Suchergebnisse

The focus of this paper is on the institutions outside the executive branch that include supreme audit institutions, legislative oversight bodies (such as parliamentary public accounts and budget committees, and ombudsmen), related independent bodies, and civil society organizations. Through their support for accountability, donor countries and international financial institutions seek to help countries: promote voice and accountability as an intrinsic human right, and improve development outcomes in terms of poverty reduction, sustainable development. The report is organized as: first, provide a brief literature review of research on accountability, and how donors and other actors can work to improve it, including a review of the experience of other bilateral and multilateral donors in supporting domestic accountability through their policies, strategies, and behaviors as well as through direct support to accountability actors and systems. Second, briefly review the guidance prepared for Bank staff toward enhancing accountability. Third, review some examples of the Bank's experience in supporting domestic accountability. Finally, we present some conclusions and accountability-related questions for further analysis.

Sustainable investment (SI) has a strong niche foothold in Sub-Saharan Africa, anchored in the region's largest investment market, South Africa. Yet more work is needed, at policy and portfolio levels, to grow this investment theme. This report recommends measures to expand SI in Sub-Saharan Africa. It forecasts that over the next five years there will be considerable growth of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations applied to investment in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. While these three countries form the basis of the study, the lion's share of data and observations emerged from South Africa, which is home to the continent's most developed capital markets.

This assessment of Zambia's investment climate highlights some of the impediments to growth and export diversification in the current business environment in the country. It is based on an analysis of enterprise survey data specifically collected for the purpose, namely, the World Bank's Zambia Enterprise Survey of 2008. The report is in two volumes. Volume I is an overview, while Volume II is the final report, whose introductory chapter sets the stage for the analysis of microeconomic aspects of business environment in the following chapters. Chapter 2 analyzes manufacturing productivity in an international perspective as a proximate determinant of manufactured exports. Chapter 3 discusses key business environment variables as underlying factors in manufacturing employment and productivity, and draws the main policy implications of the assessment. Chapter 4 is a more in-depth analysis of disparity in access to finance across firms and sectors as a major source of market distortions and allocative inefficiency. Chapter 5 discusses labor market issues with a focus on labor regulation, wage formation and on-the-job training.

