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AbstractThis paper reviews relations between government and the private sector in Malawi from independence to the present. The analysis charts the changing emphasis that official policy has attached to the role of the private sector throughout the transition from dictatorship to democracy; and from a PRSP that effectively ignored the role of the private sector in national development, to the current more balanced approach that recognises the private sector as the 'engine of economic growth' and the best means of achieving poverty reduction. However, in spite of progress, Malawi's private sector remains fragile and while the rhetoric from the highest levels of government towards the private sector has evolved, the enabling environment for private sector development is still inhospitable. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper reviews relations between government and the private sector in Malawi from independence to the present. The analysis charts the changing emphasis that official policy has attached to the role of the private sector throughout the transition from dictatorship to democracy; and from a PRSP that effectively ignored the role of the private sector in national development, to the current more balanced approach that recognises the private sector as the 'engine of economic growth' and the best means of achieving poverty reduction. However, in spite of progress, Malawi's private sector remains fragile and while the rhetoric from the highest levels of government towards the private sector has evolved, the enabling environment for private sector development is still inhospitable. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This book aims to improve readers' understanding of the puzzle of Malawi's development performance and identify ways for the country to achieve robust growth and stay on a stable growth path that helps the poor. The book places a strong emphasis on assessing Malawi's growth experience since independence from a comparative international perspective. This book first discusses Malawi's macroeconomic situation and challenges in fiscal management, reviewing and drawing lessons from the instability, slippages, and shocks experienced since independence. Second, it explores the current state of agricultural markets, given the critical role of this sector in poverty reduction. Third, looking at the factors that may constrain higher growth in the future, challenges in private sector development and job creation are discussed. Building on the analysis of challenges, the book concludes with a summary of policy recommendations to help Malawi to begin catching up with its peers.

Trade facilitation projects often assume indirect benefits for small-scale, cross-border traders. Recent studies have shown the challenges faced in Africa by this population, especially women, but it remains unknown in Cambodia and the Lao People's Democratic Republic, despite large trade facilitation investments. This paper fills this gap, thanks to an innovative mix of original qualitative and quantitative data from various checkpoints on the borders with Thailand and Vietnam. The quantitative data, collected in 2014, consist of an exhaustive list of trade-related border crossings during two to three days and a survey of 158 randomly selected small-scale, cross-border traders and brokers. The paper combines qualitative data and statistical techniques to shed light on the structure of the small-scale, cross-border trade economy, traders' and brokers' profiles, the challenges they face, and potential solutions, with a particular emphasis on gender. Key challenges pertain to taxation and poor infrastructures. Narrow roads, insufficient parking space, and restrictive border regulations on transportation means cause traffic jams and delays. These disproportionately affect women, who are more time constrained. Despite a rather moderate tax pressure, widespread informal payments erode traders' and brokers' willingness to comply with taxes. Women suffer from a higher tax rate and a tax schedule that deters them from upgrading to more profitable cross-border trade activities. Along with capital constraints, this finding may explain the lower share of women in small-scale, cross-border trade than among own-account workers and the self-employed, as evidenced by nationally representative data. The paper delineates policy implications and puts forward concrete steps.

The Malawi economic monitor (MEM) provides an analysis of economic and structural development issues in Malawi. The aim of the publication is to foster better informed policy analysis and debate regarding the key challenges that Malawi faces in its endeavors to achieve high rates of stable, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth. The focus of the special topic is on the effectiveness of public spending on primary education and the means by which this can be improved. With more than half of Malawi's population under the age of 18, the country faces significant challenges in its efforts to provide quality education to a growing population of students. Malawi also faces ongoing fiscal pressures, so there is a need to find ways to maximize the development impact within the limits of the finite resources available for investment in education. The MEM consists of two parts: part one presents a review of recent economic developments and a macroeconomic outlook. Part two focuses in greater depth on a special, selected topic relevant to Malawi's development prospects.

Kuchiki, Akifumi ; Tsuji, Masatsugu : Introduction. Riedel, James ; Record, Richard : "Industrial clusters in Asia. Analyses of their competition and cooperation". Vietnam case study. Industrial clusters in Tianjin Area / Zhang Donggang ... Kuchiki, Akifumi : A flowchart approach to Asia's industrial cluster policy. Tsuji, Masatsugu ; Wu Quan : Localization and dispersion of the Chinese automotive and parts industries. Okamoto, Yumiko : Agglomeration and international competitiveness. Can Malaysia's growth be sustainable? Okada, Aya : Bangalore's software cluster. Building competitiveness through the local labor market dynamics. Nakagawa, Rika : The industrial cluster planning for stimulating the local economy. Lessons from Japan. Imagawa, Takuo : The accumulation of IT industries in Japan. Remedies to activate local cities

The Malawi Economic Monitor (MEM) provides an analysis of economic and structural development issues in Malawi. The aim of the publication is to foster better-informed policy analysis and debate regarding the key challenges that Malawi faces in its endeavor to achieve high rates of stable, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth. Malawi's economy is primarily based on agriculture and heavily reliant on its land resources to achieve social and economic development. The recently promulgated land acts have the potential to create multiple economic and social benefits for Malawi's citizens by improving investor confidence in the business environment, reducing the cost of documenting rights, supporting decentralization, improving land use planning, and protecting vulnerable groups' land rights and livelihoods. The effective implementation of these critical land reforms will ultimately facilitate the attainment of inclusive growth, boost productivity, and generate additional revenue for the government. The MEM consists of two parts: part one presents a review of recent economic developments and a macroeconomic outlook. Part two focuses on a special selected topic relevant to Malawi's development prospects.

Vietnam is at a crossroads. It can grow as an export platform for GVCs, specializing in low value-added assembly functions with industrialization occurring in enclaves with little connection to the broader economy or society; or it can leverage the current wave of growth, enabled and accelerated by its successful participation in GVCs, to diversify and move up the chain into higher value-added functions. Success will require Vietnam's policymakers to view the processes of development differently, and to take new realities of the global economy more fully into account. The purpose of this volume is to support Vietnam's path to economic prosperity by identifying policies and targeted interventions that will drive development through leveraging GVC participation that take major shifts in trade policy and rapid technological advances in ICT into account. The volume is based on a compilation of studies completed by World Bank staff and external consultants in 2015 supporting the "Enabling Economic Modernization and Private Sector Development" chapter of the Vietnam 2035 report. The objective of these studies was to diagnose Vietnam's current participation in GVCs, visualize where Vietnam could be by 2035 in the context of a changing global environment, and identify the policy actions needed to get there. The studies also supported topics related more broadly to export competitiveness, including firm-level productivity, services, and connectivity. It then identifies targeted strategies and policy interventions that will help overcome challenges, minimize risks, and maximize opportunities. Readers will gain a strong understanding of Vietnam's current and potential engagement with GVCs--and will learn about strategic GVC policy tools that can help developing countries achieve economic prosperity in the context of compressed development. --