India is experiencing a period of high economic growth and rapid social and demographic change. There is increasing concern about the manner in which this transformation is impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. While the Government of India has taken significant measures to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, much remains to be done. Given the complexity of the challenge, an effective response requires the engagement of all sectors. The private sector, alongside other stakeholders, can play an important part not only by contributing to the efforts for HIV/AIDS prevention and the reduction of stigma and discrimination, but also for the care, support and treatment of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). The report presents challenges, good practices and success stories about how Informational Technology (IT) companies in India are addressing the issues of HIV/AIDS. It demonstrates the mounting will and commitment of IT leaders to respond to the epidemic. The IT industry in India is young in terms of both its stage of development and the age of its workforce which averages 18-35 years. Reflecting the composition of the sector, the report documents the experiences not only of large companies in India's IT sector, but also of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Each company has used different approaches to address HIV/AIDS among its workforce including community outreach activities. By capturing these companies' experiences, the report seeks to foster a more active response to HIV/AIDS from India's IT community and to encourage new partnerships to leverage the goodwill and competencies of this sector.
This report presents an analysis of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) subsector, including programs and policies that affect young children in the Solomon Islands. This was a collaborative effort between UNICEF and World Bank Group, as it combines World Bank Group's SABER-ECD framework, which includes analysis of early learning, health, nutrition, and social and child protection policies and interventions in the Solomon Islands, along with regional and international comparisons, as well as the regionally developed UNICEF National Situational Analysis-ECD, which takes a greater in-depth look at the following system components, which have been highlighted by the Pacific Region as priority components for quality Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) implementation: policy/legislation and governance; human resources; curriculum, child assessment, and environment; performance monitoring and assessment; and community partnerships. The government of the Solomon Islands (SIG) recognizes the importance of providing early learning opportunities for young children. In 2008 the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) endorsed a National Early Childhood Education Policy Statement, targeting age's three to five, which states its commitment to develop a quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector. This commitment has been reflected in both the National Education Action Plan, 2013–2015, and the Education Strategic Framework, 2007–2015. However, the statement clearly identified 'in relation to quality practice, the payment and training of teachers, relevant curriculum, effective management, community awareness about the value of ECCE and children's access and participation in ECCE' as challenges to the implementation of ECCE services.
A shrinking working-age population will be the Russian Federations biggest demographic challenge in coming decades. With workers increasingly scarce, sustainable future economic development depends on Russias ability to bring into the labor force currently under-utilized groups, such as young mothers and older people, and to maximize the productivity of every worker. This study assesses the projected dynamics of the working-age population and how changes in labor force participation may affect the future workforce. It also assesses the potential contribution of individual factors to either facilitate or deter the participation of older Russians in the labor force. A review of disincentives for labor force participation in current social insurance programs and labor institutions is followed by policy proposals to help prolong the working lives of older adults.
The Better Work Program has its roots in the Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) program, established in 2001 as a follow-on from the 1999 U.S.-Cambodia Bilateral Trade Agreement. The free trade agreement (FTA) was the first to link improved labor conditions with greater market access. The BFC program benefitted all the key stakeholders by improving work conditions, supporting the growth of the apparel sector in Cambodia (benefitting all local stakeholders), and boosting developed world buyers' reputation by sourcing from ethical workplaces. BFC has also helped to cushion the negative effects of external changes to the trading environment in the apparel sector (the end of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement quota system in 2005 and the global financial crisis in 2008–09). The program has grown substantially; as of December 2014, BW has reached over a million workers in more than 1,000 factories across eight countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Haiti, Indonesia, Jordan, Lesotho, Nicaragua, and Vietnam).
