This book presents selected papers from the ABCDE Meetings, held May 17 -18, 2007 in Bled, Slovenia. Hosted by the World Bank and the Government of Slovenia, more than 400 experts from countries around the world met to deliberate the theme: Private Sector and Development. This volume presents papers on financial inclusion, factors that matter the most for business climate, and the provision of public services by non- state actors.

The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) brings together the world's leading scholars and development practitioners for a lively debate on state-of-the-art thinking in development policy and the implications for the global economy. The 19th conference was held in Beijing, China, January 16-17, 2007. The theme of the conference was higher education and development, which was divided into five topics: migration, private-public provision, financing, technological innovation, and labor markets in Asia. IN THIS VOLUME Introduction by Justin Yifu Lin and Boris Pleskovic;...