The Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on the Transfer of Real Resources to Developing Countries, the Development Committee, held its eighty-ninth meeting on April 12, 2014, in the Preston Auditorium of the World Bank in Washington, DC.
... Voir la suite The meeting consisted of a single session, preceded by an informal Ministerial-level lunch for Members only on the same day. Members circulated their written statements in advance and these are part of this document. Also included is a note by the International Monetary Fund Managing Director distributed ahead of the meeting. The meeting started at 3:15 p.m. with opening statements by Dr. Kim, President of the World Bank Group, and Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, and ended at 5:30 p.m. It was chaired by Mr. Marek Belka, President, National Bank of Poland. The Agenda (Annex A) was adopted at the beginning of the meeting, followed by a discussion of the agenda topic: a paper entitled 'growth in the post-crisis global economy: policy challenges for developing countries'. In addition to the above discussion topic, a paper entitled 'progress report on mainstreaming disaster risk management in World Bank Group Operations' was submitted to the Committee as a background report. Ministers commented on these documents in their written statements to the Development Committee. The Communique (Annex B) was adopted at the end of the meeting and records the salient points and outcome of the Ministerial discussion.
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Restrictions on economic activity in area C of the West Bank have been particularly detrimental to the Palestinian economy. Area C constitutes about 61 percent of the West Bank territory.
... Voir la suite Area C is richly endowed with natural resources and it is contiguous, whereas areas A and B are smaller territorial islands. Mobilizing the area C potential will help a faltering Palestinian economy. Since area C is where the majority of the West Bank's natural resources laid, the impact of these restrictions on the Palestinian economy has been considerable. Thus, the key to Palestinian prosperity continues to lie in the removal of these restrictions with due regard for Israel's security. This report shows that rolling back the restrictions will bring substantial benefits to the Palestinian economy and can usher in a new period of increasing Palestinian gross domestic product (GDP) and substantially improve prospects for sustained growth. This report examines the economic benefits of lifting the restrictions on movement and access as well as other administrative obstacles to Palestinian investment and economic activity in area C. It focuses on the economic potential of area C and does not prejudge the status of any territory which may be subject to negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. The authors examine potential direct, sector-specific benefits, but also indirect benefits related to improvements in physical and institutional infrastructure, as well as spillover effects to other sectors of the Palestinian economy. Realizing the full potential of such investments requires other changes as well - first, the rolling back of the movement and access restrictions in force outside area C, which prevent the easy export of Palestinian products and inhibit tourists and investors from accessing area C; and second, further reforms by the Palestinian authority to better enable potential investors to register businesses, enforce contracts, and acquire finance.
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Publication 89370 JUL 02, 2014
Niksic, Orhan; Eddin, Nur Nasser; Cali Massimiliano
This paper shows how Dutch disease effects may arise solely from a shift in demand following a natural resource discovery. The natural resource wealth increases the demand for non-tradable luxury services due to non-homothetic preferences.
... Voir la suite Labor that could be used to develop other non-resource tradable sectors is pulled into these service sectors. As a result, manufactures and other tradable goods are more likely to be imported, and learning and productivity improvements accrue to the foreign exporters. However, once the natural resources diminish, there is less income to purchase the services and non-resource tradable goods. Thus, the temporary gain in purchasing power translates into long-term stagnation. As opposed to conventional models where income distribution has no effect on economic outcomes, an unequal distribution of the rents from resource wealth further intensifies the Dutch disease dynamics within this framework.
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Document de travail de recherche sur les politiques WPS6966 JUL 01, 2014
As Brazil and China have become two of the largest global economies, they have also become increasingly connected. Three decades of fast-paced growth and structural change have turned China into the worlds second-largest economy and have transformed it into an upper-middle income country.
... Voir la suite Brazil, which had experienced its own episode of high growth between 1965 and 1974, has also become one of the largest economies. Over the last decade, Brazil and China have developed increasingly close linkages, which has come as no surprise given the scale of their economies, the complementary structure of resource endowments as well as the differences between the two countries in the structure of production and demand. This report examines how structural change in China is expected to present new opportunities and challenges for Brazil to enhance its global position and energize growth. Building on recent work (World Bank and Development Research Center, 2013), this report identifies three potential longer-term transformations of the Chinese economy structurally slower growth, a rebalancing on the demand and supply side, and a move up the value chain and examines their implications for Brazil. The report shows how the slowdown and rebalancing of China may also present new opportunities for Brazil, even if Chinas progression up the value chain is likely to present also new challenges. It lays out how Brazil could generate greater benefits from its interactions with China and how the changes in China would offer a new window of opportunity for Brazil to press ahead with its structural reform agenda. Overall, Brazil could gain tremendously from the anticipated structural changes in China, even though realizing these gains will require a proactive policy stance to enhance external ties and address internal growth and productivity constraints.
