Successful Conversion to Unleaded Gasoline in Thailand
Successful Conversion to Unleaded Gasoline in Thailand

Author: Philip Sayeg

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 82

ISBN-13: 9780821342398

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The Government of Thailand within a five-year period (1991-95) introduced a series of initiatives that resulted in the elimination of leaded gasoline and reduction of ambient lead by a factor of 10. This report describes the strategies the government employed: educating about the dangers of airborne lead; setting a lower at-pump price for unleaded gasoline; helping the oil companies establish a system to distribute unleaded gasoline throughout the country; conducting monitoring and follow-up studies; and adjusting environmental regulations as necessary to support these policies.

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.

Legal Impediments to Effective Rural Land Relations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Legal Impediments to Effective Rural Land Relations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Author: Roy L. Prosterman

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9780821345016

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"Excessive concentration of land ownership, as is feared by many transition governments, has not been a feature of land markets where they have been allowed to function relatively freely and where land has been allocated in kind to households and individuals."The World Bank has long been active in the Europe and Central Asia region in monitoring and evaluating land reform developments and supporting the development of land markets. Bank efforts to date have made a significant impact in our client countries, and studies produced by the Bank have been used as impartial references on this subject by both international organizations and the countries themselves. This report was developed as a result of these efforts. It focuses on: • The principal issues faced by the transition economies of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union • The potential approaches for resolving specific problem issues.

A Guide to the World Bank
A Guide to the World Bank

Author:

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 9780821353448

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The World Bank Group works in more than 100 developing economies and is one of the world's largest sources of development assistance. In 2002, the institution provided US $19.5 billion in loans to its client countries. This guide reviews the organisation's history, objectives and operations, and looks at the five institutions that make up the World Bank Group: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

Municipal Solid Waste Incineration
Municipal Solid Waste Incineration

Author: T. Rand

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2000-01-01

Total Pages: 118

ISBN-13: 9780821346686

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Ever increasing amounts of solid waste and dwindling space for disposal is a problem reaching crisis level in many of the world's largest urban areas. Incineration as an alternative to landfill has come under scrutiny, though the capital and operating costs generally exceed those associated with landfill. This report provides background information for the "Decision-maker' guide to municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration". Key criteria for a solid waste incineration scheme are identified, and the report gives decision makers information on how to investigate and assess the degree to which they are fulfilled.

From Transition to Accession
From Transition to Accession

Author: Esen Ulgenerk

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2000-01-01

Total Pages: 88

ISBN-13: 9780821347812

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Bulgaria is recovering from a severe economic and financial crisis after more than half a decade of macroeconomic mismanagement. As a candidate country for accession to the EU, Bulgaria will need to establish stable, well-regulated and competitive financial markets and institutions. This paper reviews developments in the financial markets.

Food and Agriculture in the Czech Republic
Food and Agriculture in the Czech Republic

Author: Csaba Csáki

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 124

ISBN-13: 9780821345023

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"Becoming a member of the European Union is one of the most important objectives of the Czech Republic for the coming years, both for the government, and for the Czech society as a whole." With the exception of a few traditional Czech products, the Czech Republic is not a major exporter of agricultural goods due to its land-locked position and relatively poor product differentiation. Since the "velvet revolution" in 1989, agricultural production has declined. To conform to European Union standards for accession, the Czech Republic needs to make some adjustments. This report reviews the current state of Czech agriculture and agro-industry in the context of EU accession. It analyzes institutional reforms and their actual impacts and proposes a series of adjustments to complete the reforms in the agricultural sector. This report is intended for agricultural scientists, public officials, agricultural and agro-industrial leaders, and researchers 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.

Poverty and Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean
Poverty and Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean

Author: Quentin Wodon

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 9780821347546

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Although the progress toward poverty reduction remains sluggish, other dimensions of social welfare in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region show signs of improvement. Adult literacy and school enrollment rates, life expectancy at birth, and the amount of access to safe water are increasing. Nutrition indicators are also improving. However, other factors demonstrate that many problems persist, especially the inequality between rich and poor. This report analyzes the evolution of poverty and inequality in the LAC region from 1986 to 1996 with projections to 1998. It reviews the policies which have been advocated or implemented to reduce poverty. The report combines the results of new empirical work using household surveys from 12 countries, short theoretical developments, and a review of the literature on issues related to poverty, inequality, and social policy in LAC. Some of the theoretical developments introduce new research techniques. Chapters three to six follow the framework proposed in the forthcoming 'World Development Report 2000-2001'. The framework identifies three essential elements for poverty reduction. Those elements include opportunities for the poor and investments in the human capital of the poor, security through social safety nets, and empowerment.

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.

Hungary
Hungary

Author:

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1999-01-01

Total Pages: 46

ISBN-13: 9780821345177

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Published by Oxford University Press for the World Bank. Some people may believe that crises are an inevitable feature of the capitalist system. Others hold that exchange-rate crises will vanish as more and more countries adopt floating exchange rates... But, some of us believe that crises can be avoided or at least limited by good economic management, and that having a reasonable idea of where the equilibrium exchange rate lies is an essential requirement for good macro management... --John Williamson, Chief Economist, South Asia Region, World Bank Exchange Rate Misalignment provides a comprehensive treatment of the conceptual and empirical issues concerning measuring exchange rate misalignment in developing countries. The report hopes to provide policymakers and their advisors with a compendium of practical techniques for estimating equilibrium real exchange rates. The book analyzes, in detail, four methodologies for the empirical estimation of the long-run equilibrium real exchange rate. The findings of the report include: * An assessment of alternative empirical measures of the internal and external real exchange rates. * An up-to-date survey of the literature on estimating equilibrium exchange rates in both industrial and developing countries. * A detailed presentation of currently available methodologies for empirically estimating the equilibrium exchange rate in developing countries. The analytical depth and practical techniques provided in Exchange Rate Misalignment make this book an invaluable resource for policymakers and foreign exchange specialists in the public and private sector.