Rising demand for agricultural commodities coupled with population growth, climate change, declining soil fertility, environmental degradation and rural poverty in the develop-ing world call for strategies to sustainably intensify agricultural production. Sustainable in-tensification refers to increasing production from the same area of land while reducing its negative environmental consequences. Most of the adverse conditions are particularly preva-lent in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where rates of undernutrition are the highest worldwide, while agricultural productivity is still far below global averages. An important factor in ex-plaining productivity deficits among smallholders in SSA is the slow adoption of new agri-cultural technologies. Recently, governments and international donors especially concentrate on the promotion of 'system technologies', i.e. packages of technologies that should be ap-plied jointly due to synergistic effects. Yet, evidence shows that farmers delay in particular the uptake of system technologies, and tend to scatter practices across plots instead of com-bining them on the same plot. Hence, analyzing how to effectively enhance the adoption of technology packages is crucial, but still understudied. In addition, comprehensive studies on the plot- and household level effects of system technologies that use micro data from farmer surveys are still scarce when it comes to impacts beyond traditional outcomes, such as crop yields and income, but important to understand the consequences of adoption for farmers. This dissertation addresses these gaps by studying the adoption and effects of 'Integrated Soil Fertility Management' (ISFM). ISFM is a system technology comprised of a set of site-specific soil fertility practices which should be applied in combination. Its core is the inte-grated use of organic and inorganic fertilizers with improved seeds. Practices should be adapted to local conditions, accompanied by a general improvement of agronomic tech-niques and, depending on the context, by other technologies such as crop rotation, agroforest-ry or reduced tillage. The general aim of ISFM is an improvement of the soil's fertility by replenishing its nutrient stocks and organic matter level. Enhanced soil fertility is likely to improve food security, incomes, and ultimately, livelihoods of the rural population depend-ing on small-scale agriculture. In addition, healthier and more fertile soils can contribute to restoring and conserving natural resources by providing crucial ecosystem services, such as the storage of soil carbon, erosion control and the prevention of further deforestation. Thus, they can make an important contribution to the sustainable intensification of smallholder agricultural systems. However, ISFM commonly also goes along with increased demand for capital and labor, which often prevents smallholders from adopting it. In addition, ISFM is considered knowledge-intensive, as combining several practices and adapting them to local conditions requires at least a basic understanding of biological processes. Against this background, the dissertation addresses two broad research objectives: Firstly, to assess the role of 'farmer-to-farmer' and non-traditional forms of agricultural extension to enhance knowledge and adoption of ISFM as a pathway to sustainable intensification. And secondly, to assess the productivity and welfare implications of adopting ISFM practices at the plot and household level. The thesis comprises three essays. The first essay concentrates on knowledge and adoption of ISFM as a complex agricultural technology, while the second and third essay analyze the effects of ISFM at the plot, respectively household level. All three essays build on primary data collected among 2,382 farm households in the three Ethi-opian regions Amhara, Oromia and Tigray. The research was carried out in cooperation with the 'Integrated Soil Fertility Management Project' (ISFM+ project) of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), launched in 2015 in 18 districts in the three highland regions. The first essay focusses on the role of agricultural extension in the dissemination of ISFM. In recent decades, decentralized and participatory extension models have become dominant in SSA. In these 'famer-to-farmer' approaches, only a few 'model farmers' are trained directly by extension agents and should then train other farmers, often organized in groups. From there, information should trickle down to all other households in a community. Yet, evidence suggests that information diffusion is a complex process and does not automatically reach all farmers. On the contrary, knowledge is likely to be transmitted incompletely from model farmers to extension group members and from there to 'ordinary' farmers. This applies in particular to complex system technologies, where farmers have to learn about each individu-al practice as well as the necessity of applying them jointly. In this article, we assess the ef-fects of a farmer-to-farmer extension model and an additional intervention in form of a video on farmers' knowledge and adoption of ISFM. We implemented a cluster randomized con-trolled trial, using 161 microwatersheds (mws) as primary units of randomization. 72 mws received the farmer-to-farmer extension treatment, with model farmers who maintain ISFM demonstration plots and train so-called 'farmer research and extension groups' as core ele-ments. 