The extent of urban air pollution in Pakistan--South Asia's most urbanized country--is among the world's most severe, significantly damaging human health, quality of life, and the economy and environment of Pakistan. The harm from Pakistan's urban air pollution is among the highest in South Asia, exceeding several high-profile causes of mortality and morbidity in Pakistan. Improved air quality management (AQM) in Pakistan can have notable economic and health benefits. For example, the estimated health benefits per dollar spent on cleaner diesel are approximately US $1-1.5 for light-duty...

This study reviews the role and workings, with their strengths and weaknesses of last-resort income support (LRIS) programs in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It draws on a combination of household survey and administrative data for a large group of countries and detailed case studies for a smaller number of countries that span the spectrum of the income range in the region. It thus combines the value of wide, comparable multi-country work with that of in-depth, country-specific probing on key themes. The experiences of LRIS programs in Eastern Europe and Central Asia have demonstrated the...

This study documents the effects of the 2008-09 global financial crisis on poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In doing so, it describes and decomposes the effects of the crisis on poverty using data from comparable household budget surveys for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay, and labor force surveys for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay. The study also provides macro-micro modeling of crisis and no-crisis scenarios for Mexico and Brazil, as well as...

Over the past two decades Vietnam has made enormous progress towards achieving universal coverage (UC) for its population. Significant challenges remain, however, in terms of improving equity with continuing low rates of enrollment. Ensuring financial protection also remains an elusive goal. The Master Plan for Universal Coverage approved in 2012 by the Prime Minister directly addresses both these deficiencies in coverage. The objective of this report is to assess the implementation of Vietnam SHI and provide options for moving towards UC. This is a joint assessment with development partners,...

The analysis in this report confirms the findings of previous studies that trade liberalization improves aggregate welfare and is in the long run associated with higher employment and wages. The analysis addresses a major gap in the literature, which has heretofore provided limited evidence about the trade-related adjustment costs faced by workers in developing countries and how they are affected by mobility costs. Labor market frictions reduce the potential gains from trade reform. For a tariff reduction in a given sector, the resulting change in relative prices raises real wages in some...

The weak economic performance and insufficient and low-quality job creation in Tunisia is primarily the result of an economic environment permeated by distortions, barriers to competition, and excessive red tape, including in the labor market. This has resulted in the creation of a insufficient number of jobs, especially in the formal sector. To change this situation, policy makers need to address five strategic directives that can promote long-term inclusive growth and formality: foster competition; realign incentives, pay, and benefit packages in the public sector; move toward labor...

The emergence of Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs) has been a key catalyst for the development of the aviation industry in the last decade. This book identifies various definitions that have been applied to describe the LCC business model. In essence the majority of researchers define LCCs as carriers, which, through a variety of operational processes, have achieved a cost advantage over Full-Service Carriers. The key characteristics that can generally be found in LCCs are: (i) Simple service offering; (ii) Short-haul, point-to-point route structure; (iii) Usage of secondary airports; (iv) High...

Africa needs power - to grow its economies and enhance the welfare of its people. Power for all is still a long distance away - two thirds of the population remains without electricity and enterprises rank electricity as a top constraint to doing business. This sub-optimal situation coexists while vast energy resources remain untapped. One solution to harness these resources could be to tap into the concept of anchor load. Mining industry lends itself to the concept of anchor load as it needs power in large quantity and reliable quality to run its processes. Underpinned by a comprehensive...

The goals of universal health coverage (UHC) are to ensure that all people can access quality health services, to safeguard all people from public health risks, and to protect all people from impoverishment due to illness, whether from out-of-pocket payments for health care or loss of income when a household member falls sick. Countries as diverse as Brazil, France, Japan, Thailand, and Turkey have shown how UHC can serve as vital mechanisms for improving the health and welfare of their citizens, and lay the foundation for economic growth and competitiveness grounded in the principles of...

The 2015 Millennium Development Goal to reduce by 50 percent the share of the world's population living in extreme poverty was met early. The number of individuals in developing countries who live in extreme poverty had decreased from 43 percent in 1990 to 21 percent by 2010. Yet, with 1.2 billion people still struggling today, we have a long way to go. What can we learn from the recent success of reducing extreme poverty? Understanding Changes in Poverty brings together different methods to decompose the contributions to poverty reduction. A simple approach quantifies the contribution of...