Books by World Bank

Presents a retrospective of the decentralization reform process in Sierra Leone from 2003-07 and makes a contribution to the debates on the merits and risks of decentralization in general and its desirability and viability in post-conflict countries.

Offers policy-relevant knowledge on strategies to improve service delivery in rural areas especially to rural women. This study covers key economic services, such as agricultural advisory services and related social services, including rural water supply. It presents analytical work from four countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, India and Sri Lanka.

Coinciding with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency's (MIGA) twentieth anniversary, this book examines key political risk issues including claims and arbitration, perspectives on pricing from the private, public and multilateral providers, as well as exploring various frontiers in sovereign wealth funds and Islamic finance.

Cotton is a rare economic success story in Sub-Saharan Africa. This book provides a comparative analysis of the outcomes of the reforms that have been implemented in Sub-Saharan cotton sectors and of the linkages between sector organization and performance. It highlights challenges facing cotton sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Progress in literacy and learning, especially through universal primary education, has done more to advance human conditions than perhaps any other policy. Our generation has the possibility of becoming the first generation ever to offer all children access to good quality basic education.

Sustainable land management (SLM) is a knowledge-based procedure that integrates land, water, biodiversity, and environmental management, to meet rising food and fiber demands while sustaining ecosystem and environmental services and livelihoods. This work talks about SLM.

The World Bank organised a conference in 1999 to analyse issues and options prior to the December 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting. Papers included in this book were commissioned for this conference to highlight the main trade issues of importance to different regions of the world.

Aims to identify three risks to development associated with HIV and AIDS in the South Asia region: the risk of escalation of concentrated epidemics, the economic welfare costs, and the fiscal costs of scaling up treatment.

Thoroughly documents an innovative approach to data collection in developing countries, which combines baseline data from a household survey with subsequent interviews of selected respondents using mobile phones.

Identifies a four-pillar strategy for Bangladesh to sustain and accelerate export growth: breaking into new markets, breaking into new products, improving worker and consumer welfare, and building a supportive environment.

Examines the competitiveness of energy-intensive industries in OECD countries, and barriers to clean-energy technology diffusion in developing countries. Building on this analysis, this work proposes multilateral actions under the WTO that will be beneficial from both a trade and a climate change perspective.

Provides practical operations-oriented guidance for forest sector engagement toward the goals of poverty reduction, conservation and economic development. Intended to guide World Bank lending activities and projects, this book offers information useful to a broad audience of practitioners, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations.

This text evaluates the quality of financial accountability and transparency in Bangladesh and makes recommendations for improvement. It compares the financial management standard and practices with respect to public funds.

Reviews the recent developments in capital markets and institutional investors in Russia, and examines the policy challenges ahead for the development of the sector. The analysis covers key impediments for further development and policy challenges for securities markets.

Sets out principles and provides advice on the procurement of HIV/AIDS medicines and related supplies for programs scaling up antiretroviral therapy (ART) and associated health services. This technical guide examines the elements required to establish and ensure continuity of supplies, including medicines and other commodities.

With 21 papers on issues concerning financial sector transition in Europe and Central Asia, this book places the transition economies in the context of developments in global financial markets, looks at the experience of the 1990s, examines transactions in the banking and capital markets, and more.

Despite the expansion of education opportunities world-wide and evidence that the education of girls and women promotes both individual and national well-being, women in most developing countries still receive less schooling than men. This volume addresses how educational decisions are made.

High-quality public debt management plays a critical role in reducing countries' vulnerability to financial crises. Good debt management encompasses sound risk and cash management, good governance, and adequate institutional and staff capacity. This book draws insights from 12 developing and emerging market country case studies.

This text examines the experiences of the Grameen Bank and two other major microcredit programmes in Bangladesh in order to quantify the potential and limitations of microcredit programmes as an instrument for reducing poverty and delivering financial sevices to the poor.

Suggests pathways for Sub-Saharan Africa to sustain economic growth by aligning its tertiary education systems with national economic strategies and labor market needs.

Investing to promote agricultural growth and poverty reduction is a central pillar of the World Bank's current rural strategy. This Sourcebook addresses how to implement the rural strategy. It provides information on investment options and innovative approaches to aid the design of future lending programs for agriculture.

Based on a two-day workshop held in June 1998, this report examines the need for integrated research approaches in social and economic development, presents case studies of integrated approaches in practice, and talks about lessons learned.

The World Bank has invested considerable resources in analysing public expenditures and the impacts of different interventions on sustainable development. This handbook provides a broad framework for thinking about public expenditure management and how it affects budgetary outcomes.