36 out of these treatment mws received an additional video intervention, explaining the underlying reasons for adopting the ISFM package, and featuring documentaries on suc-cessful ISFM adoption. 89 mws did not receive any intervention and serve as control group. In each of the three groups, 15 households per mws were randomly selected to be included in the sample. Findings show that farmer-to-farmer extension, both alone and in combination with video, increases ISFM adoption, both of its individual components as well as their com-bined adoption on the same plot. Effects are stronger for farmers who are involved in group-based extension activities, but exist to a weaker extent also for farmers in the same commu-nities who are not involved. On average, we find no significant additional effect of the video intervention on adoption. However, the video does show a significant additional effect for farmers in treatment mws who are not members of extension groups, in particular when it comes to the integrated use of the practices on the same plot. Further, while both farmer-to-farmer extension alone and in combination with the video induce gains in ISFM knowledge, effects are significantly stronger for the combined treatment. A causal mediation analysis reveals that increases in knowledge explain part of the treatment effects on adoption. Over-all, these results suggest that farmer-to-farmer extension can effectively foster technology adoption; both among extension group members as well as among non-members residing in the same communities, probably a sign of information spillovers. Yet, for the non-members, providing complementary information via video seems a valuable method to counterbalance incomplete information diffusion and ultimately, foster the adoption of complex system technologies such as ISFM. Essay two analyzes of the effects of different combinations of ISFM practices on land productivity, net crop value, labor demand, labor productivity and financial returns to unpaid labor at the plot level. To date, evidence on the profitability of ISFM in smallholder settings is scarce, in particular when it comes to labor investments. The study differs from previous research by looking into a broader range of outcome indicators, and into the effects of dis-tinct combinations of inorganic fertilizer, organic fertilizer and improved seeds. We employ a multinomial endogenous switching model to account for endogeneity, and data from over 6,000 teff, wheat and maize plots. Results show that both partial and complete ISFM adop-tion lead to significant increases in land productivity and net crop value, in particular when improved seeds are used. On average, the largest effect on land productivity stems from adopting complete ISFM, i.e. improved varieties with inorganic fertilizer and organic ferti-lizer, followed by the combinations containing only one fertilizer type. Analyses for two different agroecological zones suggest that in moister regions, complementing improved varieties with inorganic fertilizer is most important, while in drier regions, enhancing it with organic fertilizer is crucial, most probably due to its water-retaining effect. Regarding net crop value, average effects of combining improved seeds with either one or both fertilizer types are similar, despite the larger effect of the complete package on land productivity; probably due to reduced input costs when only one of the two fertilizer types is used. Further, as expected, ISFM is related to higher labor demand, but also significantly increases labor productivity and financial returns to labor. Hence, despite the additional demand for labor and capital, results suggest that ISFM can be a profitable technology for smallholders, at least when assessed at the plot level. The third essay complements the picture on ISFM effects by analyzing its impacts at the household level. This is important since additional demand for resources associated with a technology (package) may imply a reallocation of labor from one income-generating activity to another, leaving net effects for a household uncertain. Therefore, we study whether adopt-ing ISFM on at least one teff, wheat or maize plot increases income obtained from these crops, as well as total household income and household labor demand, and whether ISFM adoption is related to the probability of pursuing other economic activities. In addition, we assess impacts on food security, measured by self-reported incidences of food deprivation. Further, the essay analyzes effects on children's education as indicator for longer-term wel-fare, assessed by the enrollment rate of children in primary school age, the average number of absent school days and average educational expenditure. On the one hand, additional labor requirements may increase the work burden for children, with possible negative effects for their education. On the other hand, if ISFM is related to income gains, it might also lead to additional investments in education. We apply the inverse probability weighting regression adjustment method to account for selection bias, with propensity score matching as robust-ness check, and account for dissimilar agroecological potential by running disaggregated analyses for moist and dry regions. Results show that ISFM adoption for