross-border celerity, boost revenue collection, and optimize the use of public resources. More than presenting “best practices” and due to the association of academics and practitioners, the case studies explore the conditions under which measurement has been introduced and the effects on the administrative structure, and its relations with the political authority and the users. By analyzing the introduction of measurement to counter corruption and improve revenue collection in Cameroon, two chapters describe to which extent the professional culture has changed and what effects have been noted or not on the public accountability of fiscal administrations. Two other chapters present experiments of uses of quantification to develop risk analysis in Cameroon and Senegal. By using mirror analysis on the one hand and data mining on the other hand, these two examples highlight the importance of automated customs clearance systems which collect daily extensive data on users, commodities flows and officials. One chapter develops the idea of measuring smuggling to improve the use of human and material resources in Algeria and nurture the questioning on the adaptation of a legal framework to the social context of populations living near borders. Finally, two examples of measurement policies, in France and in South Korea, enlighten the diversity of measurement, the specificities of developing countries and the convergences between developing and developed countries on common stakes such as trade facilitation and better use of public funds.

Download or read book Behind the Border Policies written by Joseph Francois and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-11-07 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a contemporary overview of key issues related to non-tariff trade policy measures and domestic regulation.

Download or read book Teacher Reform in Indonesia written by Mae Chu Chang and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2013-12-18 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book features an analysis of teacher reform in Indonesia, which entailed a doubling of teacher salaries upon certification. It describes the political economy context in which the reform was developed and implemented, and analyzes the impact of the reform on teacher knowledge, skills, and student outcomes.

Download or read book Twenty Years of Health System Reform in Brazil written by Michele Gragnolati and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2013-06-27 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has been more than 20 years since Brazil's 1988 Constitution formally established the Unified Health System (Sistema Unico de Saude, SUS). Building on reforms that started in the 1980s, the SUS represented a significant break with the past, establishing health care as a fundamental right and duty of the state and initiating a process of fundamentally transforming Brazil's health system to achieve this goal. This report aims to answer two main questions. First is have the SUS reforms transformed the health system as envisaged 20 years ago? Second, have the reforms led to improvements with regard to access to services, financial protection, and health outcomes? In addressing these questions, the report revisits ground covered in previous assessments, but also brings to bear additional or more recent data and places Brazil's health system in an international context. The report shows that the health system reforms can be credited with significant achievements. The report points to some promising directions for health system reforms that will allow Brazil to continue building on the achievements made to date. Although it is possible to reach some broad conclusions, there are many gaps and caveats in the story. A secondary aim of the report is to consider how some of these gaps can be filled through improved monitoring of health system performance and future research. The introduction presents a short review of the history of the SUS, describes the core principles that underpinned the reform, and offers a brief description of the evaluation framework used in the report. Chapter two presents findings on the extent to which the SUS reforms have transformed the health system, focusing on delivery, financing, and governance. Chapter three asks whether the reforms have resulted in improved outcomes with regard to access to services, financial protection, quality, health outcomes, and efficiency. The con

Download or read book Nontariff Measures and International Trade written by John Christopher Beghin and published by World Scientific Publishing Company. This book was released on 2016-11-28 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nontariff Measures and International Trade includes 20 chapters authored by John Beghin and co-authors over the last 20 years on the economics of quality-standard like nontariff measures in the context of international trade. This book provides a coherent and comprehensive treatment of these nontariff measures, from their measurement to their effects on trade and welfare. In Part I, the authors use different perspectives to make the case that, unlike tariffs, quality-standard like nontariff measures are complex to measure and analyze and do not easily lead to general policy prescriptions. Then, Part II contains contributions on measurements of welfare and trade effects of nontariff measures, accounting for potential market imperfections. Part III presents chapters on the potential protectionism of nontariff measures when they are used to favor some economic agents over society. The last part presents cases studies of nontariff measures in different industries, markets, and countries.

Download or read book Implementing Energy Subsidy Reforms written by Maria Vagliasindi and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-11-01 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Poorly implemented energy subsidies are economically costly to taxpayers and damage the environment. This book aims to provide lessons from a sample of twenty case studies to help policymakers address implementation challenges and overcome political economy and affordability constraints.

Download or read book Fighting Corruption in Public Services written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book chronicles the anti-corruption reforms in public services in Georgia since the Rose Revolution in late 2003. Through a series of case studies, the book draws out the how of these reforms and distills the key success factors.

