Download or read book Investment Climate Reforms written by World Bank World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2015-11-02 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Private firms are at the forefront of the development process, providing more than 90 percent of jobs, supplying goods and services, and representing a significant source of tax revenues. Their ability to grow, create jobs, and reduce poverty depends critically on a well-functioning investment climate--defined as the policy, legal, and institutional arrangements underpinning the functioning of markets and the level of transaction costs and risks associated with starting, operating, and closing a business. The World Bank Group has provided extensive support to investment climate reforms. This evaluation by the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) assesses the relevance, effectiveness, and social value of World Bank Group support to investment climate reforms as it relates to concerns for inclusion and shared prosperity. IEG finds that the World Bank Group has supported a comprehensive menu of investment climate reforms and has improved investment climate in countries, as measured by number of laws enacted, streamlining of processes and time, or simple cost savings for private firms. However, the impact on investment, jobs, business formation, and growth is not straightforward. Regulatory reforms need to be designed and implemented with both economic and social costs and benefits in mind; IEG found that, in practice, World Bank Group support focuses predominantly on reducing costs to businesses. In supporting investment climate reforms, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation use two distinct but complementary business models. Despite the fact that investment climate is the most integrated business unit in the World Bank Group, coordination is mostly informal, relying mainly on personal contacts. IEG recommends that the World Bank Group expand its range of diagnostic tools and integrate them in the areas of the business environment not yet covered by existing tools; develop an approach to identify the social effects of regulatory reforms on all groups expected to be affected by them beyond the business community; and exploit synergies by ensuring that World Bank and IFC staff improve their understanding of each other's work and business models.
Download or read book Nepal s Investment Climate written by Gabi G. Afram and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-04-04 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book assesses dimensions of the investment climate in Nepal that shape opportunities for investments, employment, and growth of private firms. It includes data and analysis from five surveys on challenges to the investment climate, and provides policy recommendations to address these challenges.
Download or read book An Assessment of the Investment Climate in Nigeria written by Giuseppe Iarossi and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2009 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book sheds light on some of the most important policy issues required to put Nigeria on a higher growth path. It highlights the challenges that Nigeria's businesses face today and what government can do to overcome such obstacles.
Download or read book OECD Sovereign Borrowing Outlook 2021 written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2021-05-20 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edition of the OECD Sovereign Borrowing Outlook reviews developments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for government borrowing needs, funding conditions and funding strategies in the OECD area.
Download or read book The Growth Report written by Commission on Growth and Development and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2008-07-23 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The result of two years work by 19 experienced policymakers and two Nobel prize-winning economists, 'The Growth Report' is the most complete analysis to date of the ingredients which, if used in the right country-specific recipe, can deliver growth and help lift populations out of poverty.
Download or read book Investment and Growth in the Time of Climate Change written by Atanas Kolev (Economist) and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Cognisant of the many facets of climate change, this report looks through the lens of economics, that is, the social science that measures the economic impact of climate change and the costs and benefits of trying to mitigate it and adapt to it. From an investment perspective, issues for study include the balance between investment in mitigating greenhouse-gas emissions and adaptation to climate change; the urgency and timing of investing in both; obstacles to investment; and policies to remove them and make investment profitable. From a growth perspective, issues of interest include the link between climate action and economic growth; the short-term and the long-term dimensions of this link; and the importance of innovation as an interface between climate action and economic growth. One of the key messages from this report is that there is unexploited scope for making Europe's climate action more efficient, growth-friendly, and in tune with fiscal constraints."--publisher's description.
Download or read book Shock Waves written by Stephane Hallegatte and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2015-11-23 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ending poverty and stabilizing climate change will be two unprecedented global achievements and two major steps toward sustainable development. But the two objectives cannot be considered in isolation: they need to be jointly tackled through an integrated strategy. This report brings together those two objectives and explores how they can more easily be achieved if considered together. It examines the potential impact of climate change and climate policies on poverty reduction. It also provides guidance on how to create a “win-win†? situation so that climate change policies contribute to poverty reduction and poverty-reduction policies contribute to climate change mitigation and resilience building. The key finding of the report is that climate change represents a significant obstacle to the sustained eradication of poverty, but future impacts on poverty are determined by policy choices: rapid, inclusive, and climate-informed development can prevent most short-term impacts whereas immediate pro-poor, emissions-reduction policies can drastically limit long-term ones.
