Most countries in the world aspire to protect poorest and most vulnerable families from destitution and thus provide some type of income support to those who are very poor.
... Voir la suite These programs are often layered into social policy along with other transfers, subsidies, or services. The way to best provide such last-resort income support (LRIS) and its role in wider social policy is a matter of some complexity, much experimentation, and much study. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 28 of 30 countries operate LRIS programs. This study examines the experience of LRIS programs in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It documents the outcomes of such programs throughout the region in terms of expenditure, coverage, targeting, and simulated effects on poverty and inequality. For a subset of countries, the study documents and draws lessons from the design and implementation arrangements - institutional frameworks and administrative structures, eligibility determination, benefits and conditions, governance mechanisms, and administrative costs on the basis of information gleaned during in-depth country engagements that have extended a decade or more (Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, the Kyrgyz Republic, Lithuania, and Romania) and other detailed work available from newer or more specific engagements (Croatia, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan). The report is organized as follows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two provides an overview of the role of LRIS in the wider social assistance policies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Chapter three looks into the institutional and financing arrangements of the LRIS programs in the case study countries. Chapter four covers one of the two most charged issues in narrowly targeted LRIS programs - how eligibility is determined. Chapter five takes up the other charged issue in these programs - the benefit formula and how labor disincentives can be held in check with the guaranteed minimum income design. Chapter six focuses on two key elements of control and accountability systems in LRIS programs - modern management information systems and strategies to reduce error, fraud, and corruption. Chapter seven examines the administrative costs of the LRIS programs in the case study countries. Chapter eight highlights and summarizes the lessons.
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Publication 89068 JUN 24, 2014
Tesliuc, Emil; Pop, Lucian; Grosh, Margaret; Yemtsov, Ruslan
Central Asia is often associated with the silk route or road, the longest overland trade route connecting China to Europe and one of the oldest in history.
... Voir la suite Growth opportunities and the future prosperity of the region are highly dependent upon the efficiency of its internal and external supply-chain connections, which is the focus of this report. Supply-chain connectivity depends on the quality of the infrastructure on specific routes. This study explains how supply chain fragmentation remains a serious obstacle to economic development of Central Asia and to Eurasian integration more generally. It provides a comprehensive assessment of the various factors that yet impede supply-chain integration, including weak transport and communications infrastructure, but as important, and perhaps more so, critical weaknesses in policy, institutions, and governance. Based on this assessment this report provides an insightful set of recommendations that, if taken up by the governments of Central Asia and by their key neighbors, will go a long way in promoting the effective integration of Central Asia into an increasingly connected Eurasian continental economy and with that into the global economy.
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The overall objectives of the Europe and Central Asia statistic (ECASTAT) trust fund are to address the capacity and financial constraints of the statistical systems of countries in Eastern Europe and the commonwealth of independent states (CIS) region, and, thereby support development outcomes by strengthening the production of reliable and relevant data on a timely basis for evidence-based decision making at all levels of governments.
... Voir la suite To achieve its objectives, the ECASTAT trust fund supports both regional and country specific projects and is organized as a two-window programmatic trust fund. Window one comprises regional projects and focuses on the development of materials in the Russian language on methodologies, and technical assistance and training in specific thematic areas. Window two comprises country specific projects aiming at implementing national strategies for the development of statistics (NSDSs). Although ECASTAT is established as a multi-donor trust fund, to date only the Russian Federation has pledged funding in an amount of United States dollar (USD) 15 million. Funds have been allotted for ECASTAT administration, project preparation, and supervision, leaving ECASTAT with just under USD 4.9 million for allocation during the current work plan period, 2014.
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Established in 2012, the multi-donor trust fund to support statistical capacity building in Eastern Europe and commonwealth of independent states (CIS) countries (ECASTAT) is a recent addition to the World Bank's suite of funding instruments for statistical development.
... Voir la suite ECASTAT provides medium sized grants to support statistical capacity building in countries, and support to regional projects aimed at improving the statistical capacity in areas relevant for a larger set of countries. ECASTAT is a programmatic regional trust fund established for assisting countries to improve their statistical systems, increase their capacity to produce reliable, timely, and accurate data in line with internationally accepted methodologies and best practices that meet user needs, and inform decision-making process within the government and community. To achieve its objectives, the ECASTAT trust fund supports both regional and country specific projects and is organized as a two-window programmatic trust fund. Window one comprises regional projects and focuses on the development of materials in the Russian language on methodologies, and technical assistance and training in specific thematic areas. Window two comprises country specific projects aiming at implementing national strategies for the development of statistics (NSDSs). To maximize its impact, the ECASTAT will need to respond to changes in the drivers of demand for support for capacity building; look for synergies between country specific and regional programs as well as with other development donors; and ensures that its procedures and processes are cost effective and efficient.
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This paper contributes to the empirical literature on the key determinants of the revenue generating potential in 61 countries. The paper uses a broad set of data and econometric methods to conduct analyses that are of relevance to revenue potential.
