'The Road to Sustained Growth in Jamaica' is part of the World Bank Country Study series. These reports are published with the approval of the subject government to communicate the results of the Bank's work on the economic and related conditions of member countries to governments and to the development community. Jamaica's economic history is a story of paradoxes and potential. It has an English-speaking and a reasonably well-educated labor force, is close to the world's largest market, the United States, and has an abundance of natural beauty that has spurred tourism. Many of its social and...

Decentralization in Madagascar is part of the World Bank Country Study series. These reports are published with the approval of the subject government to communicate the results of the Bank's work on the economic and related conditions of member countries to governments and to the development community. This study takes stock of Madagascar's first 10 years of decentralization. As with many other developing countries, Madagascar's decentralization process has seen reversals, uncertainties and lack of clarity. This explains why Madagascar remains a highly centralized country with only about 3...

'The Health Sector in Eritrea' is part of the World Bank Country Study series. These reports are published with the approval of the subject government to communicate the results of the Bank's work on the economic and related conditions of member countries to governments and to the development community. In March 2001, the Ministry of Health of the Government of Eritrea launched a process to prepare a long-term health sector policy and strategic plan (HSPSP), with a focus on assuring equitable, quality, and sustainable health care. The Ministry outlined an open, participatory, three-step...

Inequality and Economic Development in Brazil is part of the World Bank Country Study series. These reports are published with the approval of the subject government to communicate the results of the Bank's work on the economic and related conditions of member countries to governments and to the development community. Excessive income inequality is unfair and undesirable on ethical grounds and can bring adverse effects on economic growth, health outcomes, social cohesion, and crime. Excessively unequal initial conditions are likely to lead to a perverse cycle of weak social mobility. Such is...

According to the authors of 'Zambia', poverty is on the rise in the country, its economy is not growing fast enough, the quality of economic governance is on the decline, and its public resources are not well spent. Addressing the longstanding challenges that Zambia faces in public expenditure management will require strong political will. In order to assure that public accountability is enduring and not dependent on the government which happens to be in power, it must strengthen budget processes and institutions that can provide public oversight and promote basic checks and balances. This...

Malnutrition is crippling Bolivia, afflicting approximately one in four babies born there each year. Despite high annual expenditures on improving nutrition and food security, and notwithstanding some stunning successes in the past two decades, the fundamental problem is still not improving. This book begins by defining the nature and extent of the malnutrition problem in Bolivia, its causes, and its occurrence relative to wealth, location, and ethnicity. It goes on to identify the underlying reasons for the failed response, asserting that the most fundamental barrier to progress is a general...

Rapid and sustained growth, in excess of 5% per annum, is key for sustained poverty reduction in Yemen. However, the achievement of such a target is challenging and necessitates aggressive changes in the overall business environment and governance structure along with the removal of certain obstacles to growth. This Country Study reviews Yemen's economic performance and evaluates the government's medium- and long-term development plans. It offers a detailed analysis of the major structural characteristics of the Yemeni economy and the primary economic sectors with the goal of identifying...

Many of the problems that Cali is currently experiencing are an indication of Colombia's complicated social economic situation. The high levels of crime, increasing poverty, and a distressed financial situation are signs that Cali has been hit harder than other large cities. In order to assist Cali, the World Bank has, along with the city of Cali, collaborated on a City Development Strategy (CDS). The aim of this report is to summarize the analytical work carried out as part of the City Development Strategy (CDS) process and to put forth for further discussion an initial set of...

The prospects for educational development in Madagascar are excellent due mainly to the increasingly favorable policy environment for the sector. One of the key challenges for policymakers and managers, in this sector, is to transform public spending in the sector into educational outcomes that will make a significant contribution to poverty reduction. This report identifies challenges at all levels in the formal education system. Among the topics discussed are equity in education, education finance, and coverage and structure of the education system. There are chapters devoted to primary and...

This report details lessons from Tanzania's development experience gained during the past four decades. It evaluates the imperatives for a higher sustained growth and a better livelihood for its citizens in the future. The background papers, presented in this report, review and evaluate Tanzania's actual growth and poverty reduction performance. This report also analyzes the main reasons for Tanzania's performance record and highlights the strategic and institutional imperatives needed for developing sustained growth and poverty reduction in Tanzania. The analysis focuses on the development...