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Although women's police centers have been gaining popularity as a measure to address domestic violence, to date no quantitative evaluations of their impacts on the incidence of domestic violence or any other manifestations of gender equality have been done. This paper estimates the effects of women's police stations in Brazil on female homicides, as a measure of the most severe form of domestic violence. Given that a high fraction of female deaths among women ages 15 to 49 years can be attributed to aggression by an intimate partner, female homicides appear the best available proxy for severe domestic violence considering the scarcity of data on domestic violence. The paper uses a panel of 2,074 municipalities and takes advantage of the gradual rollout of women's police stations from 2004 to 2009, to estimate the effect of establishing a women's police station on the municipal female homicide rate. Although the analysis does not find an association on average, women's police stations appear to be highly effective among some groups of women: women living in metropolitan areas and younger women. Establishing a women's police station in a metropolitan municipality is associated with a reduction in the homicide rate by 1.23 deaths per 100,000 women (which roughly amounts to a 17 percent reduction in the average homicide rate in metropolitan municipalities). The reduction in the homicide rate of women ages 15 to 24 is even higher: 5.57 deaths per 100,000 women. Qualitative work suggests that better economic opportunities and less traditional social norms in metropolitan areas may explain the heterogeneous impacts of women's police stations in metropolitan areas and outside them.

More frequent incidences of violence in Afghanistan, as well as delays in the elections process and cabinet formation, continued to fuel uncertainty and affected investor confidence in 2014 and the first half of 2015. Economic growth slowed to 1.3 percent in 2014, down from 3.7 percent a year earlier. Unlike in previous years, agriculture did not contribute much to growth in 2014. Production levels were high for a third year in a row but did not supersede the strong output in 2013. Growth was mainly driven by services and a slight expansion of industries where an increase in construction activities outweighed lower production in manufacturing. Private investment activities showed strong signs of slowdown in 2014, evidenced by a drop of nearly 50 percent in new firm registrations since 2012. The National Unity Government has embarked on an ambitious reform agenda to revitalize the economy, tackle corruption, and improve investment climate. However, it will take time for these reforms to have an impact, and it is yet unclear how much they will mitigate the high risks stemming from the fragile security environment. Growing trends in security and pension and wage spending over the medium term require immediate attention. Afghanistan faces significant financing shortages for both civilian and security spending. Therefore, securing continued high levels of donor financing over the coming years is of critical importance for fiscal stability in the country. The fragile security environment and financing constraints, compounded by weak governance capacity, pose serious challenges to service delivery in Afghanistan. Any setback in reform implementation would further slowdown the pace of human capital accumulation in Afghanistan and reduce future prospects of growth and poverty reduction.

Maldives is an island nation scattered in the Indian Ocean comprising 1,190 small coral islands of which 190 are inhabited by a local population of 341,000. Maldives' unique archipelagic coral island provides the country with an extremely rich and diverse marine ecological system. With more territorial sea than land, marine resources have played a vital role shaping the contours of economic development, with nature-based tourism being the key driver of economic growth and fisheries an important sector of employment for the local population. Maldives developed a successful high-end tourism sector, whose sizeable rents have been redistributed to the population to address its development challenges. This systematic country diagnostic for Maldives aims at identifying the most critical constraints and opportunities facing the country as it works towards promoting sustainable growth, reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity. In addition to serving as a public good for the government, civil society, research and academic community, and local and international development partners, the findings of the SCD will be used as key inputs in the preparation of the WBG strategy, the Country Partnership Framework, which will outline how the Bank Group's engagement in Maldives can best contribute towards achieving the twin goals.

The objective of this paper is to understand the factors driving the location decisions of multinational corporations. The paper uses literature-review and expert-interview techniques to understand what cities can do to be best positioned to attract international capital.

The state-owned enterprise (SOE) landscape has become increasingly diverse. There used to be some relatively well-defined criteria, but with the growing complexity of state participation in the economy, there is no longer a uniform definition, and especially because the definition of a SOE has always been country-specific. SOE reforms can have major positive impacts not only by reducing fiscal risks by decreasing hidden subsidies, direct transfers, and overstaffing, but also by strengthening competition and developing capital markets. SOE reforms in developing countries began in the 1960s because of the poor performance of many of the SOEs. The reform movement sought to strengthen the internal capacity of SOEs. To enrich the discussion about possible avenues for performance-enhancing SOE reforms, this report presents the main principles of good governance of SOEs with references to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines on corporate governance of SOEs (OECD 2005). This document is divided into six parts: (1) an effective legal and regulatory framework for SOEs; (2) the state as an owner; (3) equitable treatment of shareholders; (4) relations with stakeholders; (5) transparency and disclosure; and (6) the responsibilities of the boards of SOEs.

