The discussion of where people live and how people pay for their housing has undergone a significant shift. Until the mortgage crisis erupted in 2008, the housing policy of most nations focused on increasing home ownership. There had been very little discussion about rental housing, less about social housing, and virtually none about public housing. The mortgage crisis showed the challenges inherent in pushing for home ownership for all. With homes going into foreclosure and with credit tightening in many countries, the need for rental housing increased dramatically. However, most countries...

Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Africa: An Empirical Analysis sheds light on the characteristics of formal and informal manufacturing firms in Africa by comparing these firms with firms in other regions. Drawing on two data sources, the authors find that there is a very low share of manufacturing in GDP in Africa and in African exports. Most African manufacturing firms are informal, perhaps because the enforcement of registration and licensing regulations is not strict. These firms are also smaller than firms in other regions and few export. Labor productivity is low in Africa relative...

The global financial crisis has reignited interest in counter-cyclical fiscal policy as a critical instrument to provide immediate economic stimulus. But policy makers are also increasingly interested in how fiscal policy will impact growth and poverty over a longer run horizon, knowing that any quick responses to exogenous shocks also affect income generation and distribution. Those effects are less well known, however, and their dynamics still represent a challenge for many countries. In this book the authors explore methodological advances and new practices for fiscal policy implementation...

This edited volume contains eight studies of financial sector challenges in Africa that served as background studies for Financing Africa: Through the Crisis and Beyond. One of the major challenges for African financial systems is to expand financial services to a larger share of the population. The chapters in this area cover microfinance in Africa, the role of technology, reforms of payment infrastructure, and financing agriculture. Two chapters cover challenges in increasing long-term finance; one covers housing finance and the other the role of sovereign wealth fund. The book also...

What conditions determine the success of Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks (MDTFs)? How should the implementation of MTEFs be sequenced and coordinated with other budget reforms? What role should organizations such as the World Bank, bilateral development partners, and other international agencies play in supporting MTEF adoption? How can country authorities implement a new MTEF or strengthen an existing one? Beyond the Annual Budget provides a comprehensive review of global experience with Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEFs). Looking at countries both with and without MTEFs over the...

This book presents research findings on India's major central and state government-sponsored health insurance schemes (GSHISs). The analysis centers on the GSHISs launched since 2007. These schemes targeted poor populations, aiming to provide financial protection against catastrophic health shocks, defined in terms of inpatient care. Focus is on two lines of inquiry. The first involves institutional and "operational" opportunities and challenges regarding schemes' design features, governance arrangements, financial flows, cost-containment mechanisms, underlying stakeholder incentives,...

Over the past century, the world has seen a sustained decline in the proportion of people living in poverty, but climate change could challenge poverty reduction efforts. On the Poverty and Welfare Impacts of Climate Change: Quantifying the Effects, Identifying the Adaptation Strategies surveys the relevant research on how climate change may affect global poverty rates and presents country-specific studies with implications for low-income rural populations as well as governments' risk management programs. An evidence review examines three main strands of the literature. Unsurprisingly, the...

Ghana's demographic profile is changing, and demographic, epidemiological, and nutrition transitions are well underway. However, several of Ghana's health outcome performances, especially in terms of child health and maternal health, are worse than the levels found in other comparable lower middle income and health spending countries. The volume is timely, given the stage of the Ghana's development. It briefly discusses some of the debates in Ghana's health sector: decentralization and governance, private sector partnership, strengthening health systems, and health financing. It brings...

This volume reviews the experience of cooperation in five international river basins, focusing on the perceptions of risks and opportunities by decision makers in countries responding to a specific prospect of cooperation. For each basin, the analysis centered on "tipping points," or periods in time when policymakers in the countries involved were faced with a critical decision concerning water cooperation. This study was inspired, in part, by the intensified involvement of the World Bank and development partners in shared international waters, resulting in a growing interest to better...

MENA is one of the richest regions in the world in terms of natural resources: it holds more than 60 percent of the world's proven oil reserves, mostly located in the Gulf region, and nearly half of gas reserves. Oil represents 80-85 percent of merchandise exports in the region, making it highly depending on fluctuations in international prices. A long strand of economic literature has suggested that such dependence may hurt a country's growth prospects and the scope for job creation by reducing economic diversification. This volume investigates the effect of natural resources and the role of...