Suchergebnisse

Myanmar had a strong economic take off between 2011 and 2015, but sustaining it will depend on improvements to public services and infrastructure. Yet general government spending at 15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) is much lower than what is needed to deliver these improvements, and well below countries at a similar level of development that spend over 20 percent of GDP on public services. The first public expenditure review (PER) for Myanmar found that since the country opened up in 2011, it moved quickly to allocate considerably more resources to priority public services. Macroeconomic challenges in the past two years have contributed to deteriorating fiscal conditions. Part of these challenges are structural - Myanmar is dependent on commodity receipts, is prone to natural disasters, and has a narrow production base. These challenges are exacerbated by policy and institutional capacity constraints. Fiscal buffers are limited by low revenue (10 to 12 percent of GDP), with considerable economic activity in either hard-to-tax sectors or dominated by small and micro enterprises. On the potential for reallocating resources, the PER analyzes: (i) the allocative efficiency of capital expenditures, to identify options for reprioritizing spending to higher-valued use, and the productive efficiency of capital expenditures, to minimize waste in project implementation; and (ii) the fiscal impact of state economic enterprises (SEEs) to present a strategy for the government to maximize returns from and minimize subsidies to SEEs.

Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes Accounting and Auditing (ROSC A&A) assess financial reporting and auditing practices in participating countries. These reports form part of a joint initiative implemented by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to review the quality of implementation of internationally recognized standards and principles in 12 key areas (the ROSC program) with a view to promoting financial and economic stability. This report provides an assessment of financial reporting and auditing requirements and practices within the corporate sector in Pakistan and sets forth areas of consideration for improving the institutional environment for accounting and auditing. The ROSC A&A used international benchmarks of good practice governing financial reporting and auditing in the assessment, including International Financial Reporting Standards and International Standards on Auditing. As an update to an earlier assessment that was published in 2005, this report was undertaken following a formal request from the Government of Pakistan.

The World Bank Group conducted face-to-face interviews with top managers and business owners of 1,000 enterprises in Thailand from November 2015 through June 2016. The Enterprise Survey (ES) sample is representative of Thailand's formal private sector. The ES covers several aspects of business environment along with measures of firm performance. The main highlights from the survey are: Thai firms underperform comparator economies in both annual sales and employment growth; female participation in ownership or management of the private sector is higher than in comparator economies; firms' engagement in trade is lower in Thailand than in comparator economies; and political instability is most frequently cited as the biggest obstacle to private firms' operations.

The objective of this report is to inform the Government of Vietnam's on-going efforts to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic private sector and to facilitate foreign direct investment (FDI) spillovers and linkages. This report is anchored in the government's supporting industries (SI) policy framework that aims to upgrade the capabilities and technology of local enterprises to facilitate supplier linkages with FDI, as well as enable them to enter foreign markets. FDI's spillover potential - the productivity gain resulting from the diffusion of knowledge and technology from foreign investors to local economy - is considered the most valuable input to growth and development. Creating linkages is not automatic, as various supply-side constraints and market failures often hinder the process. International experience and academic research has shown that while many countries have successfully attracted FDI, the record with capturing spillovers is mixed due to a variety of market failures. This report focuses on the operationalization of the FDI linkage development agenda in Vietnam. Building on the diagnostics established by the aforementioned studies, it reviews both international and domestic experiences, and offers recommendations to strengthen policies and programs to support enterprise competitiveness and linkages in Vietnam.

Doing Business in the European Union 2017 focuses on business regulations and their enforcement in five Doing Business areas. It goes beyond Sofia, Budapest and Bucharest to benchmark 19 additional cities. The annual Doing Business report aims to draw attention to how red tape affects small and medium-size businesses and encourage governments to look outward to learn from global good practices. This report highlights differences both among and within countries. Differences in regulatory performance across locations can help national and local policy makers to identify priority areas for reform and to find good practices that can guide the way forward. Good local and global practices are identified throughout the report, as well as opportunities for regulatory reform in each country. The study's results are revealing: the gap between the benchmarked cities is significant, even within the same country—with the biggest regulatory differences found within Bulgaria and Romania. Yet each country also has cities that are world class in at least one area. This study will benefit our partner countries as a tool to promote competition between the cities and regions, to encourage peer learning, and to inspire policy makers to improve the ease of doing business in their jurisdictions. Small administrative improvements can make a big difference in the life of small firms—unlike larger businesses that face the same bureaucratic inefficiencies, they do not have access to the resources and skills needed to get better and faster service.