Il presente lavoro si prefigge la finalità di analizzare taluni aspetti legati al diritto reale di abitazione, con speciale riferimento al divieto di cessione del predetto diritto previsto dall'articolo 1024 del codice civile. Tale problematica, inoltre, è strettamente connessa anche ad altri aspetti pratici, quali l'ipotecabilità e l'espropriabilità del predetto diritto reale. In particolare è apparso opportuno approfondire preliminarmente taluni profili di carattere generale riguardanti il diritto di abitazione, nei limiti in cui essi fossero funzionali alla ricostruzione che si è tentato di proporre. A tal fine, sono stati affrontati alcuni aspetti, quali la natura giuridica e i presupposti soggettivi ed oggettivi, in quanto ritenuti propedeutici al prosieguo della trattazione. In particolare l'esclusione del diritto d' abitazione dal novero dei diritti ipotecabili ha sollevato diverse questioni in dottrina e in giurisprudenza. L'inattitudine del predetto diritto ad essere oggetto d'iscrizione ipotecaria deve essere necessariamente valutato alla luce della propria disciplina. Il diritto d'abitazione consente al titolare di abitare una casa "limitatamente ai bisogni suoi e della sua famiglia" (art. 1022 cod. civ.). Il rapporto che si instaura a seguito della costituzione del diritto è fondato sull'intuitus personae, sia sotto il profilo del contenuto del diritto che sotto il profilo del rapporto dell'habitator con il proprietario dell'immobile. La limitazione dell'esercizio del diritto al soddisfacimento dei bisogni del suo titolare, infatti, da una parte implica che il suo trasferimento ad un terzo potrebbe mutarne il contenuto, con eventuale nocumento per il proprietario; dall'altra implica che qualora la casa risulti di estensione maggiore rispetto alle esigenze dell'habitator, il proprietario potrà goderne per la parte eccedente: il titolare del diritto reale d'abitazione non avrebbe infatti titolo ad opporsi alle ingerenze del proprietario, nei limiti in cui quest'ultimo non molesti il libero godimento dell'altra parte dell'abitazione. Anche sotto questo secondo profilo emerge la personalità del rapporto, essendo rilevante per il proprietario la persona del titolare del diritto, con il quale potrebbe anche trovarsi dover convivere. Tali motivazioni costituiscono la ratio alla base del divieto di cessione e di locazione del diritto in esame, ex art. 1024 cod. civ. Tale divieto costituisce a sua volta il fondamento dell'esclusione del diritto d'abitazione (e d'uso) dall'elenco dei diritti ipotecabili ex art. 2810 cod. civ. La realizzazione della causa di garanzia, infatti, implica che la situazione sostanziale dedotta quale oggetto dell'ipoteca sia alienabile, non potendo immaginarsi una vendita forzata del diritto ove di questo non possa normalmente disporne il titolare. Probabilmente a ciò è legata anche la precisazione posta dall'art. 2810 n. 1) cod. civ., per cui sono ipotecabili gli immobili "che sono in commercio". L'ammissibilità dell'iscrizione ipotecaria sul diritto d'abitazione postula il riconoscimento della sua trasferibilità: è dunque necessaria un'analisi della portata del divieto di cessione di tale diritto posto dall'art. 1024 cod. civ. Come accennato, infatti, tale divieto è posto al fine di tutelare la posizione del proprietario dell'immobile, e dunque a presidio di interessi di natura privatistica: la regola sarebbe quindi applicabile ove non sia diversamente disposto dal titolo costitutivo, mentre con l'accordo di proprietario ed habitator potrebbe prevedersi una più o meno libera cedibilità, grazie al consenso della parte che la disciplina codicistica mira a tutelare. In merito è stato obiettato che il divieto di cessione non solo sia disposto a tutela della posizione del nudo proprietario, ma faccia parte del contenuto stesso del diritto, in quanto al variare del titolare sono destinate a variare anche le esigenze in base alle quali il contenuto di detto diritto è parametrato. In tale ottica, la possibilità che esso circoli, seppure con il consenso del nudo proprietario, porterebbe a rendere variabile la portata stessa del diritto, con conseguente violazione del principio di tipicità e del numerus clausus dei diritti reali, in quanto risulterebbero alterati gli aspetti caratterizzanti della disciplina tipica dell'istituto. Qualora si ritenessero accoglibili siffatte osservazioni, dovrebbe conseguentemente ritenersi che il divieto di cui all'art. 1024 cod. civ. sia inderogabile anche con il consenso del nudo proprietario contro interessato. Il principio della tipicità e del numerus clausus dei diritti reali, infatti, è posto a tutela di interessi di carattere generale, ed ha dunque valenza pubblicistica. Tale principio, come noto, risponde all'esigenza di consentire ai terzi di essere preventivamente a conoscenza dell'esistenza di pesi o vincoli opponibili erga omnes, con conseguente tutela del commercio giuridico; persegue inoltre l'utilità socio-economica di salvaguardare, per quanto possibile, la libertà, l'assolutezza e la pienezza della proprietà fondiaria, ed assurge dunque a principio di rilevanza costituzionale. Altro fondamento del divieto è stato, inoltre, riscontrato in via indiretta nel disposto di cui all'art. 1372 c. 3 cod. civ., per cui è inibita alle parti la stipulazione di contratti ad effetti reali oltre i casi previsti dalla legge. Inoltre, i fautori dell'inderogabilità del divieto ritengono che non sia applicabile al diritto d'abitazione la disciplina che consente il trasferimento dell'usufrutto per un certo tempo o per tutta la sua durata, se non vietato dal titolo costitutivo (art. 980 cod. civ.), mancando in tal caso la compatibilità tra discipline richiesta dall'art. 1026 cod. civ. Nell'usufrutto, infatti, la tutela del nudo proprietario deriva dal fatto che la durata massima del diritto gravante sull'immobile di sua titolarità è ancorata alla durata dell'originario usufrutto su esso costituito. Conseguentemente la cessione del diritto non rischierebbe di produrre una limitazione ulteriore al pieno estendersi delle facoltà proprietarie. Diversamente, in ipotesi di cessione del diritto d'abitazione, la mutevolezza dei bisogni del titolare e della sua famiglia non consente di riprodurre in via pattizia una limitazione del diritto di proprietà che risulti indifferente per il nudo proprietario: la coincidenza dei bisogni del cedente e della sua famiglia con quelli del cessionario e della sua famiglia, infatti, rappresenterebbe un dato verificabile solo a posteriori. La difficoltà di conciliare il patto in deroga al divieto di cessione del diritto d'abitazione con il principio di tipicità dei diritti reali ha condotto parte della dottrina a giustificarne l'ammissibilità ritenendo che esso trasformerebbe il diritto d'abitazione in un altro diritto reale (con conseguente mancata creazione di un diritto reale atipico). In tale ottica, in sede interpretativa potrebbe ritenersi che, con la stipulazione del patto di libera trasferibilità, le parti abbiano inteso in realtà costituire un diritto d'usufrutto, ovvero stipulare un contratto di comodato o di locazione, o che comunque tale diverso diritto esse avrebbero inteso costituire qualora fossero state a conoscenza della nullità del patto (arg. ex art. 1424 cod. civ.). Diversa dall'ipotesi del preventivo patto di cedibilità è quella del trasferimento del diritto con contestuale costituzione in atto di nudo proprietario ed habitator. In tal caso, infatti, il trasferimento potrebbe ottenersi attraverso una rinuncia abdicativa ( la quale deve avere forma scritta art.1350 n.5 e deve essere trascritta ai sensi dell'articolo 2643 n.5) da parte dell'habitator al proprio diritto, con conseguente espansione della nuda proprietà in proprietà piena in virtù del principio di elasticità del dominio. Alla luce di tali premesse, può osservarsi quanto segue. L' intrasferibilità di un diritto reale viene ad incidere anche sulla valutazione del legislatore in ordine all' ipotecabilità del medesimo. La non assoggettabilità ad ipoteca non è conseguenza necessaria dell'inalienabilità, e in diversi casi, pur essendo prevista l'intrasferibilità del diritto, non si esclude che il diritto stesso possa essere ipotecato. Tuttavia, qualora l'intrasferibilità sia connessa, come nel caso dell'abitazione alla natura del diritto, e dunque all'esigenza di preservarne l'identità, che sarebbe invece compromessa dalla circolazione del diritto, le medesime ragioni che valgono ad escluderne l'alienabilità assumono valore determinante anche al fine di escluderne l'assoggettabilità ad ipoteca. E' pacifico l'orientamento secondo il quale il diritto di abitazione, come quello d'uso e il diritto di servitù, non può essere oggetto di ipoteca in quanto non è ricompreso nell'elencazione dell'articolo 2810 del codice civile. L'ipotecabilità di tale diritto non è prevista nemmeno da leggi speciali. Pertanto deve ritenersi che il diritto di abitazione sia inidoneo ad essere oggetto d'ipoteca anche a causa del suo carattere inalienabile. Nel secondo capitolo è stato affrontato il diritto di abitazione spettante al coniuge superstite. La norma di riferimento, l'articolo 540 comma secondo, si trova, com'è noto, nella parte del libro II dedicato ai diritti spettanti ai legittimari e alla loro tutela, e la sua ratio - secondo la Corte Costituzionale (sentenza n. 310 del 26 maggio 1989) va ricercata nella tutela di interessi non patrimoniali quali la conservazione della memoria del coniuge scomparso, il mantenimento del tenore di vita, delle relazioni sociali e degli status symbols goduti durante il matrimonio. La natura giuridica dei diritti ex articolo 540 comma secondo non solo riveste notevole interesse teorico al fine di testare la "messa a punto" degli ingranaggi del complesso meccanismo successorio, ma costituisce un imprescindibile punto di partenza per affrontare - e provare a risolvere - tutte le implicazioni di carattere pratico ed operativo che si presentano all'operatore del diritto. Il diritto di abitazione si "attiva" solo in presenza di determinati presupposti: 1) viene, innanzitutto, in rilievo un PRESUPPOSTO SOGGETTIVO Deve infatti esistere un CONIUGE SUPERSTITE al momento dell'apertura della successione. Il presupposto soggettivo è rispettato anche se il coniuge superstite sia SEPARATO CONSENSUALMENTE o SENZA ADDEBITO? L'articolo 585 c.c. attribuisce al coniuge separato consensualmente o senza addebito gli stessi diritti successori spettanti al coniuge non separato, per cui dovremmo - sulla base di un'applicazione letterale e rigorosa della norma - affermare che ad esso spetti anche il diritto di abitare la casa familiare. Senonchè, in tal caso, risulta "imbarazzante" parlare di abitazione adibita a "residenza familiare" e la norma non avrebbe ragione di essere applicata, venuta meno la sua ratio così come individuata dalla corte costituzionale. 