World Bank Technical Paper No. 295. The progress made by the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in privatizing state-owned enterprises has created millions of new shareholders. But for the citizenry to buy and sell shares, these countries must develop stock markets and related institutions such as brokerages, clearing and settling organizations, and regulatory agencies. This paper examines the role of capital markets in the new market economies of Central and Eastern Europe and to what extent governments in the region should encourage the development of such markets. The authors address questions of whether the capital markets will serve merely as a forum for trading stocks or become a source of new equity capital to help restructure the enterprises of the region and whether governments should take a hands-off approach by letting the necessary institutions develop as they are needed or should actively create stock exchanges and establish the overall legal and regulatory framework.

Grameen Bank: Performance and Sustainability (World Bank Discussion Paper)

Business & Money

Khandker, Shahidur R.

Khalily, Baqui

Khan, Zahed H.

Economics

World Bank

World Bank Discussion Paper No. 320. Provides separate estimates of the influence of borrowing by both men and women, through three credit programs, on a variety of household and individual outcomes, including school enrollment, labor supply, the asset holdings of women, recent fertility and use of contraceptives, consumption, and the anthropometric status of children. The findings show that credit provided to women is more likely to influence these behaviors than credit provided to men and has a significant effect on the well-being of poor households in Bangladesh.

Household and Intrahousehold Impact of the Grameen Bank and Similar Targeted Credit Programs in Bangladesh (World Bank Discussion Paper)

Pitt, Mark Martin

World Bank Discussion Paper No. 347. Describes the elements of health reform in Sierra Leone as the West African nation attempts to overhaul its health system and focus it on the neediest populations. To highlight the role of key stakeholders, the study reviews the actions proposed and taken for reforming a package of health services, organizing the provision of those services, and financing the health sector. The paper also identifies factors critical for success and concludes with an assessment of future prospects for reform of this crucial sector.

Targeted Credit Programs and Rural Poverty in Bangladesh (World Bank Discussion Paper)

Chowdhury, Osman H.

'Handbook on Poverty + Inequality' was originally designed to support training courses in poverty analysis and inequality. The 'Handbook' begins with an explanatory text that includes numerous examples, multiple-choice questions to ensure active learning, and extensive practical exercises that use Stata statistical software. The 'Handbook' will help researchers and evaluators in charge of preparing background materials for Poverty Reducation Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and those responsible for monitoring and evaluating poverty reduction programs and policies. The World Bank Institute has used the 'Handbook' in training workshops in countries from Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, to Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, to Malawi and Tanzania, as well as in university courses on poverty and in distance education courses with participants from Asian and African countries. The 'Handbook' has also been used in an online asynchronous course with more than 200 participants worldwide. Using the feedback from these courses, the authors have created a clearly-written text that balances rigor with practicality. The 'Handbook' is designed to be accessible to people with a university-level background in science or the social sciences. It is an invaluable tool for policy analysts, researchers, college students, and government officials working on policy issues related to poverty and inequality.

Handbook on Poverty + Inequality (World Bank Training Series)

Haughton, Jonathan

Reference

World Bank Publications

Public programs are designed to reach certain goals and beneficiaries. Methods to understand whether such programs actually work, as well as the level and nature of impacts on intended beneficiaries, are main themes of this book. Has the Grameen Bank, for example, succeeded in lowering consumption poverty among the rural poor in Bangladesh? Can conditional cash transfer programs in Mexico and Latin America improve health and schooling outcomes for poor women and children? Does a new road actually raise welfare in a remote area in Tanzania, or is it a 'highway to nowhere'? This book reviews quantitative methods and models of impact evaluation. It begins by reviewing the basic issues pertaining to an evaluation of an intervention to reach certain targets and goals. It then focuses on the experimental design of an impact evaluation, highlighting its strengths and shortcomings, followed by discussions on various non-experimental methods. The authors also cover methods to shed light on the nature and mechanisms by which different participants are benefiting from the program. For researchers interested in learning how to use these models with statistical software, the book also provides STATA exercises in the context of evaluating major microcredit programs in Bangladesh, such as the Grameen Bank. The framework presented in this book can be very useful for strengthening local capacity in impact evaluation among technicians and policymakers in charge of formulating, implementing, and evaluating programs to alleviate poverty and underdevelopment.

Handbook on Impact Evaluation: Quantitative Methods and Practices (World Bank Training Series)

Koolwal, Gayatri B.

Samad, Hussain A.

The recent past has witnessed phenomenal growth in microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world. Today, as many as 200 million people are beneficiaries of microfinance. With its worldwide attention, microfinance has also received serious criticism, including that it is a fad with less-than-expected benefits for the poor. Surely, microfinance is not without limitations. Yet the premise of improving access by the poor to financial services for consumption smoothing has never been a subject of controversy. What has been controversial is whether microfinance can alleviate poverty. That the poor lack an effective and affordable alternative financing mechanism to support income generation does not necessarily mean microfinance is a panacea, since it involves entrepreneurial skills, which many poor people lack. It is little wonder that studies evaluating the benefits of microfinance have produced conflicting results. Study findings are contextual: They are positive in conducive environments and less so in unfavorable ones. Microfinance must be distinguished from antipoverty schemes (e.g., conditional cash transfers) because benefits from microfinance-supported activities, which involve participants’ entrepreneurial skills and ability, take time to be realized. Beyond Ending Poverty: The Dynamics of Microfinance in Bangladesh uses household long panel surveys from 1991/92 to 2010/11 in Bangladesh to address some of the criticisms of microfinance―including whether pushing microfinance has made it redundant as a tool for poverty reduction―while investigating whether it still matters for the poor after two decades of extensive growth. The book’s findings confirm the positive effects of continued borrowing from microfinance programs. Despite a substantial increase in microfinance borrowing, loan recovery has not declined and long-term borrowers are not trapped in poverty or debt. Interest rates charged by MFIs are not too high for realizing returns on investment, although the MFIs have scope for lowering them. Beyond Ending Poverty is expected to contribute to the ongoing debate on the cost-effectiveness of microfinance as a tool for inclusive growth and development. The book is expected to fill knowledge gaps in understanding the various virtues of microfinance against its portrayal as having drifted from its original poverty-reduction mission.

Beyond Ending Poverty: The Dynamics of Microfinance in Bangladesh (Directions in Development - Poverty)

Khalily, M.A. Baqui

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