Policy Options for Meeting the Millenium Development Goals in Brazil
Policy Options for Meeting the Millenium Development Goals in Brazil

Author: Francisco H. G Ferreira

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13:

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Ferreira and Leite investigate whether micro-simulation techniques can shed light on the types of policies that should be adopted by countries wishing to meet their Millennium Development Goals. They compare two families of micro-simulations. The first family of micro-simulations decomposes required poverty changes into a change in the mean and a reduction in inequality. Although it highlights the importance of inequality reduction, it appears to be too general to be of much use for policymaking. The second family of micro-simulations is based on a richer model of behavior in the labor markets. It points to the importance of combining different policy options, such as educational expansion and targeted conditional redistribution schemes, to ensure that the poorest people in society are successfully reached. But the absence of market equilibria in these statistical models, as well as the strong stability assumptions which are implicit in their use, argue for extreme caution in their interpretation. This paper--a product of the Poverty Team, Development Research Group--is part of a larger effort in the group to understand pro-poor policies.

Policy Transfer in Global Perspective
Policy Transfer in Global Perspective

Author: Mark Evans

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 1351910450

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The world of public policy is becoming increasingly small due to dramatic changes in global communications, political and economic institutional structures, and to nation states themselves. This book evaluates the implications of these changes and challenges for both the study and the practice of policy transfer, and provides a unique understanding of the relationship between systemic globalizing forces and the increasing scope and intensity of policy transfer activity. It provides: an explanation of policy transfer as a process of organizational learning; an insight into how and why such processes are studied by policy scientists; an evaluation of its use by policy practitioners; and the first published collection of policy transfer case studies between developed countries, from developed to developing countries, and from developing countries.

Health in 2015
Health in 2015

Author: World Health Organization

Publisher: World Health Organization

Published: 2015-12-14

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789241565110

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In 2015 the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) come to the end of their term, and a post-2015 agenda, comprising 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), takes their place. This WHO report looks back 15 years at the trends and positive forces during the MDG era and assesses the main challenges that will affect health in the coming 15 years. "Snapshots" on 34 different health topics outline trends, achievements made, reasons for success, challenges and strategic priorities for improving health in the different areas.--

Analyzing the Distributional Impact of Reforms: A practitioner's guide to trade, monetary and exchange rate policy, utility provision, agricultural markets, land policy, and education
Analyzing the Distributional Impact of Reforms: A practitioner's guide to trade, monetary and exchange rate policy, utility provision, agricultural markets, land policy, and education

Author: World Bank

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 9780821361818

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This publication is a practitioner's guide for analyzing the distributional impact of reforms to trade, monetary and exchange rate policy, utility provision, agricultural markets, land policy and education. These six areas of policy reform are the ones most likely to have an impact on distribution and poverty. Such analysis helps in policy formulation and development and for implementing poverty reduction strategies in developing countries. Each chapter in this volume provides an overview and guidance on the specific issues arising in the analysis of the distributional impacts of policy and institutional reforms in selected sectors.

Options for Financing Lifelong Learning
Options for Financing Lifelong Learning

Author: Miguel Palacios

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13:

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How should lifelong learning be financed? The author attempts to answer the question by creating a framework for analyzing different education financing mechanisms in light of particular characteristics of lifelong learning. The framework compares the different financing alternatives on four dimensions: (1) who ultimately pays for the education, (2) who finances its immediate costs, (3) how payments are made, and (4) who collects the payments. The author uses specific characteristics of lifelong learning to determine which among the financing alternatives are most useful. The characteristics are that the individual should decide what and where to study, carry a significant part of the financial burden, and be encouraged to continue learning through all life stages. The author analyzes the financing alternatives according to who ultimately pays for the education. Hence, the alternatives are classified either as cost-recovery or cost-subsidization alternatives. Cost-recovery alternatives include traditional loans, a graduate tax, human capital contracts, and income-contingent loans. Subsidization alternatives are those in which the state directly subsidizes institutions or in which the state gives vouchers to students. The author concludes that combining income-contingent loans and human capital contracts with vouchers is the most efficient and equitable method for financing lifelong learning. The author discusses the role of governments and multilateral organizations in improving the financing of lifelong learning. He assesses shifting toward cost-recovery alternatives, focusing on collection of payments, and aiming for the involvement of private capital as key issues that should be addressed to ensure that lifelong learning will be available for all equitably and efficiently.

Ways Out of Poverty
Ways Out of Poverty

Author: Michael U. Klein

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13:

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Fundamentally, poverty reduction is about bringing growth processes to poor areas. Because poor areas can benefit from technical and organizational innovations made elsewhere in the world, it is possible today to create productive jobs faster and in greater quantity than ever before. The puzzle is what helps spread such "best practices." Saving, investment, education, resources, and new technology are all needed-and fairly easy to obtain. What is hard to obtain are the institutions that allow these factors of production to be combined and translated into productive job creation. Firms are the key vehicles that spread best practices and productive jobs to areas where poor people live. Because we can never be sure which firm will be successful, it is necessary that new firms can enter markets, that substandard firms are allowed to fail, and that good firms face few barriers to growth. This is the definition of competition, and competition is what selects good firms and thus drives the spread of best practice and productive jobs. Governments need to provide the framework in which capable firms can emerge. Yet, the right mix of state activity and how it best interacts with firms are not fully understood. Some selection mechanism, which allows for policy experiments and selects successful ones, is valuable for national, provincial, and local governments. Thus competition among jurisdictions and firms is an integral part of dynamic social systems that hold promise for creating wealth and ending poverty.