2) viene, poi, in rilievo, quale PRESUPPOSTO OGGETTIVO indispensabile per l'operatività della disciplina in oggetto, l'esistenza di una CASA ADIBITA A RESIDENZA FAMILIARE DI PROPRIETÀ DEL DEFUNTO O COMUNE. Coerentemenente dovrebbe anche sostenerne la sua TRASCRIVIBILITA' A ciò, tuttavia, si oppongono ragioni di ordine pratico: per l'esecuzione della formalità è necessario uno dei titoli previsti dall'articolo 2648 c.c. che, evidentemente, mancano ogniqualvolta si apra una successione legittima. ; The present work aims the purpose of analyzing certain aspects related to the real right of residence, with special reference to the prohibition of the sale of that right under article 1024 of the Civil Code. This issue is also closely related to other practical aspects, such as ipotecabilità and espropriabilità predicted real right. In particular appeared to be investigated preliminarily certain profiles of general questions about the right to housing, to the extent that they were functional reconstruction attempted to propose. To this end, they dealt with some aspects, such as the legal nature and assumptions subjective and objective, as it was considered preparatory to the continuation of the discussion. In particular, the exclusion of the right of 'house from the list of rights ipotecabili raised several issues in doctrine and in jurisprudence. The inadequacy of that law to be the subject of mortgage registration have to be assessed in the light of their own discipline. The right of residence permit the holder to live in a house, "limited to his needs and his family" (Art. 1022 cod. Civ.). The relationship that develops as a result of the establishment of the right is founded sull'intuitus personae, both in terms of the content of the law and in terms of the relationship dell'habitator with the property owner. The limitation of the right to meet the needs of its owner, in fact, on the one hand implies that his transfer to a third party could changing its content, with possible harm to the owner; the other implies that if the house appears wider than the needs dell'habitator, the owner will enjoy it for the excess: the holder of the real right of residence would not in fact entitled to oppose the interference of the owner, to the extent where this does not harassing the free enjoyment of the other part of the house. Also in this second profile emerges the personality of the report, being relevant to the owner the person of the right holder, with which it could also be having to live. These reasons are the rationale for the prohibition of the sale and lease of the right in question, pursuant to art. 1024 cod. civ. This prohibition is in turn the basis for exclusion of the right of residence (and use) the list of rights ipotecabili art. 2810 cod. civ. The realization of the cause of guarantee, in fact, implies that the situation substantially deducted as an object of the mortgage is alienable, unable to imagine a forced sale of the right of where this can not freely dispose of the holder. Probably this is also linked to the specification laid down by. 2810 n. 1) cod. civ., why are ipotecabili properties "that are on the market." The eligibility enrollment mortgage on the right of residence demands acknowledgment of its portability, so it is necessary to analyze the scope of the prohibition of the sale of such right place art. 1024 cod. civ. As mentioned, in fact, such a ban is placed in order to protect the position of the property owner, and therefore in defense of the interests of private nature: the rule would be applicable where it is otherwise entitled constitutive, while with the agreement owner and habitator could be foreseen a more or less free transferability, thanks to permission from the legal provision is intended to protect. About it has been argued that the prohibition of the sale not only is willing to protect the position of the bare owner, but is part of the content of the law, because the variation of the holder are intended to vary the demands under which the content of that law is equated. In this context, the possibility that it circles, albeit with the consent of the bare owner, would make variable the scope of the right, resulting in violation of the principle of typicality and the quantitative ceiling of the real rights, as would be altered the characteristic features typical of the discipline of the institute. If you consider it acceptable in such observations should therefore be concluded that the prohibition in Article. 1024 cod. civ. is unavoidable even with the consent of the bare owner against concerned. The principle of typicality and the quantitative ceiling of real rights, in fact, is designed to protect the interests of a general nature, and therefore value journalism. This principle, as is known, meets the need to enable third parties to be previously aware of the existence of weights or constraints opposable erga omnes, resulting in protection of the legal trade; also pursues the socio-economic utility to preserve, as far as possible, the freedom, the absoluteness and fullness of landed property, and then rises to the principle of constitutional significance. Another basis for the prohibition was also found indirectly in the provision of art. 1372 c. 3 cod. civ., it is inhibited to the parties entering into contracts with real effects beyond the cases provided by law. Moreover, proponents of the ban dell'inderogabilità believe that it is not applicable to the right of residence discipline that allows the transfer of the usufruct for a time or for its entire duration, if not prohibited by the title of incorporation (art. 980 cod . Civ.), lacking in this case the compatibility between disciplines required by art. 1026 cod. civ. Nell'usufrutto, in fact, the protection of the bare owner comes from the fact that the maximum duration of the right levied on the property in its ownership is anchored to the duration of the original usufruct of it consists. Consequently, the transfer of the right might not produce a further limitation to the full extend of the proprietary right. Otherwise, in the event of transfer of the right to housing, the changing needs of the owner and his family can not play on a covenantal a limitation of the right to property that is indifferent to the bare owner: the coincidence of the needs of the transferor and of his family with the assignee and his family, in fact, represent a verifiable data only in retrospect. The difficulty of reconciling the pact in derogation from the prohibition of the sale of the right of residence to the principle of typicality of property rights has led some commentators to justify their eligibility believing that it would transform the right of residence in another real right ( resulting in failure to create a real right atypical). In this context, in the interpretative could be considered that, with the signing of the pact of free transferability, the parties intended to actually be a right to use, or enter into a contract of loan or lease, or that such a different law they would be understood if they had been aware of the invalidity of the covenant (arg. art. 1424 cod. civ.). Different from the hypothesis of the budget pact transferability is that of the transfer of the right with simultaneous constitution in place of bare owner and habitator. In this case, the transfer could be obtained through a waiver abdicativa (which must be in writing and must be transcribed art.1350 n.5 under Article 2643 # 5) by dell'habitator his right, resulting in expansion of the bare property in full ownership by virtue of the principle of elasticity domain. In light of the foregoing, it can be observed the following. The 'non-transferability of a real right is to affect also the assessment of the legislature in order to' ipotecabilità thereof. The not being subject to mortgage is not necessary consequence inalienability, and in several cases, even though there is the non-transferability of the right, it is possible that the law itself may be mortgaged. However, where the non-transferability is connected, as in the case of the dwelling to the nature of the right, and therefore the need to preserve the identity, which would be affected by the movement of the right, the same reasons as apply to exclude the alienability take decisive value also in order to exclude the liability to mortgage. And 'peaceful orientation according to which the right to housing, such as the right of use and easement, can not be the subject of mortgage as there is included in listing of Article 2810 of the Civil Code. The ipotecabilità of this right is not provided even by special laws. Therefore, it must be held that the right to housing is unfit to be the subject of mortgage also because of its inalienable character. In the second chapter was addressed the right to housing payable to the surviving spouse. The reference standard, Article 540 paragraph two, is, as is well known, in part II of the book devoted to the rights due to the heirs and their protection, and its ratio - according to the Constitutional Court (judgment no. 310 of 26 May 1989) to be found in the protection of non-pecuniary interests such as the conservation of the memory of deceased spouse, maintaining the standard of living, social relations and status symbols enjoyed during the marriage. The legal nature of the rights under Article 540 paragraph two not only of considerable theoretical interest in order to test the "fine tuning" of the gears of the complex mechanism of inheritance, but is an essential starting point to address - and try to solve - all practical and operational implications that are presented to the operator's right. The right to housing is "active" only under certain conditions: 1) is, first, raised a ASSUMPTION SUBJECTIVE Must in fact exist a SURVIVING SPOUSE upon opening of the succession. The subjective condition is fulfilled even if the surviving spouse is a separate agreement or WITHOUT CHARGE? Article 585 of the Civil Code attaches to the separated spouse or consensually without charge the same inheritance rights pertaining to the spouse not separated, so we should - based on a literal application of the standard and rigorous - say that it is also entitled the right to inhabit the family home. Except that, in this case, is "embarrassing" to speak of dwelling used as a "family home" and the norm would have no reason to apply, failed its ratio as identified by the Constitutional Court. 2) is, then, in relief, which ASSUMPTION OBJECTIVE indispensable for the operation of the discipline in question, the existence of a HOUSE USED AS A FAMILY RESIDENCE OR COMMON PROPERTY OF THE DECEASED. Coerentemenente should also sustain its TRASCRIVIBILITA ' To this, however, oppose practical reasons: for the execution of the formalities you need one of the securities provided for in Article 2648 cc who obviously lacking whenever you open a legitimate succession. ; Dottorato di ricerca in Persona, impresa e lavoro: dal diritto interno a quello internazionale (XXVII ciclo)

