This book discusses the trajectories of creating specialized autonomous units. An analysis of the mechanisms and measures taken for granting autonomy to specialized autonomous units and subsequently to coordinating them back is described. The book shows a range of patterns in the dynamics of specialization and coordination over 25 years.
World Bank Discussion Paper No. 290. Draws on the lessons of experience of developing countries in decentralizing infrastructure and provides new empirical evidence on the quantitative and qualitative effects of decentralization. This collection of five papers highlights the lessons of the World Bank's research and experience on the linkages between infrastructure and decentralization. The paper provides: - A summary of the lessons from World Bank experience, giving a general review of the importance of the decentralization of infrastructure - A review of the institutional aspects of decentralization and their implications for policy design - An empirical assessment of the consequences of decentralization for expenditure levels and performance in infrastructure - An outline for a research agenda on decentralization in light of recent developments in the theory of the firm. - The authors conclude that some degree of decentralization will improve performance in certain areas of infrastructure such as roads and electricity.
This document contains two papers which address the process of tax reform and its fiscal impacts on families at different levels of income. The first paper, which examines the tax reform process, argues that of the government's three primary objectives in tax reform (efficiency or tax neutrality, equity, and simplicity), concern with efficiency was dominant. The second paper focuses on the concern for tax equity.
This volume, edited by Michel A. Dessart and Roland E. Ubogu, records the presentations made and discussions held during the Inaugural Seminar of the Joint Africa Institute (JAI). The JAI was established in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, by the African Development Bank, the IMF, and the World Bank to meet the pressing training needs of the African continent. The participants discussed four main topics: the changing role of the state, governance, and new capacity requirements; the challenge of achieving macroeconomic stability in Africa; the requirement for capacity building in Africa; and the role of international financial institutions in capacity building in Africa. The seminar was held in November 1999, but the topics and recommendations of the seminar remain current and of particular importance today. The seminar was held in English and French, and both language versions are contained in this volume. 240 pp. 2001
This book confronts some of the most important questions related to liberalization, regulation, and the role of the nation state in an increasingly international economy. In the face of powerful transitional pressures for change, to what extent are states able to maintain stable institutional frameworks? Do different domestic structures generate dissimilar patterns of policy-making and economic performance? How important are past institutional choices to subsequent reform? The author addresses these questions through a study of the transformations of a strategic economic sector, telecommunications, in Britain and France over the past three decades. It analyses the theoretical strengths and weaknesses of various models of public policy formation and, the role and reform of national institutions and the continuing role of the nation state.
The European Yearbook promotes the scientific study of nineteen European supranational organisations and the OECD. Each volume contains a detailed survey of the history, structure and yearly activities of each organisation and an up-to-date chart providing a clear overview of the member states of each organisation.
