Books published by World Bank Publications

Portrays the performance of the health sector in Zambia using quantitative techniques. This title brings together the results of three analytical efforts: multi-year national health accounts, a public expenditure tracking and quality of service delivery survey, and resource and impact modeling using the Marginal Budgeting for Bottlenecks software.

This book summarizes pertinent research using layman terms and attempts to apply it to the acquisition of adult literacy, presenting issues and ideas on designing adult literacy programs that support human memory functions as understood in 2003.

Examines how well the financial systems in the Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe (CESE) economies were prepared for the challenges of multipillar pension reform, how ready they are for the approaching payout of benefits to the first participants, and how determined policy actions might be implemented to complete financial market development.

Estimating the gross and net replacement rates in 9 countries for steady conditions until 2040 show that they are adequate for most categories of workers, with the exception of those with intermittent or no formal sector employment.

Explores thinking and evidence about export diversification, and elaborates on policies to promote diversification. This book includes papers which are written as short, policy focused chapters, more academic papers in an effort to make them accessible to a larger policy and non-technical audience.

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.

Land reform can be divided broadly into land tenure reform and land redistribution. This paper focuses on property rights, giving a short narrative of some of the key land tenure and land policy issues. It also addresses redistributive land reform - the redistribution of property rights in land from large to small farmers.

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.

Focuses on the analytical, empirical, and policy dimensions of a basic stylized fact - that the development of local capital markets in most of Latin America has been quite poor relative to other emerging economies and to global trends. This work discusses the implications for the capital market reform agenda going forward.

Economic losses in marine fisheries resulting from poor management, inefficiencies, and overfishing add up to US$50 billion per year. This book argues that well-managed marine fisheries could turn most of these losses into sustainable economic benefits for millions of fishers and coastal communities.

Vietnam's successes in the health sector are legendary. Its rates of infant and under-five mortality are comparable to those of countries with substantially higher per capita incomes. However, challenges remain in how to further expand coverage, increase quality of care, and contain the rapidly increasing health care costs.

Presents selected papers from the ABCDE Meetings, held May 17-18, 2007 in Bled, Slovenia. This book presents papers on financial inclusion, factors that matter the most for business climate, and the provision of public services by non-state actors.

Analyses the impact of economic regulation on productivity and efficiency among the Latin American and Caribbean developing countries, assessing their gains from regulatory reforms.

Studies labor market flexibility in 13 Latin American countries since the 1960s and 1970s by looking at the sensitivity of employment and unemployment, and real wages with respect to output. It finds that price stabilization has brought real-wage stability, but that it has tended to increase uncertainty of job security.

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.

Based on a survey of 781 establishments, this book sheds light on some of the most important policy issues required to put Kenya on a higher growth path. It highlights the challenges that the country's businesses face and what government can do to overcome such obstacles.

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.

Features analytical narratives of the evolution of policy-imposed distortions to farmer incentives and food prices in 80 countries. This work focuses on Europe's transitional economies and Latin America.

Focuses on some of the most important policy issues required to put Nigeria on a higher growth path. This title highlights the challenges that Nigeria's businesses face and what government can do to overcome such obstacles.

China with migration flow influence rural-urban inequality, the pace at which urban centers expand their economic performance, and the urban environment. This volume identifies the key developments to watch and discusses the policies which would affect the course as well as the fruitfulness of change.

Provides a comprehensive treatment of various aspects of local budgeting needed to develop fiscal administration such as setting priorities, planning, financial control over inputs, management of operations and accountability to citizens. This book covers such topics as fiscal administration, forecasting, fiscal discipline, and more.

Summarizes the key challenges and constraints facing China in maintaining rapid growth while simultaneously trying to achieve the Government's stated goal of creating a harmonious society. This volume analyzes such key policy issues as public finance and the changing role of the state, and fiscal reform and revenue and expenditure assignments.

Attempts to provide practical guidance to local governments interested in establishing sound financial management systems. This work covers various relevant aspects of local public financial management - cash management, internal controls, accounts, audits, and debt management.

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.

Suitable as an operational resource for change agents within and outside government in low and middle countries committed to improve access and use of critical health services to income poor and social vulnerable populations.

Provides an understanding of economic policies for poverty reduction in developing countries. The policy areas include the various roles of government in ensuring the effective operation of a market economy, conducting fiscal policy, and influencing the money supply, exchange rates, and the financial sector.

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.