Despite clear aspirations by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to create an effective and transparent framework to facilitate movements among skilled professionals within the ASEAN by December 2015, progress has been slow and uneven. This report examines the challenges ASEAN member states face in achieving the goal of greater mobility for the highly skilled, including hurdles in recognizing professional qualifications, opening up access to certain jobs, and a limited willingness by professionals to move due to perceived cultural, language, and socioeconomic differences. The cost of these barriers is staggering and could reduce the region's competitiveness in the global market. This report launches a multiyear effort by the Asian Development Bank and the Migration Policy Institute to better understand the issues and develop strategies to gradually overcome the problems. It offers a range of policy recommendations that have been discussed among experts in a high-level expert meeting, taking into account best practices locally and across the region.

The purpose of this report on corporate financial reporting in Austria is to describe the key features of Austria's corporate financial reporting environment as well as its practical application in regard to small and medium enterprises (SMEs') financial reporting practices in Austria. This report builds on the World Bank accounting and auditing reports on standards and codes (ROSC) methodology to give an overview of the Austrian corporate financial reporting system. It selectively provides good practice examples that can give incentives to overcome impediments to financial reporting reform. Based on the findings of two surveys conducted among Austrian SMEs and Austrian financial institutions, the report focuses particularly on aspects relevant to SME financial reporting. This report forms part of the activities of the center for financial reporting reform (CFRR) within the road to Europe program of accounting reform and institutional strengthening (REPARIS), which also provided funding.

This set of reports on manufacturing plans implementation in India includes the following: (1) A new agenda. Improving the competitiveness of the textiles and apparel value chain in India report is structured as follows: section one sets out the context, describing trends in global markets and in the textiles and apparel supply chain in India; section two analyzes in detail the choke points that are hindering the growth of the latter; section three sets out a reform agenda to address them; and section four concludes. (2) Fast tracking Indias electronics manufacturing industry. Business environment and industrial policy examines the prospects for India to meet its potential. Drawing on extensive survey questionnaires and interviews with key industry players (both domestic and foreign) and relevant government agencies, this study identifies major challenges India-based companies face in engaging in electronics manufacturing. The analysis culminates in detailed policy suggestions for regulatory reform and support policies needed to unblock barriers to investment in this industry and to fast-track it's upgrading through innovation. (3) Supply chain delays and uncertainty in India. The hidden constraint on manufacturing growth report provides the context of the freight and logistics industry in India; describes the headline impacts of its performance on manufacturing firms; explores variations in this impact and causes thereof; and concludes with a more detailed look at the reform agenda this motivates.

Afghanistan will experience a major security and development transition over the next three years. At the Kabul and Lisbon Conferences in 2010, NATO and the Afghan government agreed that full responsibility for security would be handed over to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) by the end of 2014. Development progress since 2001 has been mixed. Some major achievements have been recorded, such as rapid economic growth (with large fluctuations), relatively low inflation (after hyperinflation in the 1990s), better public financial management, and gains in basic health and education. Key social indicators, including life expectancy and maternal mortality, have improved markedly (admittedly from an extremely low base), and women are participating more in the economy. Yet in other respects, particularly governance and institution building, the country has fared less well, and many indicators have worsened in recent years. Afghanistan remains one of the world's least developed countries, with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of only $528 in 2010/11. More than a third of the population live below the poverty line, more than half are vulnerable and at serious risk of falling into poverty, and three?quarters are illiterate. This report is intended to be comprehensive, so it also discusses the broader historical and political economy context of development in the country, and how Afghanistan compares with other countries that have undergone their own transitions over the past 30 years. This report is based on data collected from various sources in 2011, and its analysis and findings therefore comprise the team's considered assessment using the best available information available by the end of that year. In addition, projections of future trends in Afghanistan inevitably are subject to uncertainty and reflect any weaknesses in the underlying data. Thus the report's projections should be seen as subject to further adjustments and improvements as better and more recent information become available. This report is presented in two volumes. Volume one is a stand?alone Overview which highlights the main findings, projections, and recommendations of the study. Volume two consists of five chapters presenting the detailed empirical background, analytical findings, projections, and recommendations of the study, along with a concluding chapter and three technical appendices.

