This evaluation of ten matching grant funds for enterprise development concludes that matching grant funds address the need to build domestic capacity to support businesses. Performance has been mixed, however, and best practice models are needed. Grant funding may be justified for technical knowhow, but support should be temporary and should be phased out as soon as the main objective, market take-off, is achieved.
The unprecedented globalization of the production process, dividing up the value chain, has brought the integration of trade and the disintegration of production, with deep implications for the international division of labor. Have Central European economies been able to readjust their production structures to international markets? Three of them: Estonia, Hungary, and Slovakia have done especially well.
If infectious people can infect other people, who in turn can infect others, and so on--the pure infection externality--government subsidies to affect private behavior should equally favor preventive and curative activities, if people recover to become susceptible again. Otherwise, other subsidy and tax strategies may make more sense.
Fears of job loss and changes in employment status have often led workers and unions to oppose privatization and to take actions that delay or block reforms. Many developing country governments have been reluctant to undertake reforms because of labor opposition and the political costs involved. Such difficulties are often compounded by concerns about the social impact of reforms, particularly in countries where social safety nets and labor markets are lacking. The objective of the Toolkit, which includes a CD-ROM, is to provide practical tools and information to help policy makers and practitioners deal with these sensitive issues. The Toolkit helps governments identify and select appropriate strategies and approaches, offers guidelines for design and implementation based on best practice and actual experience, and indicates the factors influencing the choice of strategy and options. The Toolkit is illustrated with examples, checklists, and templates that walk decision makers through best practice methodologies.
Publisher's description: Developing countries are increasingly confronted with the need to address trade policy related issues in international agreements, most prominently the World Trade Organization (WTO). New WTO negotiations on a broad range of subjects were launched in November 2001. Determining whether and how international trade agreements can support economic development is a major challenge. Stakeholders in developing countries must be informed on the issues and understand how their interests can be pursued through international cooperation. This handbook offers guidance on the design of trade policy reform, surveys key disciplines and the functioning of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and discusses numerous issues and options that confront developing countries in using international cooperation to improve domestic policy and obtain access to export markets. Many of the issues discussed are also relevant in the context of regional integration agreements. Separate sections of the handbook summarize what constitutes sound trade policy; the major aspects of the WTO from a development perspective; policy issues in the area of merchandise trade and the liberalization of international transactions in services; protection of intellectual property rights and economic development; new regulatory subjects that are emerging in the agenda of trade talks; and enhancing participation of developing countries in the global trading system.
In a large sample of East Asian nonfinancial corporations, firms using foreign currency derivatives had distinctive characteristics, such as larger size and foreign debt exposures. Unlike in studies of U.S. firms, there was only weak evidence that liquidity-constrained firms with greater growth opportunities hedged more. Firms appeared to use foreign earnings as a substitute for hedging with derivatives, and to engage in "selective" hedging. There was no evidence that East Asian firms eliminated their foreign exchange exposure by using derivatives. And firms using derivatives before the crisis performed just as poorly as nonhedgers during the crisis.
This Occasional Paper presents the study findings of approaches to the design and delivery of business services to farmers and rural entrepreneurs. Interventions aimed at business service provision and designed and developed by donors have commonly been termed Business Development Services (BDS). BDS has largely focused on reducing poverty by raising the incomes of farmers and rural entrepreneurs. The term business services, refers to the range of non financial services provided to micro and small enterprises (MSEs) at various stages in their development. They embody a market development approach to the provision of support services1. This Occasional Paper presents findings from a study conducted on approaches to the design and delivery of business services to farmers and rural entrepreneurs. The paper is based upon an extensive literature review of BDS and other business-related service interventions, supported by selected case studies in Asia and Africa. Business services are aimed at assisting farmers and rural entrepreneurs to overcome internal and external constraints to their farm business start-up, development and performance. Contained within the broad concept are such activities as group training, individual counselling, advice, the development of new commercial entities, technology development and transfer, information provision, business links and policy advocacy.
