The World Bank Economic Review [Vol. 26, No. 3, 2012, Paperback]

at al Céline Ferré

The World Bank

The Japanese and Korean experiences in managing development (Management and development series)

Business & Money

Shinohara, Miyohei

Management & Leadership

The demand for medical care in developing countries: Quantity rationing in rural Côte d'Ivoire (LSMS working paper)

Dor, Avi

General Equilibrium Models for Development Policy (World Bank Research Publication)

General Equilibrium Models for Development Policy

Kemal Dervis

Jaime De Melo

Sherman Robinson

Economics

Adjustment in Africa: Reforms, results, and the road ahead : summary (A World Bank policy research report)

Politics & Social Sciences

World Bank Group

Politics & Government

Are Poverty Reduction and Other 21st Century Social Goals Attainable?

Michael Walton

Lionel Demery & Michael Walton

The Nigeria Urbanization Review serves the critical and timely purpose of understanding the challenges and opportunities of urbanization in Nigeria. The country’s rapid urban population growth and expansion is examined in relation to the account of its recent urban economic growth in order to seek for ways to finance urban development, particularly the provision of urban public goods and services. The objective of this analytical program is to provide diagnostic tools to inform policy dialogue and investment priorities on urbanization. This report serves the critical and timely purpose of focusing attention on the challenges and opportunities of urbanization in Nigeria. The executive summary at the front summarizes the key trends of Nigeria’s urbanization and sets out a framework to structure core urban challenges in view of underlying causes. Detailed analyses follow in the subsequent four chapters. In Chapter 1, the dynamics of Nigeria’s urbanization process are presented, with particular attention to the country’s rapid urban population growth, the very large-scale urban expansion, and the stubborn persistence of high levels of urban poverty, inequality and regional disparity. Chapter 2 provides an account of Nigeria’s recent urban economic growth, in view of the nature of the concentration of economic activity across the country’s states and cities, and of the limited performance of urban and regional economies in generating higher levels of employment and improving business climates. Chapter 3 turns to description and assessment of land management, urban planning and housing provision procedures and systems, which face a variety of challenges with regard to costs, affordability, capacity, equity and efficiency. Finally, Chapter 4 deals with the financing of urban development, particularly the provision of urban public goods and services, which is in need of both substantial finance and institutional and systemic improvements and reform.

From Oil to Cities: Nigeria's Next Transformation (Directions in Development - Countries an)

The global movement toward universal health coverage (UHC) is accompanied by requests for large increases in government health spending in some countries. This combined with the global economic situation and stagnant economic growth across many low- and middle-income countries make it more critical than ever to place health financing discussions firmly in the context of macroeconomic and fiscal realities. Unfortunately, there is often a disconnect in decision making, with key fiscal decisions made in the absence of a clear understanding on the one hand of the potential consequences for the health sector, and on the other, the consequences for the country’s macroeconomic and fiscal position of increasing or reallocating government spending. Constructive health financing policy dialogue aims to reach a common understanding between health sector leaders and central budget authorities about policy objectives for the health sector and the resources needed to achieve those objectives, how much priority will be given to health in the government budget, and how the health sector will be held accountable for using funds effectively. This common understanding should be built on a realistic picture of the country’s macroeconomic and fiscal context, the constraints and competing priorities in the budget-setting process. When ministries of health and ministries of finance have a common understanding of macroeconomic and fiscal constraints, discussions can focus productively on using funds within the potential health resource envelope in the most effective way to achieve health system objectives. This guidance note outlines the key components of the macroeconomic, fiscal, and public financial management context that need to be considered for an informed health financing discussion at the country level. The guidance note is organized around four sets of questions that are key to placing the health financing dialogue in the context of a country’s macroeconomic and fiscal context. Each section points to measures, resources, and analytical tools that are available to assist in answering these questions for a specific country. The guidance note draws on case studies from 11 countries moving toward or sustaining universal health coverage conducted as part of the Japan–World Bank Partnership Program on UHC as well as from other country examples.

Health Financing Policy: The Macroeconomic, Fiscal, and Public Finance Context (World Bank Studies)

Cashin, Cheryl

Inadequate electricity services pose a major impediment to reducing extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Simply put, Africa does not have enough power. Despite the abundant low-carbon and low-cost energy resources available to Sub-Saharan Africa, the region’s entire installed electricity capacity, at a little over 80 GW, is equivalent to that of the Republic of Korea. Looking ahead, Sub-Saharan Africa will need to ramp-up its power generation capacity substantially. The investment needed to meet this goal largely exceeds African countries’ already stretched public finances. Increasing private investment is critical to help expand and improve electricity supply. Historically, most private sector finance has been channeled through privately financed independent power projects (IPP), supported by nonrecourse or limited recourse loans, with long-term power purchase agreements with the state utility or another off-taker. Between 1990 and 2014, IPPs have spread across Sub-Saharan Africa and are now present in 17 countries. Currently, there are 125 IPPs, with an overall installed capacity of 10.7 GW and investments of $24.6 billion. However, private investment could be much greater and less concentrated. South Africa alone accounts for 67 IPPs, 4.3 GW of capacity and $14.4 billion of investments; the remaining projects are concentrated in a handful of countries. The objective of this study is to evaluate the experience of IPPs and identify lessons that can help African countries attract more and better private investment. At the core of this analysis is a reflection on whether IPPs have in fact benefited Sub-Saharan Africa, and how they might be improved. The analysis is based primarily on in depth case studies, carried out in five countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, which not only have the most numerous but also among the most extensive experience with IPPs.

Independent Power Projects in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from Five Key Countries (Directions in Development - Energy and M)

Eberhard, Anton

The natural endowment of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in the form of land, minerals, and forests, is unparalleled. The right mix of policies has the potential to unleash incentives that could transform the economy. However, transport infrastructure in the DRC is among the sparsest and most dilapidated in the world, and this lack of infrastructure is likely a significant constraint to growth.   Economic Boom or Ecologic Doom? Using Spatial Analysis to Reconcile Road Development with Forest Conservation considerably advances the information that is available to infrastructure planners, and provides methodologies that could be used to make more informed decisions to identify trade-offs between economic growth and environmental endangerment. The approach draws from the state of the art across a variety of disciplines geographic information system (GIS) analysis, spatial econometrics, economic theory, and conservation biology to create an approach that can guide the location and level of investments by estimating benefits and environmental costs at a highly disaggregated spatial scale.   The analysis proceeds in four related phases that combine economic assessments with geospatial analysis. First, transport costs are estimated using GIS techniques. A variety of econometric procedures are then used to determine the economic effects of changing transport costs. Second, highly disaggregated spatial data are used to estimate the effects of roads on forest cover, and the resulting biodiversity that would be at risk from local deforestation. Third, the two spatial estimates are combined to simulate the effects of different policies. Fourth, this simulation results in a series of maps that identify regions where there are large trade-offs between economic and ecological goals.  Overall, the results suggest that the siting of infrastructure needs to consider impacts at the very outset of the planning process. This report presents both new data and new techniques that can be used to identify areas of opportunity, risk, and potential for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) financing. Such upstream planning has been rendered both feasible and cost effective with the availability of geo-referenced information on forest cover and economic data. Economic Boom or Ecologic Doom? provides the data and easily comprehensible maps for such an exercise.

Economic Boom or Ecologic Doom?: Using Spatial Analysis to Reconcile Road Development with Forest Conservation (Directions in Development - Infrastructu)

Damania, Richard

Russ, Jason

Barra, Alvaro Federico

Burnouf, Mathilde

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