East Asia's Dynamic Development Model and Teh Republic of Korea's Experiences
East Asia's Dynamic Development Model and Teh Republic of Korea's Experiences

Author: Ho-chʻŏl Yi

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 64

ISBN-13: 0404042627

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No region has been more dynamic in recent years than East Asia. Despite its successful economic development, evaluations of the East Asian development model have often been capricious, shifting from "miracle" to "cronyism." How can we explain East Asia's ups and downs consistently? To respond to this challenge, it is necessary to study the progress of East Asian development and to trace the influence of Asian cultural values. This study mainly focuses on cultural aspects of economic progress and analyzes East Asia's philosophical and historical backgrounds to explain the dynamic process. East Asians believe that balance between opposite but complementary forces, Yin and Yang, will ensure social stability and progress. Through repeated rebalancing to maintain harmony, the society comes to maturity. In traditional East Asian societies, a balance was maintained between Confucianism (Yang) and Taoism, Buddhism, and other philosophies (Yin). In modern societies, the challenge is to balance traditional systems (Yang) and Western style capitalism (Yin). This East Asian development model explains the Republic of Korea's rise, fall, and recovery. Korea was a poor country until the early 1960s, during the time when spiritualism (Yang) dominated. From the 1960s through the 1980s, Korea achieved rapid growth by finding a new balance and moving toward materialism (Yin) from spiritualism (Yang). But the failure to maintain a harmonious balance between cooperatism and collectivism (Yang) and individualism (Yin) led to major weaknesses in labor and financial markets that contributed significantly to the financial crisis in 1997. As Korea arrived at a new balance by instituting reform programs, the venture-oriented information and communication technology (ICT) industry blossomed and led to a rapid economic recovery. Since 2000, domestic financial scandals and political corruption have emerged as new social issues. Korea's next challenge is to find a new harmonization between moralism (Yang) and legalism (Yin). This paper-a product of the Office of the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Development Economics-is part of a larger effort in the Bank to examine institutional and cultural foundations of development across regions and countries.

Pro-growth, Pro-poor
Pro-growth, Pro-poor

Author: J. Humberto Lopez

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 29

ISBN-13:

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"Is a pro-growth strategy always the best pro-poor strategy? To address this issue, Lopez provides an empirical evaluation of the impact of a series of pro-growth policies on inequality and headcount poverty. He relies on a large macroeconomic data set and estimate dynamic panel models that allows him to differentiate between the short- and long-run impacts of the policies under consideration on growth, inequality, and poverty. The author's findings indicate that regardless of their impact on inequality, pro-growth policies lead to lower poverty levels in the long run. However, he also finds evidence indicating that some of these policies may lead to higher inequality and, under plausible assumptions for the distribution of income, to higher poverty levels in the short run. These findings would justify the adoption of a pro-growth policy package as the center of any poverty reduction strategy, together with pro-poor measures that complement such a package by offsetting potential short-run increases in poverty. This paper-- a product of the Poverty Reduction Group, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network-- is part of a larger effort in the network to understand how to increase the impact of growth on poverty reduction"-- World Bank web site.

Finance and Income Inequality
Finance and Income Inequality

Author: George R. G. Clarke

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13:

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Although theoretical models make distinct predictions about the relationship between financial sector development and income inequality, little empirical research has been conducted to compare their relative explanatory power. Clarke, Xu, and Zou examine the relation between financial intermediary development and income inequality in a panel data set of 91 countries for the period 1960-95. Their results provide evidence that inequality decreases as economies develop their financial intermediaries, consistent with the theoretical models in Galor and Zeira (1993) and Banerjee and Newman (1993). Moreover, consistent with the insight of Kuznets, the relation between the Gini coefficient and financial intermediary development appears to depend on the sectoral structure of the economy: a larger modern sector is associated with a smaller drop in the Gini coefficient for the same level of financial intermediary development. But there is no evidence of an inverted-U-shaped relation between financial sector development and income inequality, as suggested by Greenwood and Jovanovic (1990). The results are robust to controlling for biases introduced by simultaneity. This paper--a product of Investment Climate, Development Research Group--is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the link between economic development and financial sector performance.

Government Bonds in Domestic and Foreign Currency
Government Bonds in Domestic and Foreign Currency

Author: Daniela Klingebiel

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13:

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The development of government bond markets and, in particular, their currency composition have recently received much interest, partly because of their relation with financial crises. The authors study the determinants of the size and currency composition of government bond markets for a panel of industrial and developing countries. They find that countries with larger economies, greater domestic investor bases, and more flexible exchange rate regimes have larger domestic currency bond markets, while smaller economies rely more on foreign currency bonds. Better institutional frameworks and macroeconomic fundamentals enhance both domestic currency bond markets and increase countries' ability to issue foreign currency bonds, while they raise the share of foreign exchange bonds.