Download or read book Inclusive Green Growth written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development makes the case that greening growth is necessary, efficient, and affordable. Yet spurring growth without ensuring equity will thwart efforts to reduce poverty and improve access to health, education, and infrastructure services.
Download or read book Global Investment Competitiveness Report 2019 2020 written by World Bank Group and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2020-07-06 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Global Investment Competitiveness Report 2019-2020 provides novel analytical insights, empirical evidence, and actionable recommendations for governments seeking to enhance investor confidence in times of uncertainty. The report's findings and policy recommendations are organized around "3 ICs" - they provide guidance to governments on how to increase investments' contributions to their country's development, enhance investor confidence, and foster their economies' investment competitiveness. The report presents results of a new survey of more than 2,400 business executives representing FDI in 10 large developing countries: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. The results show that over half of surveyed foreign businesses have already been adversely affected by policy uncertainty, experiencing a decrease in employment, firm productivity, or investment. Foreign investors report that supporting political environments, stable macroeconomic conditions, and conducive regulatory regimes are their top three investment decision factors. Moreover, the report's new global database of regulatory risk shows that predictability and transparency increase investor confidence and FDI flows. The report also assesses the impact of FD! on poverty, inequality, employment, and firm performance using evidence from various countries. It shows that FDI in developing countries yields benefits to their firms and citizens-including more and better-paid jobs-but governments need to be vigilant about possible adverse consequences on income distribution. The report is organized in S chapters: Chapter 1 presents the results of the foreign investor survey. Chapter 2 explores the differential performance and development impact of greenfield FDI, local firms acquired by multinational corporations {i.e. brownfield FDI), and domestically-owned firms using evidence from six countries. Chapter 3 assesses the impact of FDI on poverty, inequality, employment and wages, using case study evidence from Ethiopia, Turkey and Vietnam. Chapter 4 presents a new framework to measure FDI regulatory risk that is linked to specific legal and regulatory measures. Chapter S focuses on factors for increasing the effectiveness of investment promotion agencies.
Download or read book An Assessment of the Investment Climate in South Africa written by Vijaya Ramachandran and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007-05-10 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most aspects of South Africa's investment climate the location-specific factors that shape opportunities and incentives for firms to invest productively, create jobs, and grow are favorable. The majority of large, registered firms believe that the legal system is able to protect their property rights. Infrastructure is reliable. Tax rates are relatively low. The burden of regulation is comparable to other middle-income countrries. Few firms pay bribes. And most firms have adequate access to credit. In many dimensions, South Africa has a good investment climate. Consistent with this, large South African firms are very productive. Labor productivity is far higher than in the most productive low-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and compares favorably with other middle-income countries such as Brazil, Lithuania, Malaysia, and Poland. And although labor productivity in South Africa is slightly lower than in the most productive cities in China, it is over three times higher than in China as a whole. So, why hasn't South Africa been growing faster? As this title explores, while the investment climate is generally favorable, some problems remain. Firms appear to be particularly concerned about four areas: difficulty hiring skilled and educated workers, rigid labor regulations, exchange rate instability, and crime. Using rigorous statistical information on these and related topics, the book aims to assist policy makers and private sector stakeholders in developing reforms that will improve firm performance and growth.
Download or read book Identifying Binding Constraints to Growth written by Mr.Mauricio Vargas and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2015-01-14 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As emphasized by Hausmann, Rodrik and Velasco, the policy challenge of boosting growth requires prioritization and identifying what are the most binding constraints. This paper draws on firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey, which suggests that the obstacles for the functioning of firms is related to firm size. Recognizing the potential endogeneity and simultaneity between firms' constraints and firm size, we implement an Ordered-Probit model with a potential categorical endogenous regressor to estimate, for the case of Bolivia, the conditional probability of facing obstacles given the firm size category, while controlling for other factors. The results confirm the importance of allowing for the roles of firm size in identifying constraints and suggest priorities for policies to remove constraints to economic performance.