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As Brazil and China have become two of the largest global economies, they have also become increasingly connected. Three decades of fast-paced growth and structural change have turned China into the worlds second-largest economy and have transformed it into an upper-middle income country.
... Voir la suite Brazil, which had experienced its own episode of high growth between 1965 and 1974, has also become one of the largest economies. Over the last decade, Brazil and China have developed increasingly close linkages, which has come as no surprise given the scale of their economies, the complementary structure of resource endowments as well as the differences between the two countries in the structure of production and demand. This report examines how structural change in China is expected to present new opportunities and challenges for Brazil to enhance its global position and energize growth. Building on recent work (World Bank and Development Research Center, 2013), this report identifies three potential longer-term transformations of the Chinese economy structurally slower growth, a rebalancing on the demand and supply side, and a move up the value chain and examines their implications for Brazil. The report shows how the slowdown and rebalancing of China may also present new opportunities for Brazil, even if Chinas progression up the value chain is likely to present also new challenges. It lays out how Brazil could generate greater benefits from its interactions with China and how the changes in China would offer a new window of opportunity for Brazil to press ahead with its structural reform agenda. Overall, Brazil could gain tremendously from the anticipated structural changes in China, even though realizing these gains will require a proactive policy stance to enhance external ties and address internal growth and productivity constraints.
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Global growth is projected to pick up to 3.4 percent in 2015 and 3.5 percent in 2016, propelled by highincome countries. Developing country growth will benefit from these tailwinds, with growth projected to increase from 4.8 percent in 2014 to 5.5 percent in 2016broadly in line with potential.
... Voir la suite Global growth projections for 2014, however, have been marked down from 3.2 percent to 2.8 percent on account of the bumpy start this year, buffeted by poor weather in the United States, financial market turbulence and the conflict in Ukraine. The outlook for the East Asia and the Pacific region continues to reflect several counterbalancing factors, including domestic policy adjustment, volatile financing conditions, political crisis in Thailand, and sustained recovery in global demand for exports. Regional GDP growth is expected to slow down slightly to 7.0 percent by 2016, about 2 percentage points slower than the pre-crisis boom years but broadly in line with potential. Regional risks include volatility and eventual tightening of global financing conditions, possible setbacks in Chinas restructuring and a weaker contribution from net exports than assumed in the baseline. Potential escalation of regional political tensions presents additional risk to the outlook.
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Ponzis are among the most ubiquitous and least understood phenomena of economic life. They acquired a certain salience with the global financial crisis of 2008 and the crash of Bernie Madoffs celebrated Ponzi scheme.
... Voir la suite This paper explains the structure of Ponzi schemes and goes on to argue that what makes this such a troubling phenomenon is its ability to be camouflaged amidst legitimate practices. It is shown, for instance, that the common practice of giving stock options to employees could be a potential Ponzi that allows corporations to flourish for a while by borrowing from its own future. The paper goes on to discuss the need for intelligent regulation to incise harmful Ponzis (not all Ponzis are harmful) while taking care not to damage other legitimate activities that surround them.
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Document de travail de recherche sur les politiques WPS6967 JUL 01, 2014
Power sector subsidies in Sub-Saharan Africa are substantial and highly regressive. While subsidies can be quick, easy, and politically expedient to implement, they are equally quick to take root and challenging to remove.
... Voir la suite Optimal policies that are technically sound and welfare-enhancing over the long run have nevertheless been found difficult to launch and even more challenging to sustain. Of the barriers to reform, those associated with political economy are among the most powerful, yet their analysis is often lacking due consideration in the reform design process. This paper reviews the literature on power subsidies and their reform with emphasis on the political economy of such reform. It examines pricing principles in the power sector and different types of subsides; drivers for subsidies, benefits and costs of subsidy reform, and their distribution; and approaches to political economy analysis, tools available, and methodological issues. The paper draws examples from Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere, and presents case studies from the literature.
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The paper provides a detailed review of Thomas Piketty's book "Capital in the 21st century." It focuses on the new contributions of the book, and in particular on its unified treatment of economic growth, functional income distribution, and concentration of personal income.
... Voir la suite It concludes that Piketty's reinvigoration of classical and empircally-drven approach is likely to have a profound impact on economics.
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Document de travail de recherche sur les politiques WPS6974 JUL 01, 2014
The political and economic events since January 2011 have contributed to change the context in which Tunisia is shaping its own global integration agenda.