Having reached the mark of 2,118 delegates, Barack Obama has gone from candidate in the closest head-to-head primary ever to presumptive nominee. Appropriately, he will accept the nomination at the August convention in Denver, on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. This is political history in the making: he is the first African-American to be the head of the presidential ticket of a major party. After years of angst and self doubt, there is a renewed optimism on the street, and a whole new group of voters has been mobilized. However, Obama, who has run on a message of hope and change, faces an extremely difficult path ahead. His vulnerabilities have become apparent in the succession of events over the last few weeks of this long primary season.He lost nine of the last fourteen primaries, including South Dakota, where he was favored (55% to 45%), and Puerto Rico (68% to 42%); he has had to cut ties with his Church due to its radicalism and anti-establishment stance, and, one day after Obama claimed the nomination, one of his top fund-raisers was found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering in a federal court in Chicago. Now his campaign will have to overcome this dry patch and move forward to the greater challenge, that of defeating McCain. His next task at hand is to choose a vice-president, and this, too, poses a serious dilemma.In the first place, Hillary Rodham-Clinton took five days to acknowledge defeat, giving cause for some speculation that she is pressing for the vice-presidential spot with the implied threat that she will continue fighting all the way to the convention. She has the right to do so, if we consider the fact that she has won all of the big states and probably a larger number of the popular vote (around 18 million). And, as she not so humbly claims, she is the more experienced candidate who could better stand up to McCain. On the other hand, there is great concern that Barack's image as the unconventional, charismatic, post-modern Washington outsider will be damaged if he chooses her. So the decision will require reflection, pondering and a lot of vetting interviews of alternative candidates.Much ink will be spent in speculating why Hillary lost the primary. Here, I will just offer a few reflections, leaving the second guessing of the way her campaign was run to those who will manically analyze every decision taken, every tactic used, every gesture, every word, and will have their eureka moments when finding the flaw, the error, the underestimation that brought her down. And yet, quite often fate, luck and other imponderables irrevocably determine the outcome of a narrow race, regardless of the brilliant strategies of the campaign managers, advisers and other experts. It has already been said that Rodham Clinton started her campaign as the inevitable candidate, as the incumbent, and that her sense of entitlement turned many voters away. At the same time, her main message was one of change, of moving forward, of undoing the Bush legacy, but Obama co-opted that message, and he was much more convincing as an agent of change. Hillary began her campaign running not as a woman, but as the most hardened and experienced, candidate that would deliver both peace and prosperity to all Americans. Obama ran from the beginning as the post-racial candidate and this theme remained constant throughout his campaign. She was trying to woo independents and disaffected Republicans and had thus to prove that she was as tough as John McCain. Obama had no intention of treading down that path, which he derided as part of the Washington game. Instead, he stuck fearlessly to his convictions. It was this independent streak, his absolute confidence in the soundness of his cool, post-modern world vision that was irresistible to the young voters. This should not obfuscate the fact that both ran historic campaigns and have unremittingly shattered the barriers of gender and race in American politics at the highest level. Still, the promise of change was more credible when pledged by the young unknown than by the seasoned insider. With no substantial philosophical differences between the two, the richer contrast was all inspiration and charisma versus politics as usual.First of all, we need to consider a fundamental fact: even if the media and their respective campaigns have played up the differences between the two candidates, their basic policy choices and ideologies are one and the same. From health care to fiscal policy, from education to foreign policy, there may be some minimal disagreements but they both share the basic ideology of more equitable economic distribution, protection of civil rights and overall tolerance toward others that typify Democrats in the United States. Some observers may bring up Hillary's vote in favor of the Iraqi invasion of 2003 as evidence of an important disagreement, and also a cause of her loss of popularity in the early stages of the campaign. That certainly did her harm, which is ironic because, in academic and political circles alike, few believe it represents her real conviction. As a Senator for New York and a future presidential candidate, she carefully chose to vote in favor of a war that, in October 2002, had a high rate of approval among the population, who had clearly bought the Republican idea that the invasion "over there" would make us safer "over here". At the time, she hedged that gamble against the fact that "there was enough evidence" Saddam was piling up WMDs, which had little to do with 9-11 and Al Qaeda. But a scared populace is an easy target for deception and false reassurances. Intent on proving her masculine toughness on security issues, she fell into the Republican trap. Five years down the road, this carefully measured decision came back to haunt her, and the controversy over that vote generated an enormous surge of support for Obama that might have created the momentum that helped him win the early contests, namely, the Iowa caucuses and the wins of February 5th. This momentum, coupled with the televised debates, proved he was a worthy, viable candidate; it brought the media to his side and attracted new voters. He irradiated a cool self-assurance, a subdued charm, an understated intelligence that was indeed enchanting to young voters, to black voters and to hard core Democrats tired of the vitriol of Washington. The country, it seemed, was ready for Obama. His timing was impeccable and had the effect of making Rodham-Clinton look tired, strident and blasé. The media had found its golden boy and started treating Hillary as the intruder, who would do anything to prevent a new Camelot.After his initial sweep, Hillary slowly started to recover and as the campaign progressed, her message became more focused and she found her voice. She switched strategies and, from being the more experienced candidate that would deliver peace and prosperity to all Americans, she turned back to her traditional constituencies, namely, women and blue-collar workers. Speaking to her strengths, namely, her devotion to public service and her familiarity with the intricacies of policy-making, she became a great communicator that invariably connected with her audiences. And she started winning again.Even those that dislike her have to acknowledge her skills as a campaigner, her endurance and poise under tremendous pressure and, more importantly, her dramatic recovery of the popular vote towards the end of the campaign, which made her claim to bring this battle to the convention quite legitimate. Her wins in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, as well as her immense support in the Hispanic community as shown by the Puerto Rican vote, cannot be discounted by the party when it looks ahead to the national election in November.One should bear in mind that these primaries were the closest contest in primary history, and in spite of having the whole media establishment against her from the beginning, Hillary did not at any time show signs of faltering or self-doubt and never allowed herself to make the road easier for Obama. She stayed on message, speaking to the issues, proving she was ready to become the first woman president. Both her competency and her warmth gained her a huge following. But once she lost the media she also started losing the super-delegates from inside the party. One after the other, the big names in the party started lining up behind Obama: Tom Daschle, Ted and Caroline Kennedy, Christopher Dodd, Bill Richardson, and towards the end, even John Edwards.This took many by surprise, and is related to another phenomenon that very few had perceived before: the animosity that the Clintons, especially Bill, provoke from within the party itself. Although Bill and Hillary are the most powerful brand name in the Democratic Party, there is a surprising amount of anger against them that had remained latent till now. Bill Clinton's harsh remarks in South Carolina primary astonished many and may have hurt her campaign, reinforcing the perception that the Clintons would do anything, even play the race card, in order to win the White House.Then there was the question of demographics and identity politics. Although Rodham-Clinton attempted to run as the candidate for all, after the first losses and as she increasingly won the vote of women and blue collar workers, she turned to her natural constituencies. She started running as a woman and as the champion of the working class. In her new more populist persona, she also won among Jews, Catholics and rural workers. Obama did best among college educated youth, intellectuals and black voters. In other words, they both win the identity vote. Identity has come up often during the campaign, and not in a positive way. Irate at the way the media were treating Hillary and indulging Obama especially in interviews (there was even a sketch in Saturday Night Live that parodied this