main cereal crops is related to increased income per capita obtained from these crops in both agroecological zones. Effects sizes of a rather lax definition of ISFM – having used improved seeds in com-bination with at least either organic or inorganic fertilizer – and a stricter definition, which comprises both fertilizer types, are very similar. A reason for that might be the additional costs associated with using two instead of only one fertilizer type; or because the synergistic potential of their joint use does not materialize immediately. Yet, only in the moister re-gions, higher crop income seems to translate into higher household income per capita, while it does not in the dry region. This might be because the share of income from these crops in total household income is not important enough in the latter subsample. Yet, in the dry re-gion, ISFM adoption for main cereals also leads to a lower probability of achieving income from other crops and off-farm activities, probably an effect of resource reallocation (in par-ticular labor). Moreover, we find a food security-enhancing effect of ISFM only for the moister areas, but not for the dry region. In both subsamples, ISFM adoption is related to increased demand for household labor. Yet, despite the higher labor demand, we find no in-dication for increased school absenteeism or even reduced enrollment rates of children, and no effects on educational expenditure. By contrast, ISFM adoption is associated with higher primary school enrollment the moist agroecology. Hence, only for areas where ISFM adop-tion is related to gains in overall household income, we also find positive effects on other welfare indicators, such as food security and education. All in all, these results suggest that broader welfare effects of agricultural innovations have to be evaluated within the complex system of households' income diversification strategies. Overall, this dissertation contributes to the state of research by drawing a more comprehen-sive picture of the effects of ISFM in resource-constrained and diversified smallholder sys-tems, as well as of interventions to foster the adoption of ISFM, or system technologies in general. Firstly, results imply that farmer-to-farmer and other, not traditional forms of agri-cultural extension have the potential to increase knowledge and adoption of complex innova-tions. Yet, extension systems still have to overcome shortcomings and find ways to be more inclusive, probably by means of an effective and creative mix of interventions. And second-ly, findings suggest that ISFM can be a profitable technology for farmers, but also requires more resources. When evaluating broader impacts of its adoption, it is important to account for heterogeneous conditions and contexts.
The Education for All (EFA) initiative depends on students being taught by suitably and sufficiently trained teachers. But time-on-task studies conducted in low-income countries show that relatively little time is being spent on instruction, including the critical teaching of reading. Teachers may be absent often and may avoid teaching when in school (Abadzi 2007). They may engage with the few students who can do the work, neglecting the rest (Llambiri 2006, Abadzi and Llambiri 2011). They may fail to use textbooks even when they exist and spend class time copying on the blackboard. The same issues affect supervisors and principals (Abadzi 2006). As a result, students may graduate or drop out illiterate. The investments in teacher training are potentially valuable, but need to be linked to results. Thus far evidence is limited. Preservice training often lasts 6-9 months compared to 3-4 years in higher-income countries and may be insufficient to remedy students' academic deficits or teach them how to teach. The poor results have disappointed governments and donors. The persistent teacher training problems worldwide make it imperative to seek new means for changing behaviors, particularly for poorly paid teachers with limited education. This must be done relatively quickly and efficiently so that teachers can impart basic skills to their students. Since feasible educational methods seem to have been exhausted, it is useful to look for solutions in the field that studies behavior. Even for better educated teachers in lower-income countries, the capacity for formulating and solving complex problems such as those presented in teaching real classrooms may be limited compared to some 'ideal' model (Feldon 2007).
Over the past 30 years, Vietnam has experienced significant shifts of employment away from agriculture toward manufacturing and services, away from household enterprises toward registered and regulated businesses, and away from state-owned enterprises toward private firms. This paper argues that for these processes to continue in the future, appropriately designed and implemented labor market policies need to be in place, including labor market regulations that protect workers but do not inhibit creative destruction and creation of formal sector jobs; labor market interventions that improve workers' human capital, eliminate information asymmetries, and are fiscally sustainable; and labor market institutions that give voice to workers and employers. As a part of all of these measures, Vietnam will also have to renew its efforts to integrate vulnerable groups into the labor market.