The present volume is devoted to sounding the alarm about one of the most dramatic faces of the regional crisis: the refugees in the Sahel, with a special focus on Chad and Niger. The Sahel is experiencing political upheaval and insecurity due to the conflict in Libya, the crises in Mali and Nigeria, as well as the spread of violent extremism across the region. This instability – taking place in a context of deep poverty and vulnerability – has had dramatic consequences for the countries involved and the population living in these areas. Conflict has impacted agro-pastoral activities, and trade and food supplies have been disrupted. New routes have opened for the trafficking of people, drugs and arms. The state and traditional authorities have been challenged by armed groups, and thousands of people have sought refuge in neighboring countries, in particular from Mali and Nigeria to Chad and Niger.

The objective of this report is to analyze the recent employment trends in the Indonesian tobacco industry and estimate the potential effects of raising cigarette taxes on employment in the tobacco manufacturing sector. The report provides new evidence to contribute to the ongoing debate about the effects of raising cigarette taxes on tobacco sector employment. It complements the current analytical work conducted by the World Bank, in partnership with the American Cancer Society, to explore the employment conditions and livelihoods of tobacco and clove farmers and kretek rollers in Indonesia. This report is structured as follows: section one gives introduction. Section two provides a review of the global evidence on the impacts of raising cigarette taxes on population health outcomes and on the economy. Section three presents an overview of the cigarette tax reforms in Indonesia in recent years and discusses the government of Indonesia's plans for reforming the cigarette tax structure. Section four discusses the employment trends in the tobacco industry in Indonesia, analyzes workers' characteristics and compares workers to similar sectors and socio-demographic profiles. The section also discusses the potential impacts of raising cigarette taxes on employment by presenting results of simulations. The final section five, discusses the results in light of the current debate over cigarette tax reform in Indonesia and provides policy recommendations on the employment aspects of the reform.

This report summarizes the World Bank's activities to support the Open Data efforts of developing countries during the period 2012 - 2017. It is largely descriptive, but Chapter 4 includes key analysis and lessons learned. The main objectives of this report are to share information within the World Bank and with its partners and client countries, and to preserve the institutional memory and highlight the lessons learned as a way to improve the development effectiveness of Open Data.

Doing Business 2018 is the 15th in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Lao People's Democratic Republic. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulation and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies; for 2018 Lao People's Democratic Republic ranks 141. Doing Business measures aspects of regulation affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year's ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation, which is not included in this year's ranking. Data in Doing Business 2018 are current as of June 1, 2017. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where and why

This edition of the Tajikistan Country Economic Update (CEU) is part of a semi-annual series designed to monitor socio-economic developments in Tajikistan. In the first half of 2017, total investment was down by over seventeen percent year on year. However, investment picked up markedly in the third quarter, resulting in a year-on-year increase of twenty two percent compared to the first nine months of 2016. This report presents an analysis of political, economic and social developments, as well as the progress of and challenges with the implementation of structural reforms in 2017. It also includes a special section highlighting the key fiscal management challenges in Tajikistan.

