The central challenge facing the government of Armenia today is the need to transform its economic infrastructure into one that, in the medium term, is resilient to external shocks. To do so, it needs to find new sources of long-term economic growth that will enable it to become an upper-middle-income country. Crucial to achieving this objective is a dynamic and vibrant private sector, and in particular entrepreneurial activity, which generates new businesses and fosters competition and economic growth. Fostering Entrepreneurship in Armenia uses data and in-depth case studies to...

This study assesses the potential for job creation through infrastructure investment in the Middle East and North Africa. The region has experience in making the most of infrastructure investments, but maintaining and spreading the momentum in infrastructure will be important to support future growth and job creation. To do so, policymakers will have to recognize that there are large differences in initial conditions across the region in terms of starting stock, needs, fiscal commitments, private sector participation and job creation potential. Overall, the region's infrastructure needs...

Despite some recent successes in Ghana, further improvements in health outcomes are in part hampered by the lack of skilled service providers, or human resources for health (HRH), particularly in rural areas, where critical health services are needed most. To address the lack of information and guide the development of policies and programs on HRH, Toward Interventions in Human Resources for Health in Ghana: Evidence for Health Workforce Planning and Results aims to paint a comprehensive picture of HRH, consolidating new and existing evidence on the stock, distribution, and performance of h...

This book was written in the context of new and innovative policies for customs and tax administration reform. Eight chapters describe how measurement and various quantification techniques may be used to fight against corruption, improve cross-border celerity, boost revenue collection, and optimize the use of public resources. More than presenting "best practices" and due to the association of academics and practitioners, the case studies explore the conditions under which measurement has been introduced and the effects on the administrative structure, and its relations with the political...

The objective of this study is to assist public authorities to identify and address the future challenges of urban water supply, sanitation, and flood management in cities. In order to do that, this report uses the conceptual framework of Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) as a holistic set of planning and management tools incorporating all components of the urban water cycle to help develop efficient and flexible urban water systems in the future. The future of water in African cities: why waste water? argues that a new approach to urban water management is needed in Africa. Due to...

Insurance plays a positive role in economic develoment, but some of its traditional products are inhibiting in some cultural settings. This book explains the development of a hybrid model. Takaful (which means 'cooperative') is intended to deal with three prohibited or haram practices under Islam: the payment of interest (riba), the existence of uncertainty in a transaction (gharar), and gambling (maysir). The primary intent of this relatively recent entry to world insurance markets is to provide a core service to Muslims and others who have religious or ethical objections to conventional...

The Middle East and North Africa is one of the least globally and regionally integrated regions in the world. Although it is home to 5.5 percent of the world's population and 3.9 percent of the world's gross domestic product, the region's share of nonoil world trade is only 1.8 percent. Today's policy makers face critical development challenges that have been brought to the forefront by the Arab Spring, which they can address by boosting growth, fostering diversification, and stimulating employment. This book summarises the constraints to and opportunities for deepening economic integration...

Investing in Communities Achieves Results fills an important gap in the global knowledge on community level results and resources related to HIV and AIDS. While communities, in spite of their limited resources, have played a key role in the HIV/AIDS response, their contributions and innovative approaches to prevention, treatment, care, and support have not always been the focus of systematic and rigorous evaluations. To address this deficit, a series of studies-including evaluations in Burkina Faso, India, Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Zimbabwe-were undertaken over a...

This volume presents an integrated epidemiologic, social, and economic analysis of the global epidemics of HIV among sex workers in low- and middle-income countries. The book provides a comprehensive review and synthesis of the available public health and social science data to characterize the nature, scope, and complexities of these epidemics. A community empowerment-based approach to HIV prevention, treatment, and care is outlined and demonstrated to be cost-effective across multiple settings, with a significant projected impact on HIV incidence among sex workers and transmission dynamics...

People who inject drugs (PWID) are at higher risk for acquiring HIV infection than the general population in many countries. Injecting drug use is present in 148 countries including a wide array of low and middle income countries where HIV incidence is growing in recent years - even as it declines elsewhere. This study was undertaken as the third of a series of three economic analyses examining the global epidemics of HIV/AIDS in vulnerable populations. Informed by a critical review of epidemiological evidence and the most recent analyses of intervention efficacy, this work modeled the costs...