The Countries of Southeastern Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania) have re-committed themselves to scale up action on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in the sub-region. These three countries share several social conditions that have led to an alarming increase in HIV infection. These conditions include increasing unemployment and poverty, rapid social changes, a decrease in the accessibility and quality of services and educational opportunities, psychological stress from post-conflict situations, increased substance abuse and sex work, and increased trafficking in women for sexual...
The Countries of Southeastern Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania) have re-committed themselves to scale up action on the prevention and treatment ...
This study represents a first attempt of providing a comprehensive quantification of educational outcomes in the Caribbean region. Its main objectives are: (a) to define a set of operationally relevant education indicators (b) to provide a database of comparable education indicators in Caribbean countries where data is available, namely Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago and (c) to propose methods on how the common set of indicators can be used for analyses of the education...
This study represents a first attempt of providing a comprehensive quantification of educational outcomes in the Caribbean region. Its main objectives...
In many developing countries, both governments and investors have expressed disappointment with the performance of recently privatized electricity distribution companies. Some investors claim that the design of the new regulatory system is fundamentally flawed and recommend that independent regulatory commissions be replaced or supplemented by more explicit 'regulation by contract' that would reduce the discretion of new commissions. This paper examines whether regulation by contract or a combination of regulation by contract and regulatory independence would provide a better regulatory...
In many developing countries, both governments and investors have expressed disappointment with the performance of recently privatized electricity dis...
'Review of Electricity Supply and Demand in Southeast Europe' is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion. This paper reviews the power sector demand-supply balance in Southeastern Europe, covering Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia and Montenegro (including Kosovo), and identifies the magnitude of generation investments needed in this evolving market. It proposes mechanisms to reduce investment...
'Review of Electricity Supply and Demand in Southeast Europe' is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. These papers are published to communicat...
The idea of social capital has enjoyed a remarkable rise to prominence in both the theoretical and applied social science literature over the last decade. While lively debate has accompanied that journey, thereby helping to advance our thinking and clarifying areas of agreement and disagreement, much still remains to be done. One approach that could help bring further advances for both scholars and practitioners is providing a set of empirical tools for measuring social capital. The purpose of this paper is to introduce such a tool with a focus on applications in developing countries. The...
The idea of social capital has enjoyed a remarkable rise to prominence in both the theoretical and applied social science literature over the last dec...
Improvement in the management of public finances in developing countries has been an increasingly important focus of World Bank and IMF assistance to member countries. A key element of such assistance is the development of effective treasury systems, which form the backbone for recording and processing all financial transactions related to government budgets. The establishment of an effective, integrated treasury system helps manage public monies with greater financial control, improved monitoring, better planning, better fiscal reporting, and better data for budget formulation, while also...
Improvement in the management of public finances in developing countries has been an increasingly important focus of World Bank and IMF assistance to ...
'Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon' is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. The report suggests that, in contrast to the 1970s and 1980s, when occupation of Brazilian Amazonia was largely induced by government policies and subsidies, recent deforestation in significant parts of the region is basically caused by medium- and large-scale cattle ranching. Among the causes of the transformation are technological and managerial changes and the adaptation of cattle ranching to the geo-ecological conditions of eastern Amazonia, which allowed for productivity gains and cost...
'Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon' is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. The report suggests that, in contrast to the 1970s a...
'Contribution of Information and Communication Technologies to Growth' is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion. The worldwide development of information and communication technology (ICT) has accelerated dramatically over the past decade. Technological advances and increased competition have led to falling prices for ICT goods and services, which has provided a strong incentive to replace other forms of capital and labor with information technology equipment....
'Contribution of Information and Communication Technologies to Growth' is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. These papers are published to c...
'Electronic Safety and Soundness' identifies and discusses four key pillars that are necessary to foster a secure electronic environment and the safety and soundness of financial systems worldwide. First, the monograph defines electronic finance and electronic security (e-security) and explains why these areas require attention. Next, it presents a picture of the emerging global security industry. Then, it develops a risk management framework to assist policymakers and practitioners in understanding the tradeoffs and risks inherent in using an open network infrastructure. The book also...
'Electronic Safety and Soundness' identifies and discusses four key pillars that are necessary to foster a secure electronic environment and the safet...
'Telecommunications Challenges in Developing Countries' addresses an important aspect of interconnection - the settings of call termination charges. In rural telecommunications, network costs are known to be high. The traditional consensus has been that many rural areas cannot be connected without subsidies. This paper investigates the possibilities for implementing a geographically de-averaged charge regime indicative of the relative cost differences between urban and rural networks. This could change the business model for rural networks, significantly increasing revenues from incoming...
'Telecommunications Challenges in Developing Countries' addresses an important aspect of interconnection - the settings of call termination charges. I...