... Voir la suite This changing landscape presents new challenges but also opportunities to advance integration in a rapidly globalizing world trade environment. Tunisia's past integration policies brought important economic benefits to the country. The EU remains the preferred partner for Tunisia and the EU market likely to generate the largest gains from deeper integration. This study attempts to present a sequence of reforms to prioritize in the context of the European Neighborhood Policy, focusing on areas in which legal and regulatory reforms can be achieved with contained costs and, together with institutional reforms, can significantly contribute to improve Tunisia's competitiveness and accelerate growth and job creation. To reach this objective, this study provides: (i) a diagnostic of the legal and regulatory framework and institutional capacity in some of the most relevant areas of interest for Tunisia, namely in services liberalization, competition policy and procurement; (ii) a qualitative assessment of the distance of the Tunisian framework from the EUs and the impact of some of the reforms covered by the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement; and (iii) a quantitative assessment of selected key integration options. The report then presents a roadmap of the necessary steps to be taken to fill such gaps, by focusing specifically on: a) key regulatory reforms to remove barriers to trade and investment in services in Tunisia; b) competition policy and reforms options in the context of deeper integration with the EU; and c) an analysis of the current context and perspectives for opening Tunisian Public Procurement to International Markets.
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Évaluation sectorielle ou thématique 88361 JUN 25, 2014
The political and economic events since January 2011 have contributed to change the context in which Tunisia is shaping its own global integration agenda.
... Voir la suite This changing landscape presents new challenges but also opportunities to advance integration in a rapidly globalizing world trade environment. Tunisia's past integration policies brought important economic benefits to the country. The EU remains the preferred partner for Tunisia and the EU market likely to generate the largest gains from deeper integration. This study attempts to present a sequence of reforms to prioritize in the context of the European Neighborhood Policy, focusing on areas in which legal and regulatory reforms can be achieved with contained costs and, together with institutional reforms, can significantly contribute to improve Tunisia's competitiveness and accelerate growth and job creation. To reach this objective, this study provides: (i) a diagnostic of the legal and regulatory framework and institutional capacity in some of the most relevant areas of interest for Tunisia, namely in services liberalization, competition policy and procurement; (ii) a qualitative assessment of the distance of the Tunisian framework from the EUs and the impact of some of the reforms covered by the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement; and (iii) a quantitative assessment of selected key integration options. The report then presents a roadmap of the necessary steps to be taken to fill such gaps, by focusing specifically on: a) key regulatory reforms to remove barriers to trade and investment in services in Tunisia; b) competition policy and reforms options in the context of deeper integration with the EU; and c) an analysis of the current context and perspectives for opening Tunisian Public Procurement to International Markets.
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Évaluation sectorielle ou thématique 88361 JUN 25, 2014
Ratings for the Financial Sector and Investment Climate Reform and Modernization Development Policy Loan Project for Indonesia were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was moderate, the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also satisfactory.
... Voir la suite Some lessons learned included: the evolution of the core Development Policy Loan or DPL program into three sectoral operations resulted in increased government ownership, a deeper Bank engagement on key topics, and an improved focus on the Government's most current priorities. The extensive financial sector analytical work that was completed prior to the DPL was a critical element in identifying the reform program. In particular, the Indonesia FSAP (2010) and the Indonesia Access to Finance Report (2009) provided strong analytical underpinnings for the DPL and also helped to build consensus among technocrats and policymakers on specific reform measures well in advance of the DPL. To a large extent, it was this advanced dialogue that allowed the DPL to be prepared in a relatively short amount of time. While the FIRM DPL included a well-structured results framework, a clearer justification of the selection of outcome indicators and greater government participation could have improved the impact assessment. While adequate overall, the monitoring system could have discussed the nature and justification of the chosen outcome indicators more thoroughly and also included sources of information to be used for evaluation.
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Bilan de fin d’exécution et de résultats ICR3179 JUN 25, 2014
The International Finance Corporation's (IFC) Fiscal Year 2015 budget paper sets forth the indicative operational growth and sustainable delivery model for FY15 and seeks Board authorization for the budget required to achieve its contribution to the World Bank Group twin goals.
... Voir la suite The budget will enable IFC to continue delivering strong development results while reinforcing its financial sustainability by maintaining total resource consumption at a flat real level (0.9 percent nominal increase). An overview of the current financial landscape comprises section one of the report. IFC's diversified operations have provided strong financial returns along with development impact, and these returns have supported the business's growth over several years. Buoyed by this strong foundation, IFC has developed a blue print for improving its operations to serve its clients even better, balancing increasing volume with the ultimate impact on eradicating poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Section two outlines this plan for client?centered productivity, efficiency and effectiveness, of which 'a refocused IFC' plays a strong part. IFC will continue delivering its world?class investment, advisory and treasury operations while redesigning its structure and processes to engage more extensively with the other institutions in the WBG and to offer deeper partnerships and faster service to its private sector clients. Accordingly, section three identifies the initially intended areas for IFC resource reallocation while acknowledging that, particularly in FY15 as a transition year, it is not possible to determine precise activities, deliverables and resource consumption ex ante. Section four builds on the current landscape with planned operational improvements and strategic resource shifts to extrapolate the results on IFC's financial sustainability. This leads to section five, the total administrative budget for Board approval. Even in the midst of a transition year with many multi?faceted changes underway, IFC Management commits to delivering enhanced results with consistent total resources.
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