Electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, railways, and water supply, are often vertically and horizontally integrated state monopolies. This results in weak services, especially in developing and transition economies, and for poor people. Common problems include low productivity, high costs, bad quality, insufficient revenue, and investment shortfalls. Many countries over the past two decades have restructured, privatized and regulated their infrastructure. This report identifies the challenges involved in this massive policy redirection. It also assesses the outcomes of these changes, as well as their distributional consequences for poor households and other disadvantaged groups. It recommends directions for future reforms and research to improve infrastructure performance, identifying pricing policies that strike a balance between economic efficiency and social equity, suggesting rules governing access to bottleneck infrastructure facilities, and proposing ways to increase poor people's access to these crucial services.
"Proposes experiments in deregulating and privatizing the country's transportation systems to rid them of inefficiencies and significantly improve their performance in moving goods and people around the United States; the book covers roads, airports and airport traffic control, mass transit, intercity buses and railway networks"--Provided by publisher.
Iceland became one of the symbols of the global financial crisis. It provides an ideal test case for the perceptions of economists, in particular their ability to anticipate crises. The book contains papers and reports, written prior to the collapse of Iceland's financial system, about the economy. What did and didn't they see coming, and why?
Governance, as defined by the World Bank in its 1992 report, Governance and Development, is the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country's economic and social resources for development. The report deemed it is within the Bank's mandate to focus on the following: -the process by which authority is exercised in the management of a country's economic and social resources -the capacity of governments to design, formulate, and implement policies and discharge functions. Also available: Governance: The World Bank's Experience (ISBN 0-8213-2804-2) Stock No. 12804.
Education policymakers often demonstrate surprisingly little awareness of how popular reforms impact teaching and teacher education. In this book, well-regarded scholars help readers develop a more robust understanding of the nature of teacher preparation, as well as an in-depth grasp of how popular policies, practices, and ideologies have taken root domestically and internationally. Contributors include Deron Boyles, Anthony Cody, Kerry Kretchmar, Carmen Montecinos, Beth Sondel, and Christopher Tienken. “This book will help readers consider the possibilities of democratic visions in the teaching profession and in public education, particularly in this time of intense political polarization when critical citizen engagement with our public institutions and policies is deeply needed.” —Janelle Scott, University of California, Berkeley “The chapters in this book make clear that ongoing policy disconnects cannot be ignored and that now is the time to elevate the teaching profession for students who have faced historical inequities.” —Julian Vasquez Heilig, dean, University of Kentucky College of Education “Public teaching and teacher education in the U.S. and in many other parts of the world are under assault by concerted efforts to deregulate and marketize them. This collection of essays examines the consequences of these privatization efforts in the U.S., Chile, and Singapore and should be required reading for those wanting to understand their complexity and consequences for teaching and teacher education today.” —Ken Zeichner, Boeing Professor of Teacher Education, University of Washington
Placing the airport business within a conceptual framework, the author examines the major global issues that confront it and offers solutions to the economic and financial difficulties likely to arise in the future.
This publication examines the empirical evidence on the privatisation measures introduced in the Latin American region since the 1980s, in light of recent criticisms of the record of privatisation and allegations of corruption, abuse of market power and neglect of the poor. It includes case studies on the privatisation debate in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru; and sets out recommendations for future reforms.
Transportation Policy and Economic Regulation: Essays in Honor of Theodore Keeler addresses a number of today's important transportation policy issues, exploring a variety of transportation modes, and examining the policy implications of a number of alternatives. Theodore Keeler had a distinguished career in transportation economics, helping to shape regulatory policies concerning the transportation industries and assessing the appropriateness of various policies. A distinguishing feature of his work is that it always had policy implications. As a tribute to Theodore Keeler, this book examines transportation policy issues across a variety of transportation industries, including aviation, railroads, highways, motor carrier transport, automobiles, urban transit, and ocean shipping. The book evaluates the economic impact and effectiveness of various policies, employing empirical analyses and new estimation techniques, such as Bayesian analysis. The book is designed for transportation professionals and researchers, as well as transportation economics students, providing an in-depth analysis of some of today's important transportation policy issues. Policy changes established in the last 35-40 years have introduced profound changes in the business environment of the transportation industry. Past policy changes promoted the free market's role in setting prices and determining service availability. While 21st century policy has focused on a variety of other issues, such as safety, road and air congestion, productivity growth, labor relations and exhaust emission, many still promote the role of competition. In addition to examining various transportation policy issues in the U.S., the book explores some approaches to dealing with transportation issues in different parts of the world. Contemporary transportation policy debates have broadened from their initial focus of primarily examining the merits of reforming economic regulations at national levels, to now examining a variety of issues such as alternative methods of social regulation (such as safety regulation and emission controls), new approaches to changing economic regulations, the potential for reforming international regulations, and the appropriate role for government in transportation. - Examines transportation policy developments across a variety of modes, including some international analysis - Shows how new policy changes, such as changes in regulation, affect overall transportation system performance - Features chapters that use innovative methodologies, such as Bayesian techniques, qualitative analysis, and an attribute-incorporated Malmquist productivity index - Examines the ways that policy impacts depend on a variety of factors, and shows how economic tools can be used to gain greater insights into the likely impacts of policy and the desirability of various policies - Analyzes transport prices, quality of service, safety, the use of information technology and operating issues, highlighting how transportation enhances quality of life