... Voir la suite Earlier studies have not distinguished between the revenue potential based on economic fundamentals of countries and that based on what the legal framework prescribes. This study uses a dual approach to revenue potential to examine the issue. Two sets of variables are used, one related to the intrinsic economic structure and strength of countries that affect revenue potential and the other related to tax policy variables. Accordingly the analysis finds two sets of revenue potentials: one can be termed "revenue potential (economic)," and the other "revenue potential (legal)." The difference between the revenue potential (legal) and the actual revenue collected is commonly understood as the "tax gap." The difference between the revenue potential (economic) and the actual revenue collected can be termed the "tax space," the amount of revenue that a country can afford to collect, given its economic strength, not based on what the parliament has mandated. The results show that legally mandated revenue potentials in countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are often higher than the revenue potential based on what the country's economic fundamentals can afford. The paper also makes use of a tax effort index and finds that although many countries are performing close to the revenue potential (economic), it is more difficult to match up to the revenue potential (legal). The relationship between the revenue potential and the shadow economy, value added tax productivity, and some other determinants are examined to test whether some countries are taxing beyond their means.
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Document de travail de recherche sur les politiques WPS6868 MAY 01, 2014
The World Bank has recently defined two strategic goals: ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Shared prosperity is measured as income growth among the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution in the population.
... Voir la suite The two goals will be achieved in a way that is sustainable from economic, social, and environmental perspectives. This publication focuses on the second goal and proposes a framework that integrates both macroeconomic and microeconomic elements. The macro variables, particularly changes in relative prices, affect income growth differentially along the income distribution; at the same time, the microeconomic distribution of assets at the bottom of the distribution determines the capacity of the bottom 40 to take advantage of the macroeconomic environment and contribute to overall growth. Growth and the incidence of growth are thus understood as jointly determined processes. Besides this integration, the main input of the framework is the finding that the trade-off between growth and equity may be an issue only in the short run. Over the long run, redistribution policies that increase the productive capacity of the bottom 40 percent enhance the overall growth potential of the economy. This report considers shared prosperity in Europe and Central Asia and concludes that the performance in sharing prosperity during the period 2000-2010 was good, on average, but heterogeneous across countries and that sustainability is unclear. It also describes examples of the application of the framework to selected countries in the region. Finally, the report provides a tool to structure the policy discussion around the goal of shared prosperity and explains that specific policy links associated with the goal can be established only after a thorough analysis of the country-specific context.
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Creating more and better jobs is perhaps the most critical challenge to boosting shared prosperity in Europe and Central Asia (ECA). This report examines the role of reforms, firms, skills, incentives and barriers to work, and labor mobility through the lens of two contextual factors: the legacy of centralized planned economies and the mounting demographic pressures associated with rapid aging in some countries and soaring numbers of youth entering the workforce in others.
... Voir la suite The main findings of the report are: 1) market reforms pay off in terms of jobs and productivity, although with a lag; 2) a small fraction of superstar high-growth firms, largely young, account for most of new jobs created in the region; 3) skills gaps hinder employment prospects, especially of youth and older workers, due to the inadequate response of the education and training systems to changes in the demand for skills; 4) employment is hindered by high implicit taxes on work for those transitioning to formal jobs from inactivity or unemployment and barriers that affect especially women, minorities, youth, and older workers; and 5) low internal labor mobility prevents labor relocation to places with greater job creation potential.
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Publication 84041 MAR 01, 2014
Arias, Omar S.; Sanchez-Paramo, Carolina; Davalos, Maria E.; Santos, Indhira; Tiongson, Erwin R.; Gruen, Carola; de Andrade Falcao, Natasha; Saiovici, Gady; Cancho, Cesar A.anglais
Financial sector development and stability is critical to the growth and shared prosperity of the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region. The World Bank's regional strategy, reconfirmed with the Board in January 2013, revolves around interventions in the competitiveness area (where financial sector work features among the Bank's key delivery channels), in addition to interventions in adjoining pillars on social inclusion and climate change.
... Voir la suite FinSAC's geographical focus is expanding according to three key priority groups: i) EU candidate and potential candidate countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia); ii) EU member states as active non-graduated World Bank clients (Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, and Romania); and iii) EU neighborhood countries (Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia). The expansion to Central Asia is envisaged in future consultations with the donor. Based on the success of the program to date, and to meet the strong demand from client countries, the World Bank and the Donor agreed in 2013 to extend the closing date of the trust fund agreement to June 2018, to increase the amount of the grant by an additional 8 million, and to include additional activities to be carried out by FinSAC. In accordance with the current work program, it is envisaged that FinSAC should be able to engage in eight client assignments and deliver four technical conferences and seminars and regional research projects across the four thematic pillars, every year for the period 2014-2018. This will require a substantial increase in the number of full-time staff and the availability of project-specific technical expertise. Much of this scale-up effort is well underway.
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