Improving Women's Health Services in the Russian Federation
Improving Women's Health Services in the Russian Federation

Author:

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 56

ISBN-13: 9780821341971

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World Bank Technical Paper No. 404. The health of Russian women has suffered during the economic crisis of recent years. Morbidity and mortality from chronic and infectious diseases have increased. Women's reproductive health has been compromised by an increase in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and by lack of access to up-to-date, high quality maternity and family planning services. This paper summarizes this current situation and reports on the findings of one element of the World Banks assistance to improve health care in the Russian Federation: a field testing of revised protocols for the care of women and infants.

Food and Agriculture in Bulgaria
Food and Agriculture in Bulgaria

Author: Csaba Csáki

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 9780821347935

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Agriculture traditionally played a significant role in the Bulgarian economy. Before the present decade, Bulgaria was a major exporter of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables within Eastern and Central Europe. While the Bulgarian government has progressed rapidly since 1997, the delay in reforms has rendered Bulgarian food products as noncompetitive on the international market. Also, many important components of the transition are not completed. This report reviews the recent history and current state of Bulgarian agriculture and agroindustry. It examines the status of the sectoral reforms program, including reforms affecting pricing and trade, rural finance, land markets, and agroindustry, with emphasis on evaluating its progress toward meeting the criteria for EU accession. It highlights the tremendous advances made recently, and also suggests an agenda for prioritizing the remaining obstacles. This report is intended for agricultural scientists, public officials, politicians, agricultural and agroindustrial leaders, economic researchers and others interested in the transformation of agriculture in the transition economies and in issues pertaining to accession of Central and East European candidate countries to the European Union.

Farm Sector Restructuring in Belarus
Farm Sector Restructuring in Belarus

Author: Csaba Csáki

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 9780821347928

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Agriculture remains the main source of employment and livelihood for the large rural population of many transition countries, especially among the former Soviet republics. Accordingly, the World Bank continuously monitors the progress of land reform and farm restructuring in the region because of the potential impact of these processes on rural development and poverty alleviation in rural areas. The present study on Belarus is the latest addition to a long and growing series of World Bank publications on land reform and farm restructuring in the former socialist countries of Europe and Central Asia. The unique features of all these publications is their reliance on first-hand empirical information collected through extensive farm surveys of various rural constituencies. Analysis of survey findings enables the World Bank to base its policy dialogue with governments in the region on solid empirical facts, making the Bank's recommendations more credible and relevant. The survey findings in this volume will provide a platform for useful policy discussions with this country's government and supply international donors that are active there with essential information to design their strategic programs.

Management of Water Resources
Management of Water Resources

Author: Musa Asad

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 110

ISBN-13: 9780821344378

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"Although procedures for pricing "retail" distribution have been established for a long time, methods for pricing bulk or "wholesale" water supplies are still evolving." How to finance the infrastructure and service of bulk water supply, and how to use pricing to achieve efficient allocation and use of water as a resource are the central issues that emerge from discussions about bulk water pricing. Efficiency will lead to allocating water resources better, reducing water losses caused by poor maintenance of the supply systems, and increased monitoring of water quality. At first glance, Brazil may not appear to be a relevant country from which to draw lessons in distributing scarce water resources, since it contains 12 percent of the world's fresh water supply. However, with its vast territory and issues of regional drought and population explosion, Brazil provides a unique environment in which to demonstrate how adequate pricing of bulk water on a regional level can help allocate water efficiently. This paper offers a framework for bulk water pricing reform and examines the lessons from recent analytical work and practice in Brazil, as well as relevant international experience. It then offers recommendations for the development of both water pricing and allocation policies to facilitate continued implementation of bulk water pricing in Brazil.

Regional and International Trade Policy
Regional and International Trade Policy

Author: Csaba Csáki

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13: 9780821344873

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With appropriate preparation and policies, the enlargement of the European Union (EU) will result in a broader and higher-level integration of European agriculture, create an environment more conducive to further liberalization of global agricultural trade, and lead to further opening of European markets.As part of the World Bank's Strategic Compact Initiative, the Bank has coordinated activities to help the ten EU accession countries achieve EU membership. These activities include the preparation of studies to facilitate implementation of necessary reforms and sponsoring seminars and workshops to disseminate and analyze the results. This volume presents the major papers and summaries of one of the Workshop deliberations. This volume includes the following topics: • lessons learned from other regional agricultural trade agreements • the evolution of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) • an analysis of the economic impact of trade flows • the harmonization of agricultural policies within trade agreements • the implications of the external trade environment for the accession countries • the role of sanitary and phytosanitary trade rule in EU accession • quantifying the incentive and farm income effects of agricultural support policies in transition economies • major challenges to agricultural input regulation and trade during transition and EU accession • concluding comments by the World Bank.

Institutional Frameworks in Successful Water Markets
Institutional Frameworks in Successful Water Markets

Author: Manuel Mari©?o

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13: 9780821344590

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Water is increasingly recognized as a scarce resource that must be managed more efficiently than in the past. In addition to physical scarcity, the cost of accessing these resources is climbing. This publication explores institutional frameworks in three case studies of long-standing and successful water markets. These cases demonstrate the common features and essential elements of water markets. They also show how to design markets that consider the local institutional, social, and political conditions and how to integrate those markets into existing water resource management arrangements. The papers are written for practitioners interested in how water markets operate, for decisionmakers faced with the challenge of selecting a water resource allocation system, and for academics interested in analytical-descriptive case studies that provide information on how to conceptualize the functioning of water markets from an institutional perspective.

DeMIStifying MIS
DeMIStifying MIS

Author: Luc Lecuit

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 9780821345597

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"Managers are often far from the real action, so they need something that will tell them what is going on... Luckily, the rapid evolution of tools for collecting, analyzing and diffusing information has greatly improved our ability to manage from a distance. However the speed of technological change means that changes in management practices and tools are inescapable." Development of Management Information Systems (MIS) for social funds has become essential due to some of the characteristics unique to these types of projects or organizations. Among these unique characteristics are the need for transparency and efficiency because of the highly visible nature of the activities. These guidelines define MIS and underscore its importance. They also outline specific tools to assist in selection of an MIS and summarize its design and implementation. These guidelines are meant to be a practical tool to help those who are setting up or managing a social fund navigate in MIS waters. Technical jargon is kept to a minimum and a glossary of technical terms is provided to assist readers who do not have a technical background. However, special Technical Boxes have been included for the "experts" in this field.

Forest Management in Nepal
Forest Management in Nepal

Author: Ian Hill

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 70

ISBN-13: 9780821344804

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Forests play a vital role in maintaining Nepal's impressive biodiversity, which has global significance: With only 0.1 percent of the world's total area, Nepal contains 2 percent of the planet's flowering plants, 8 percent of its birds, and 4 percent of its mammals. As Nepal develops its forest resources, it needs to minimize the biotic pressures affecting the structure and dynamics of forest plant communities and wildlife populations and thereby reverse the current destructive pressures on the country's biodiversity. The study aims to provide a better understanding of the ways in which forest resources are used in Nepal. Its focus is to examine systematically the costs and benefits of present and possible future sustainable and biodiversity-friendly management practices from household, national, and global perspectives. The authors define the analytical framework and the costs of financial and economic alternatives. They also present the economic, social, institutional and legal issues, and recommend strategies for change. The report should be of use to national and donor agencies concerned with the management of natural resources and conservation of biodiversity in Nepal, providing a framework for possible future donor support to the sector. It highlights issues that are of importance in the formulation and implementation of natural resource management programs by government and non-government agencies.