Since the last Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) meeting, the PA has continued to strengthen its institutions, delivering public services and promoting reforms that many existing states struggle with. The quality of its public financial management (PFM) has further improved. Education and health in the West Bank and Gaza (WB&G) are highly developed, comparing favorably to the performance of countries in the region as well as globally. Ultimately, sustainable economic growth in WB&G can only be underpinned by a vibrant private sector. The latter will not rebound significantly while Israeli restrictions on access to natural resources and markets remain in place, and as long as investors are deterred by the increased cost of business associated with the closure regime. Education and health indicators for WB&G are impressive and reflect extensive coverage of the population, but a focus on improving the quality of these services remains warranted. Similarly, education investments take time to mature. While the PA is already implementing an education sector plan that highlights the importance of improving the quality of education, the relevance of graduates' skills remains an area requiring further attention. This report will therefore reflect on recent growth trends but also on the future trade regime and employability of the WB&G labor force.
Ethiopia's remarkable socio-economic transformation over the last decade has been marked by: a reorientation of expenditure from recurrent to capital; a significant devolution of resources from Federal Government to Regions; and a clear prioritization of infrastructure spending, while protecting spending on education at four percent of GDP. The Government of Ethiopia has also leveraged external resources to boost spending in pro-poor sectors, particularly health and social protection. As a result, Ethiopia is home to the largest social safety net program in Africa, and has also achieved remarkable health outcomes using cost effective approaches. Recent investments have seen a significant build-up of capital stock, with capital spending at sector level pointing towards increased service capacity. The current public investment-led strategy requires to be complemented by increased budgetary provisions in operations and maintenance so that new investments translate into enhanced service coverage and delivery. As Ethiopia lays the foundation to become a middle income country, and the changing global environment implies declining external assistance, it is imperative that domestic taxation activity support this transition. The current tax-to-GDP ratio is low compared to peer countries, and the tax structure would benefit from increased contributions by direct tax sources. Therefore, there is an immediate need for advancing tax reforms and improve capacity and quality of tax administration. Broadening the tax bases, through review of exemptions, as well as review of tax rates might be venues to consider. Additional revenues will create the much-needed fiscal space to increase funding for operations and maintenance for service delivery, and support fiscal sustainability. As a follow-up to this Public Expenditure Review, the Government of Ethiopia has asked the World Bank to provide further analytical support, with a view to enhance domestic revenue mobilization through simpler and more efficient taxation, while retaining equity priorities in public finances.
This paper develops a framework to assess organizational performance in the delivery of social safety nets. Specifically, it provides guidance to task teams and program managers for identifying indicators of governance and service quality in targeted cash transfer programs. The paper identifies governance issues along the results chain of service delivery and suggests policy and performance indicators for assessing program inputs, human resources, financing and resource management; and program activities, operational procedures, Management Information Systems (MIS) and control. It also suggests indicators of organizational performance and the quality of outputs, including demand-side accountability mechanisms.
This report on Sudan's Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) provides a baseline assessment of challenges to productivity, diversification and inclusion. Chapter 1 describes some of the questions underlying the three issues of competitiveness, diversification and broad-based growth. Chapter 2 analyzes firm performance and competitiveness. Chapter 3 discusses markets and trust. Chapter 4 describes the role of the financial sector. Chapter 5 analyses the informal sector. Chapter 6 discusses the conflict-affected private sector development. Chapter 7 discusses regional inclusion, and Chapter 8 makes some preliminary conclusions and recommendations.