Download or read book The Political Economy of Decentralization Reforms written by Kent Eaton and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents a framework designed to help international development partners consider the relevance of political economy issues for their programmatic support to decentralization and local government reform. The intention is neither to advocate decentralization in general or in any particular form, nor to presume or privilege any particular decentralization objective. Instead, the purpose is to document the potential value of better understanding how (primarily national and intergovernmental) political and institutional dynamics do or could affect the scope for realizing decentralization reforms aligned with commonly advocated service delivery, governance, and poverty reduction goals. The underlying premise is that systematic analysis of these issues can productively complement the dominantly technical diagnostic work typically carried out by development partners. Specifically, development partners can benefit from better understanding the practical significance of motives that drive politicians and bureaucrats to support or oppose reform at various stages of the decentralization process, from making an initial reform decision to detailed design and implementation. In addition, the authors address how these incentives can weaken, strengthen, or shift in response to changes in political and economic conditions that arise after reform begins. A general approach to conducting political economy of decentralization analysis is outlined, recognizing the need to tailor such analysis to the particular country context. This volume is based on literature reviews and knowledge derived from selected country experiences.

Download or read book Potential Exports and Nontariff Barriers to Trade written by Asian Development Bank and published by Asian Development Bank. This book was released on 2021-11-01 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication explores how Bhutan could boost its exports by addressing nontariff barriers to trade. It focuses on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade, and on export products that have the potential to increase their market share in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. It considers options including legal reforms, the upgrade of quality standards and laboratory equipment, and institution building of accrediting bodies and conformity assessment bodies. Practical recommendations suggest ways forward for both the public and private sectors.

Download or read book Regional Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa written by Mustapha Rouis and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-12-11 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book summarizes the constraints to and opportunities for deepening economic integration within the MENA region and beyond. Trade and investment reform are discussed together with physical connectivity, cross-border trade facilitation, infrastructure networks, and the vital role of logistics.

Download or read book Reforming Infrastructure written by Ioannis Nicolaos Kessides and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2004 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, railways, and water supply, are often vertically and horizontally integrated state monopolies. This results in weak services, especially in developing and transition economies, and for poor people. Common problems include low productivity, high costs, bad quality, insufficient revenue, and investment shortfalls. Many countries over the past two decades have restructured, privatized and regulated their infrastructure. This report identifies the challenges involved in this massive policy redirection. It also assesses the outcomes of these changes, as well as their distributional consequences for poor households and other disadvantaged groups. It recommends directions for future reforms and research to improve infrastructure performance, identifying pricing policies that strike a balance between economic efficiency and social equity, suggesting rules governing access to bottleneck infrastructure facilities, and proposing ways to increase poor people's access to these crucial services.

Download or read book Light Manufacturing in Tanzania written by Hinh T. Dinh and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2013-09-12 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book shows that feasible, low-cost, sharply focused policy initiatives aimed at enhancing private investment could launch Tanzania on a path to competitive light manufacturing.

Download or read book Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean written by Marianne Fay and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reviews Latin America's experience with infrastructure reform over the last fifteen years. It argues that the region's infrastructure has suffered from public retrenchment and unrealistic expectations about private involvement. Poor infrastructure now hampers productivity, growth, and poverty reduction. Addressing this requires more and better spending, and acceptance that governments remain central to infrastructure provision and supervision, although the private sector still has an important role to play.

Download or read book National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers written by United States. Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Open and Nimble written by Daniel Lederman and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2017-11-08 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does economic size matter for economic development outcomes? If so are current policies adequately addressing the role of size in the development process? Using working age population as a proxy for country size, Open and Nimble, systematically analyzes what makes small economies unique. Small economies are not necessarily prone to underdevelopment and in fact can achieve very high income levels. Small economies, however, do tend to be highly open to both international trade and foreign direct investment, have highly specialized export structures, and have large government expenditures relative to their Gross Domestic Product. The export structures of small economies are concentrated in a few products or services and in a small number of export destinations. In turn, this export concentration is associated with terms of trade volatility, which combined with high exposure to international trade, implies that small economies tend to face more volatility on average as external volatility permeates national economic life. Yet small economies tend to compensate for their export concentration by being nimble in the sense of being able to change their production and export structure relatively quickly over time. Moreover, limited territory plays a role in shaping how economies are affected by natural disasters, even when the probability of facing such disasters is not necessarily higher among small than among large economies. The combination of large governments with macroeconomic volatility seems to be associated with low national savings rates in small economies. This combination could be a challenge for long-term growth if productivity growth and foreign investment do not compensate for low domestic savings. The book finishes with some thoughts on how policy makers can respond to these issues through coordinated investments and regional integration efforts, as well as fiscal policy reforms aimed at both increasing public savings and conducting countercyclical fiscal policies.