The health sector of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has seen significant positive developments in recent years. Key indicators of health access and quality have, however, barely improved or have even declined (for example, maternal and child health) from 2006 to 2015. In 2016, PNG entered the accelerated transition phase from the vaccine alliance (Gavi) support. During this time, the government will be expected to increase its share of co-financing for vaccines, while Gavi gradually decreases their contribution. The government is simultaneously moving towards universal health coverage (UHC), along with many other developing countries, and has recently established fee free primary health care and subsidized secondary care. Given this backdrop, the health financing system assessment (HFSA), which evaluates the financing system and institutional sustainability, comes at an opportune time. The report begins by providing a comprehensive background, including an overview of PNG's economic situation, health demographics, health financing, human resources for health and the health system. It then analyses two areas critical to sustainable health financing: (i) PNG expenditure, with a focus on levels and sources of health expenditure, as well as resource allocation; and (ii) PNG reliance on donor resources, in particular, the global fund to fight aids, tuberculosis, and malaria (GFATM) and Gavi.

Worldwide, Vocational Education and Training (VET) is receiving increasing attention, particularly as a potentially useful instrument to address high unemployment rates among youth. In 2016, the World Bank started providing technical assistance to the self government of Poland's Świętokrzyskie region, aimed at strengthening the implementation of Work-Based Learning (WBL) in technical schools. Through Work-Based Learning (WBL), students develop essential skills by participating in activities on enterprise premises, including onsite training and particularly contributing to business operations. This support was part of a formal program of collaboration between the government of Poland, two regional self governments, the European Commission (EC), and the World Bank, with the aim to improve the impact of European Union (EU) financing allocated to improve innovation, employment, and economic growth in catching-up regions in Poland. As part of this programme, the World Bank provided technical assistance to the regional governments on a number of priority areas as proposed by the regions. In the Świętokrzyskie region, the regional government selected the strengthening of the implementation of WBL in VET as one of the priority areas. This report summarizes the main activities, findings, and outcomes of the collaboration to strengthen WBL in VET in Świętokrzyskie.

This study "Opportunities for Improving Urban Service Delivery in South Sudan: A Tale of Two Cities" comprises a 3 part series. Part I—Service Delivery Status Report—gives a general overview of the service delivery models currently operating the country. Part II—International Case Studies analyzes alternative service delivery models from other countries that are relevant to South Sudan. Part III—Synthesis Report—builds on the first two and investigates models of alternative service delivery in the context of urban South Sudan. Millions of people in the world's newest country, in both urban and rural areas, depend on services delivered wholly or partly by nongovernment entities in this highly fragile, fluid, and often insecure environment that has been mired in conflict and economic challenges since gaining its independence six years ago. The objective of this research is to: identify and analyze successful models of service delivery in select urban areas of South Sudan that can be supported and replicated; recommend relevant international examples of service delivery models that are appropriate to the South Sudanese context; and identify the appropriate role of government in these alternative delivery models . Across the various models identified, this study examines the cost and quality of services provided; access to these services; and the accountability relationships involved in these models.

Agriculture occupies a key position in the Kazakhstan economy. Although accounting for only 5 percent of GDP, agriculture continues to employ almost one third of the population. Studies of agriculture in Kazakhstan confirm significant un-tapped productive and export potential for the sector. Accordingly, agriculture and the related industries have become a major priority in the Government's initiatives for promoting economic development and diversification, including the 30 Corporate Leaders program and the Industrial Map of Kazakhstan. Improving the impact of budgetary policies in agriculture represents a key objective for the successful transformation of the sector. This includes both increasing the efficiency of existing expenditures and restructuring those expenditures with the goal of enhancing productivity and competiveness. This is therefore, an opportune time for critical review of budgetary expenditures and policies in agriculture.

Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) 2017, the third report in the EBA series, offers insights into how laws and regulations affect private sector development for agribusinesses, including producer organizations and other agricultural entrepreneurs. Globally comparable data and scored indicators encourage regulations that ensure safety and quality of agricultural inputs, goods and services but are not too costly or burdensome. The goal is to facilitate the operation of agribusinesses and allow them to thrive in a socially and environmentally responsible way, enabling them to provide essential agricultural inputs and services to farmers that could increase their productivity and profits. Regional, income-group and country-specific trends and data observations are presented for 62 countries and across twelve topics: seed, fertilizer, machinery, finance, markets, transport, water, ICT, land, livestock, environmental sustainability and gender. Data are current as of June 30, 2016.