This report is the outcome of assessment and is intended as an advisory note to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) to enable them to identify a strategy and potential public investments to improve current risk-management practices in the rice supply chain. This report identifies the major risks facing the rice supply chain, ranks them in terms of their potential impact and frequency, and offers a framework for improving current risk-management practices. The recommendations and findings will provide a basis for follow-up planning work by the Government of Guyana (GoG), the World Bank, and other development partners. The findings and analysis of this initial assessment are based on a methodology designed by the Agricultural Risk Management Team (ARMT) for assessing risks in agricultural supply chains. This report provides an indicative list of potential solutions to address the dominant risks in the rice supply chain; however, the assessment or evaluation of the individual solutions was beyond the scope of this exercise. To ensure the greatest return on future public investments in implementing risk management solutions, GRDB and MoA need to undertake an exhaustive cost-benefit assessment of different options. This will enable MoA to identify and implement the necessary activities to reduce the vulnerability of the rice supply chain in Guyana.

This country assistance evaluation assesses the outcomes of the World Banks program in Nigeria during the period 1998–2007. The Country Assistance Evaluation focuses on the objectives of that assistance and the extent to which outcomes were consistent with those objectives. It looks at the Banks contribution to the achievement of those outcomes and at the lessons for the Banks future activities in Nigeria and in other countries. The evaluation includes a review of relevant documents, complemented by interviews with Bank staff and other key donors, as well as with representatives of the Nigerian government, the private sector, and civil society. Overall, the outcomes of the Bank program in Nigeria are rated as moderately unsatisfactory. This reflects an improvement relative to IEG's 2000–04 assessment, which rated the outcome of Bank assistance as unsatisfactory. The current assessment recognizes the country's signal achievements in maintaining macroeconomic stability and laying the basis for more effective and cost-efficient performance of the central government. There are major risks associated with this, however. The earnings from Nigeria's oil and gas resources require strong management that puts the national interest ahead of that of individuals and state governments. In the fragmented context of Nigerian politics, that is a tough proposition to maintain. If the government shows the necessary leadership and successfully leverages the resources it has to provide incentives to state governments to do a better job of delivering social services, there is the potential for real progress in reducing poverty and achieving the MDGs.

Sammelrezension von: 1. Inci Dirim / Paul Mecheril (Hrsg.): Migration und Bildung. Soziologische und erziehungswissenschaftliche Schlaglichter. Münster u.a.: Waxmann 2009 (292 S.; ISBN 978-3-8309-2109-7; 29,90 EUR); 2. Inci Dirim / Mechtild Gomolla / Sabine Hornberg / Paul Mecheril / Krassimir Stojanov (Hrsg.): Spannungsverhältnisse. Assimilationsdiskurse und interkulturell-pädagogische Forschung. Münster u.a.: Waxmann 2010. (212 S.; ISBN 978-3-8309-2130-1; 24,90 EUR).

This evaluation assesses the outcomes of World Bank Group's (WBG's) development support to the West Bank and Gaza for the period 2001-09. It covers the programs of the World Bank - International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The main objectives of the WBG program were broad, reflecting the extremely volatile political situation, characterized by frequent humanitarian and economic crises that required abrupt shifts in the Bank's strategy. The WB is both the main economic adviser to the Quartet on the Middle East and the administrator of large donor trust funds. The WBG made important contributions in identifying obstacles to development, estimating their costs, and promoting the search for reasonable compromises. The Bank Group program needs to recognize that the long-term development effectiveness of its support is heavily dependent on the Israeli-Palestinian political framework, as well as close alignment of its efforts with those of other donors. Other specific recommendations of this evaluation include: developing a medium-term strategy with a focused results framework; exploring opportunities for closer cooperation with Arab donors; helping the Palestinian Authority (PA) to develop a long-term strategy to reduce aid dependence; and identifying opportunities for Israeli-Palestinian cooperation on different aspects of development.

The East Asia and Pacific region is characterized by wide variations in sources of healthcarefinancing, pooling of funds, purchasing of care services, and the extent to which thesepolicy instruments and programs provide social protection. Existing healthcare financingsystems in the region are under increasing pressure from a continued prevalence ofcommunicable diseases, an emergence of non communicable diseases, and a rapidlyaging population.Large inequalities between the poor and the prosperous in their access to healthcarefinancing mechanisms can be reformed and strengthened to improve outco

This overview summarizes the key findings of the eight chapters and one policy note. It is organized as follows. The first section provides a background of Guangdong, while the second describes the current situation of inequality in the province. Next is a discussion of the potential impacts of the transfer of industrial activities ('industrial transfer') in mitigating regional disparity, followed by the recommendation of a three pillar strategy for Guangdong. The fifth section focuses on the elimination of absolute poverty through the minimum living allowance (Dibao) system, and the sixth turns to policy actions needed to increase opportunities for the rural population by moving them to jobs, increasing their access to finance, and ensuring that their land rights are better protected. The seventh section further assesses Guangdong's options for investing in people through more equitable service delivery in compulsory education, skill development, and health care, with the aim of enhancing the capacity of the poor to seize and utilize opportunities. The last section concludes this overview.