noticeable difference), Geraldine Ferraro accused the media of sexism and went as far as saying that Obama would not be treated with so much deference if he was a white man. After disproportionate outcry by the media and the public, Clinton had to fire Ferraro as her advisor. Thus, bringing up sexism completely backfired for Hillary.The irony once again, is that Identity Politics is most likely the prism through which both Hillary and Obama, see America: as a society divided by categories of class, gender, race, ethnicity and sexual preference. His as well as her policies are informed by this view. But Obama skillfully downplays it and tries to portray himself as the candidate for all Americans who want change and are tired of Washington politics. He does not deny that race and gender play a role in politics but prefers not to bring it up since it is "not productive". His strategy has paid off so far, but this topic will certainly be revisited in the national election. Due to his background and life experience, McCain has a very different view based on patriotism and service to the country, on individual responsibility and a common civic culture. He will find a way to turn the notion of Identity Politics against Obama, who, in spite of his unifying message, often speaks about redressing balances and ending injustice.Finally, the closeness of the race and the resilience of these two formidable candidates were again in display towards its end, and led to a new critical stage. The momentum that had carried Obama through the early and middle stages started to weaken. As time went by, more scrutiny brought up the issue of his membership in a radical Black Liberation Theology Church, the (inane) fact that he did not wear a US flag pin on his lapel (a symbol of patriotism that became particularly important after 9-11, when even academics came under no small degree of peer pressure to wear one), and this past week, the conviction by a Chicago federal jury of former fund-raiser and friend, Antoin Retzko.As momentum weakened, and as Clinton seemed to resurrect and come closer to Obama in the delegate count, party rules regarding delegate selection became more important . Because in most primaries there has been an early front-runner, and because the last primary contest that had to be taken all the way to the convention without a presumptive nominee was in 1976, very few party leaders and even fewer journalists are aware of the rules. As they began to play out, we were all submitted to a crash course on these intra-party rules. The Democratic Party has a centralized structure, so all states play by the same rules, and its selection system is based on proportional representation, the most democratic form of representation: within each state, any candidate that reaches a threshold of 15% of votes is allocated delegates proportionally to the vote. This, while it is better for representation, tends to prolong the race and make it closer. While Clinton was recovering and making important gains, Obama still continued to pick up a few delegates here and there, and the media kept its constant drum roll in his favor. Super-delegates were swayed to his side, irrevocably. In contrast, Republicans have a decentralized structure so that each state establishes its own rules, and most choose a winner-take-all selection system. This system, while less democratic and representative, enabled them to have a clear winner by March, with all the advantages that that entails.This year a very peculiar situation arose out of Michigan and Florida, where the state governments scheduled the primaries too early, in breach of the Democratic Party rules, so the Democratic National Committee determined they would not seat their delegates. There were 313 delegates at stake. Obama withdrew his name from the ballot in Michigan, and did not campaign in Florida. Clinton won both. At that time nobody thought this issue would become decisive for the nomination, but in such a close race, it certainly did. Last weekend the DNC met with representative so both sides and settled on a formula that allocated delegates to both in a very non-scientific way. It gave each of those delegated half a vote at the convention. While the formula was accepted by both sides, it has been perceived as a bonus for Obama, whose name was not even on the ballot in Michigan and yet he still got delegates allocated. This may still come up again at the National Convention in August. Many factors have thus combined to make Obama the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. In addition to momentum and rules we should also consider the fortunate pairing of Obama to the spirit of the times. The timing for an unconventional candidate could not have been better, and he emerged as the prophetic leader the times demanded. His demeanor, his background, and his non-assuming attitude, all make for the perfect post-modern candidate. The public embraced him and the media anointed him. Now, the question still remains, is his "gift of grace" strong enough to unify America? Can he summon the support he needs to win a national election? Given the complex electoral system based on state votes and an electoral college, and not on the popular vote, can he win the major states and the swing states?Here is where the selection of a vice-president becomes crucial.There is a big movement both from the grassroots and from Clintonites inside the party (yes, there are still some left!) to pressure Obama to pick Hillary as running mate. There are of course, both huge advantages and dismal disadvantages for Obama to ponder in his selection. His first consideration must be to win the election, but he also needs to be able to govern, once he wins.Hillary would bring in those votes that have eluded Obama: mature women, blue collar, rural. Seventy-six of her supporters want her to be Vice-president. She energizes audiences and has won the hearts of all those groups above-mentioned. They feel very strongly about her place in History and demand respect for their candidate. Some may not even come out to vote if Obama's ticket does not include her. She would also help win the big states (she won them all, among them California, Texas and New York) and the swing states, noticeable among them, Ohio, that determined Bush's victory in 04. On the other hand, she does evoke the past in the minds of many voters, and she is now undoubtedly a Washington insider (in fact, her experience has been counted as both an asset and a liability in this sense). She would distort Obama's image as the unconventional candidate, and his message of change and hope may be, if not lost, at least diminished.Insofar as governing, their ideologies and policy positions are perfectly compatible, if not identical, so that would not constitute a problem. She has been studying the intricacies of policy and politics since she was a university student at Wellesley College. She is capable, efficient, convincing and tireless. She is experienced in navigating the meandering straits of policy making, and can muster bipartisan support with her well-reasoned arguments.Another often-mentioned handicap is Bill Clinton himself. With his larger than life personality, can he play prince consort? Or would he be the one that governs behind the scenes, and have his own shadow cabinet, Cheney-style? His reputation has suffered a lot lately, not any more because of that infamous blue dress but because he has not disclosed the list of donors to his library, among which there allegedly are several Middle Eastern governments. There is real vitriol against him, and that is directly transferred to Hillary.For now, both candidates seem to be catching their breaths.Hillary postponed her concession speech for as long as possible, some say to put pressure on Obama to include her in the ticket. Barack, on his part, has quietly named a vetting team for a vice-presidential search. Caroline Kennedy is among its members, as is Eric Holden, President Clinton's former attorney- general. It is headed by Jim Johnson, former Chairman of Fannie Mae, who vetted VPs for John Kerry and Walter Mondale. After exhaustive interviews and background checks, Obama will decide.In the last two months of the campaign, the pundits were prone to repeating that the "math" was against Hillary. This was a gross oversimplification of a race that was characterized by peculiar circumstances and surprises at every turn, and one which was less about math than about intangibles: momentum, media frenzy, rules, emotions, charisma and zeitgeist . In the end, however, it may all very well come down to the "math": if Barack can be convinced that he needs Hillary to win against McCain, then he will pick her as his VP and put the rest of his concerns aside. This will also heal party wounds and bring into the fold her loyal constituencies. But public opinion is fickle, politics is an inexact science and many times emotions can trump the best thought- out and scientifically devised plans. Like Sisyphus rolling the boulder up the mountain, Obama may find he has to prove himself all over again and then come out empty-handed in November.In the meantime, and just for good measure, Obama, the "transformative candidate" is now wearing a US flag pin on his lapel.Puerto Ricans do not have the right to vote in national elections due to the "associated state "status, but they can vote in primary elections.This dynamic in the relationship between momentum and rules has been pointed out in a recent article by Jason Bello and Robert Shapiro, published in the Political Science Quarterly, vol. 123 No.1 Spring 08.Super delegates are unpledged party leaders who do not have to declare their presidential preferences until balloting takes place at the ConventionSenior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Geography Director, ODU Model United Nations Program Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia

Aging may be one of the most far-reaching processes defining the economic, fiscal, and social changes societies are likely to experience over the next 40 years. The demographic consequences of aging will have a dramatic impact on labor markets, economic growth, social structures--and government budgets. These issues have gained urgency after the second largest global recession in the past 100 years. Based on a broad comparative analysis of countries that include the EU and non-EU European and Central Asian countries, as well as several case studies and model simulations, the paper seeks to provide broad answers--tailored in part to distinct groups of countries according to their aging-fiscal profiles--to major questions facing governments budgets in aging societies: What are the fiscal-aging profiles of Western European, emerging European, and Central Asian countries? In other words, how good or bad is their fiscal situation--"initial conditions"--in view of their emerging aging-related problems? What kind of public spending pressures are likely to emerge in the coming decades, and what will be their relative importance? How do countries compare in terms of the possible impacts of aging on growth and long-term debt sustainability? What can be learned from in-depth and comparative case studies of aging, fiscal sustainability, and fiscal reform? Are there good-practice examples--countries doing things right at the right time--that may offer lessons for the others? And, perhaps most important, given the need for long-term fiscal consolidation for many countries, what kind of revenue and expenditure policy agendas are likely to emerge to mitigate the effects of aging? A key policy conclusion is that countries should aim for early rather than delayed reforms dealing with long-term aging pressures. The urgency is accentuated by the debt situations and/or adverse debt and demographic dynamics in almost all countries but also by the evolving voter preferences. As societies age and voting preferences increasingly reflect the political will of the older population, it will become more difficult to enact the necessary reforms ensuring social and fiscal sustainability.