Download or read book Policy Framework for Investment written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2006-05-11 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on good practices from OECD and non-OECD countries, the Framework proposes a set of questions for governments to consider in ten policy fields as critically important for the quality of a country’s environment for investment.
Download or read book Economic Analysis of Climate Proofing Investment Projects written by Asian Development Bank and published by Asian Development Bank. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change represents an increasing threat to the continued development of the people, preservation of ecosystems, and economic growth of Asia and the Pacific. Mainstreaming climate risk management in all aspects of development is thus key to an effective transition to climate-resilient development pathways. ADB's climate risk management framework aims to reduce risks resulting from climate change to investment projects in Asia and the Pacific. A key step in this framework is the technical and economic valuation of climate-proofing measures. This report describes the conduct of the cost-benefit analysis of climate proofing investment projects. An important message is that the presence of uncertainty about climate change does not invalidate the conduct of the economic analysis of investment projects, nor does it require a new type of economic analysis. However, the presence of uncertainty does require a different type of decision-making process in which technical and economic expertise combine to present decision makers with the best possible information on the economic efficiency of alternative designs of investment projects.
Download or read book Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa written by Mr.Hamid R Davoodi and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2003-09-05 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an economically diverse region. Despite undertaking economic reforms in many countries, and having considerable success in avoiding crises and achieving macroeconomic stability, the region’s economic performance in the past 30 years has been below potential. This paper takes stock of the region’s relatively weak performance, explores the reasons for this out come, and proposes an agenda for urgent reforms.
Download or read book India written by World Bank The and published by World Bank Group. This book was released on 2000 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reducing poverty, and providing for minimum needs, is the ultimate yardstick against which to measure development. To this end, the study outlines India's growth rate, improved social indicators, and poverty reduction since the 1970s, but specifies that, despite this progress, poverty is a serious concern, where social indicators remain below comparator countries. Human development is examined, focusing on social indicators, stating the delivery of health and education is fraught with limited accountability for performance and with low management capacity. Governance is critical to development, but the country's inadequate and adverse factors hinder the development of public administration, instead, performance incentives, and accountability within a downsized civil service, effective financial management, and decentralization should be pursued. Infrastructure should attract private investments, but the perverse impact of subsidies preclude the provision of private services. However, regulatory agencies are imperfect alternatives to competition, but corporatization would be an essential step in attracting the private sector. The study further reviews deregulation to increase trade growth and improve labor market flexibility. Conclusions call for reforms, arguing it would lead to higher growth, favorable balance of payments, and further capital inflows, including foreign direct investments.
Download or read book Global Trends 2040 written by National Intelligence Council and published by Cosimo Reports. This book was released on 2021-03 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.
Download or read book Strategy and Action Plan for the Greater Mekong Subregion East West Economic Corridor written by Asian Development Bank and published by Asian Development Bank. This book was released on 2010-08-01 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The East–West Economic Corridor (EWEC) was launched in 1998 as a flagship initiative of the Greater Mekong Subregion. EWEC has since achieved many of its infrastructure targets and must now be transformed from a transport corridor into an economic corridor. This report reviews and updates the Pre-Investment Study for EWEC conducted in 2001. It consolidates the interests and concerns of stakeholders into a revised and updated strategy and action plan to provide a vision and framework, improve coordination, and assist in mobilizing resources for EWEC development. Preparation of this revised and updated strategy and action plan for EWEC involved a series of consultations with government officials of EWEC countries and representatives of the private sector, nongovernment organizations, and development partners. These consultations culminated in a regional workshop held on 24 April 2009 in Khon Kaen, Thailand. The revised and updated strategy and action plan for EWEC was endorsed at the 15th GMS Ministerial Conference held in Cha-am, Petchburi Province, Thailand on 17–19 June 2009.
