In November 2001 the members of the World Trade Organization approved the start of new trade talks at the WTO ministerial meeting in Doha. Written by a team of authors from developing and developed countries in the Asia-Pacific region, this collection of essays identifies ways that progress might be made on key negotiating topics. The negotiations launched will focus on such problematic issues as improving market access in agriculture, and strengthening the development impacts of WTO which, if achieved, will have profound implications on world trade.

This book examines the economic success of the newly industrializing and near-industrializing economies of East Asia. The distinguished group of authors covers a range of topics in a comparative perspective, and identifies lessons of concern to economic, political, and social questions throughout the developing world. Contributors: James Riedel, Hollis Chenery, Seiji Naya, Thomas G. Parry, Robert Wade, Arnold C. Harberger, Deepak Lal, Ryokichi Hirono, Stephen Haggard, J.A.C. Mackie, William J. O'Malley.

This book analyzes the remarkable postwar development of East Asian economies and assesses the prospects for copying this blueprint elsewhere. Leading economists examine the key factors and policy issues involved, especially the changed emphasis from import-substitution to outward-orientation.

Fiscal Decentralisation in Developing Countries features important, original and up-to-date research from leading scholars assessing fiscal decentralization in developing countries. It has rich and varied case-study material from countries as diverse as India, China, Colombia, Bosnia-Herzogovina and South Africa.

Labour Market Reform in China analyzes institutional changes in the Chinese labor market over the past twenty years, and offers evidence that further reform is necessary if China is to sustain its high growth rates. It investigates separately the impact of economic reform on the rural and urban labor markets and then considers their interaction. Consideration is given to employment and unemployment, wages and social security. It provides a detailed analysis of how current ownership patterns of urban enterprises hinder further labor market reform.

Trade integration contributes substantially to economic development and poverty alleviation. In recent years much progress was made to liberalize the trade regime, but customs procedures are often still complex, costly and non-transparent. This situation leads to misallocation of resources. 'Customs Modernization Handbook' provides an overview of the key elements of a successful customs modernization strategy and draws lessons from a number of successful customs reforms as well as from customs reform projects that have been undertaken by the World Bank. It describes a number of key import...

The past decade has brought an increasing recognition to the importance of pension systems to the economic stability of nations and the security of their aging populations. During this time, the World Bank has taken a leading role in addressing this challenge through its support for pension reforms around the world. 'Old-Age Income Support in the 21st Century' attempts to explain current policy thinking and update the World Bank's perspective on pension reform. The Bank has been involved in pension reforms in nearly 60 countries, and the demand for its support continues to grow. This book...

Poverty reduction on a large scale depends on empowering those who are most motivated to move out of poverty?--poor people themselves. But if empowerment cannot be measured, it will not be taken seriously in development policy making and programming. Building on the award-winning 'Empowerment and Poverty Reduction' sourcebook, this volume outlines a conceptual framework that can be used to monitor and evaluate programs centered on empowerment approaches. It presents the perspectives of 27 distinguished researchers and practitioners in economics, political science, sociology, psychology,...

The majority of the world's poor depend directly or indirectly on agriculture. Despite the strong linkages between broad-based agricultural growth and poverty reduction, international support to agriculture sharply declined from the late 1980s. The need to raise agriculture's prominence in the development agenda has never been greater. This book seeks to articulate the World Bank's Rural Strategy on agriculture to the wider development community. It provides decision makers with the rationale for supporting agriculture by presenting the lessons learned on the policies, institutions, and...

Investing to promote agricultural growth and poverty reduction is a central pillar of the World Bank's current rural strategy, 'Reaching the Rural Poor' (2003). This 'Sourcebook' addresses how to implement the rural strategy, by sharing information on investment options and identifying innovative approaches that will aid the design of future lending programs for agriculture. It provides generic good practices and many examples that demonstrate investment in agriculture can provide rewarding and sustainable returns to development efforts. It is divided into eleven self-contained modules. Each...