The Sustainable Development Goals, the global development agenda for 2015 through 2030, will require unprecedented mobilization of resources to support their implementation. Their predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals, focused on a limited number of concrete, global human development targets that can be monitored by statistically robust indicators. The Millennium Development Goals set the stage for global support of ambitious development goals behind which the world must rally. The Sustainable Development Goals bring forward the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals and go even further. Because of the transformative and sustainable nature of the new development agenda, all possible resources must be mobilized if the world is to succeed in meeting its targets. Thus, the potential for Islamic finance to play a role in supporting the Sustainable Development Goals is explored in this paper. Given the principles of Islamic finance that support socially inclusive and development promoting activities, the Islamic financial sector has the potential to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The paper examines the role of Islamic financial institutions, capital markets, and the social sector in promoting strong growth, enhanced financial inclusion, and intermediation, reducing risks and vulnerability of the poor and more broadly contributing to financial stability and development.

Vietnam's economy has weathered the recent turbulence in the external environment fairly well, reflecting resilient domestic demand and robust performance of export-oriented manufacturing. Growth further accelerated to 6.5 percent (year-on-year) in the first three quarters of 2015 (after coming in at 6 percent last year). Low inflation and strengthening consumer confidence supported an uptick in private consumption while investment was lifted by robust foreign direct investment, rising government capital expenditures, and a recovery of credit growth. Exports of the foreign-invested manufacturing sector also accelerated, but this was offset by a slowdown of commodity exports and a surge in imports of capital and intermediate goods, reflecting stronger investment and the high import content of manufacturing exports.