The purpose of this systematic review is to inform the World Bank, development partners and other stakeholders on the state of governance in the health sector of Bangladesh. With billions2 of Bangladeshi Taka invested in the government-run health sector every year, financed by domestic and international sources, there have been numerous efforts to better understand the governance challenges in the sector. This report reviews sixty such reports and studies written by NGOs, academics, government entities, research institutions, consultants and development partners, in the last fourteen years. However, translating that research into policy dialogue and improvement has been challenged due to poor knowledge management, a lack of a systematic approach to research (building on earlier studies findings), and limited efforts to place the work in the public domain and discourse. This paper takes a systematic approach to the literature review, bringing the key findings together and evaluating the weight of evidence on the governance problems in the sector, as well as the gaps that should be addressed by future research efforts. This review furthermore emphasizes the need to understand the factors, and political economy factors in particular, that explain the current state of affairs. The review is structured to systematically assess this literature, leading to several broad conclusions. First, it identifies the structure and method of the review and outlines the categorization of the governance issues reviewed, and provides a background to the health sector. It then methodically summarizes the relevant literature for each governance issue, highlighting the lessons and identifying the gaps and weaknesses. The review ends by highlighting these gaps in research, with a view to improve its scope and impact.
This report discusses selected issues regarding accountability in public services. The introduction discusses the accountability framework that will be used for the report. Chapter 1 assesses South Africa's progress on service access and quality, and summarizes recent policy initiatives. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 describe the international and South African experience with mechanisms that seek to improve accountability - public sector reform, citizen report cards, and others - and posits hypotheses to be explored in the following chapters. Chapter 5 applies the World Bank's accountability framework to a participatory assessment of services in six municipalities in South Africa. Chapters 6 and 7 apply the framework to the education and water and sanitation sectors. Chapter 8 explains why community-driven development does not factor in any main South African development programs. Chapter 9 explains the continuing learning practices pioneered in the manufacturing sector and addresses how these practices might be used by the South African government to effect change. Chapter 10 summarizes the conclusions, translates these into main hypotheses to be tested in future work, and formulates a number of policy recommendations for public debate.
With this first Zambia economic brief, the World Bank is launching a series of short economic updates that will be produced twice a year. Each brief will include two sections: the Bank's assessment of recent economic developments and outlook in the short to medium term; and its analysis on a specific development topic or theme. The authors expect these briefs to support evidence-based policy debate in the country, strengthen public demand for good policies and outcomes, and inform government policies and programs. In this brief, first section reports on Zambia's continued robust growth, fiscal outcomes, and capital inflows at the end of 2012 against the backdrop of performance of other Sub- Saharan and global economies. It stresses the need for the government to spend borrowed and own resources more prudently. While acknowledging continuing strong prospects for growth, the analysis highlights considerable downside risks emanating from global uncertainties. Second section covers basic human opportunities for children in Zambia. The opportunities approach is premised on the notion that predetermined circumstances such as gender, ethnicity, place of birth, and family origins should not determine people's economic, social, and political success. A person should not have fewer opportunities in life just because she is a girl or born in a rural area. This is the core principle behind the concept of equality of opportunity and it is also the framework adopted in this report for Zambia. The analysis shows the extent to which basic opportunities for education, health, and infrastructure services in Zambia are influenced by circumstances in which children find themselves.
This study reports evidence from an unusual policy intervention- The Reaching Out of School Children (ROSC) project in Bangladesh where school grants and education allowances are offered to attract hard-to-reach children to schools comprised of a single teacher and a classroom. The operating unit cost of these schools is a fraction of that of formal primary schools. Panel data is used to investigate whether ROSC schools are effective in raising enrolment and learning outcomes. The findings suggest that there is a modest impact on school participation: ROSC schools increase enrolment probability between 9 and 18 percent for children in the two age cohorts 6 to 8 and 6 to 10. They perform as well as non-ROSC schools in terms of raising test scores, and even have positive impacts on academically stronger students. There is also strong evidence of positive externalities on non-ROSC schools in program areas. These results point to the effectiveness of a new model of non-formal primary schools that can be replicated in similar settings. This paper consists of following sections: section one gives introduction. The context for the country and the program description is provided in section two, and the data is described in section three. The impacts of the ROSC project on education outcomes as measured by student enrolment and test scores are discussed in section four and other program effects are considered in section five, with the empirical estimation frameworks being respectively detailed in each section. The relative efficiency of ROSC schools versus non-ROSC schools is discussed in section six and section seven gives conclusion.