This assessment of accounting and auditing practices in Slovenia is part of a joint initiative of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to prepare Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC). The assessment focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the accounting and auditing environment that influence the quality of corporate financial reporting and includes a review of both mandatory requirements and actual practice. This is the second A&A ROSC for Slovenia and based on information collected in 2013, early 2014. The first one was published in 2004. As the requirements of the EU acquis communautaire and international standards have already been adopted in the financial sector this assessment focuses on the proper application of these requirements, with the view that improved financial information raises the capacity of regulators to maintain financial stability, and improve the level of trust in the financial system, in the context of an ongoing recapitalization exercise. In the State Owned Enterprises, or SOEs, the report focuses on the requirements applicable to them and how well these are enforced, as well as to what extent the government uses the financial reporting and audit process to monitor SOEs and hold their management teams accountable. This report also considers SMEs financial reporting, including how current requirements compare with the latest revisions to the EU Accounting Directive, which further simplified requirements for smaller companies. Finally, audit oversight and quality assurance systems are assessed, including the feasibility of incorporating the audit oversight body as part of the financial sector supervisor.

Kenya withstood another difficult year in 2012 as policy tightening and weaker global demand slowed economic activity. With decisive fiscal and monetary policies, the government managed to restore confidence in Kenya's medium term prospects. Kenya's growth rate is still below its potential and its peers, external imbalances remain which threaten its future growth, and the pace of economic growth is not generating enough modern sector wage jobs. With the passage of the new constitution in 2010 and its implementation, stronger institutions are emerging, putting Kenya on a sound footing ready to take off. In the very short term, what remains to be done is for Kenya to deliver a credible and peaceful election in March 2013, and thereafter a smooth transfer of power. In the medium term, Kenya will need to start building a stronger foundation for growth, and undertake structural reforms to correct the external imbalances. To generate more jobs for the burgeoning educated youth population, Kenya will also need to reduce the transaction cost for firms, by reducing job-smothering corruption and the cost of doing business (particularly in transport and energy).

This policy note examines Thailand's programs for preventing poverty among the elderly, and suggests options for improving the effectiveness of these programs. The number of elderly people in Thailand will increase dramatically over the next 30 years, and the elderly already have a higher poverty rate than the population as a whole. Although Thailand currently has a total of eight pension programs, the majority of the benefits go to those who are not poor. In addition, unlike most countries, Thailand lacks a pension and provident fund supervision agency or a consolidated financial institution regulator, and does not appear to have a well-articulated national pension policy. This has led to the development of two major sets of pension programs, with one group sponsored by the ministry of labor and the social security office, and the other by the ministry of finance and the securities commission. These are also supplemented by an assortment of social assistance and community programs sponsored by the ministry of social development and human security and the ministry of interior. This policy note will examine the above issues in more detail and recommend policy options to simplify and coordinate the various pension and social assistance programs aimed at preventing poverty among the elderly, target more spending at the elderly poor, and assure long-term fiscal sustainability.

This paper includes three parts: external economic environment, part one includes: global environment, regional environment, and risks. Vietnam's recent economic development, part two includes: a relatively stable macroeconomic situation, growth at record low, booming exports despite a slowing economy, sharp turnaround in external accounts, inflation dynamics, monetary policy, fiscal policy, and near-term outlook. Structural reforms and medium-term outlook, part three includes: context, restructuring of state-owned enterprises, banking Sector development, and poverty reduction.

The Public Investment Management (PIM) efficiency review is intended to support the Government of Zimbabwe, and in particular the Ministry of Finance, in its efforts to strengthen the efficiency of the public investment system, with the goal of improving the creation, operation and maintenance of public sector capital assets that support service delivery and economic growth. The problems of public investment management are not merely financial but systemic. Budget execution deficit remains a major bottleneck. Due to large backlogs across sectors, capital budget allocation has prioritized completion and rehabilitation of on-going and stalled projects and programs. Currently, public investment projects are mainly financed by the national budget. Regulatory frameworks for public-private partnerships are in place, but sluggish recovery from the private sector has not made it a notable source of financing for capital projects. Foreign loans and grants, and humanitarian aid from donors are not channeled through the official budget. This report is intended to provide the basis for a follow-on discussion with government on possible options and approaches to addressing the identified problems, focusing on those which are the most critical to Zimbabwe's economic recovery and long term development. It is complementary to the action plan, also developed by the team for consideration by the Government of Zimbabwe, which suggests a list of reform actions over the immediate to medium-term to strengthen the regulatory framework and build capacity across central and implementing agencies. The objective of the policy note is to support the Government of Zimbabwe to strengthen the efficiency of PIM system, with an ultimate goal of contributing to improved governance, service delivery, and economic growth. The study will inform a reform and capacity strengthening action plan with the Government as well as subsequent Bank's proposed technical assistance program to strengthen the PIM.

Retail payment systems play an important role in the smooth functioning of any economy, and thus any inefficiency in the retail payments market can send negative effects cascading throughout the financial realm. The World Bank Global Payment Systems Survey 2010 has shown that inefficiencies persist in the payment systems of many middle-income and low-income countries, with cash continuing to be the most widely used instrument for small-value payments. A number of issues are responsible for this pattern, and the lack of a coherent, holistic strategy for the development of retail payment systems is among the most common. The lessons learned during more than a decade of World Bank Group technical assistance, along with the research findings of other international and national agencies, have been merged into a comprehensive package for the development and reform of the national retail payments system: a) developing a comprehensive national retail payments strategy aims to provide public authorities and market participants with detailed guidance on how to develop and implement a comprehensive, strategic retail payments reform ; b) a practical guide for retail payments stocktaking identifies a methodology for undertaking a detailed stocktaking of a countrys retail payments landscape; c) from remittances to m-payments: Understanding alternative means of payment within the common framework of retail payments system regulation explores the development of a normative framework to underpin an efficient retail payments industry, including the so-called innovative payment mechanisms; and d) innovations in retail payments worldwide: a snapshot: outcomes of the global survey on innovations in retail payments instruments and methods 2010 presents the results of the first World Bank survey among central banks that collected information on innovative retail payment products and programs.

Innovation is the main driver of long-term economic growth. The accumulation of capital, whether in the form of physical assets such as plants and equipment, or through better human capital, cannot indefinitely sustain growth unless new products, services, processes, and/or business models are developed and implemented. This paper describes the actors involved and the types of funding available at different stages of the innovation process, the rationales for public intervention, and the advantages and disadvantages of some of the most commonly used policy instruments. Innovation activities are more difficult to finance than other types of investment for several reasons. Innovation produces an intangible asset that does not typically constitute accepted collateral to obtain external funding. Also, the technological and market uncertainty of innovation activities makes the returns to investment highly uncertain, creating significant problems for the standard risk adjustment methods used by providers of funds. This paper uses a streamlined version of an innovation process with three stages to categorize the different sources of finance available; in reality, considerable crossover takes places among instruments because innovation processes are not discrete.