Robust GDP growth continues, and real
growth for 2014 has been revised up by the authorities to
7.1 percent from an earlier estimate of 7.0 percent. Strong
domestic demand, boosted by a construction boom and
accommodated by high domestic credit growth, helps offset
the moderation in export growth with the slowdown of the
garment, tourism and agriculture sectors observed in the
first half of 2015. As an oil importer, the country benefits

This paper develops a novel methodology
to measure the quantity of jobs and value of wages embodied
in exports for a large number of countries and sectors for
intermittent years between 1995 and 2011. The resulting
Labor Content of Exports database allows the examination of
the direct contribution of labor to exports as well as the
indirect contribution via other sectors of the economy for
skilled and unskilled labor. The analysis of the new data

This study identifies several factors
that inhibit efficiency improvements in the farming sector,
both in themselves and through the dynamics of their mutual
interaction. The study observes that incentives faced in the
labor market have important implications for the land
structure and, and in many ways, are at the heart of the
problem of low labor productivity in agriculture. The study
finds that, while rural households are increasingly

Agriculture is among the most risk-prone
sectors in the economies of Central Asia. Production shocks
from weather, pests and diseases and adverse movements in
agricultural product and input prices not only impact
farmers and agri-business firms, but can also strain
government finances. Some of these risks are small and
localized and can be managed by producers. Others are the
result of more severe, exogenous shocks outside agriculture

This report is comprised of two volumes:
(i) volume one: risk assessment; and (ii) volume two: risk
management strategy. Volume one continues with chapter one,
which characterizes the recent performance of the
agriculture sector, including agro-climatic and market
conditions. It also identifies the productive systems used
for this analysis. Chapter two describes the main risks in
the agricultural sector, capturing market, production, and

This paper studies the effects of
differences in local administrative burdens in Italy in the
years 2005–2007 preceding a major reform that sped up firm
registration procedures. Combining regulatory data from a
survey on Italian provinces before the reform (costs and
time to start a business) with industry-level entry rates of
limited liability firms, it explores the effects of
regulatory barriers on the average of the annual entry rates

This report centers on the problems
stemming from land issues in Nicaragua. The report's
main recommendations deal with four priority actions:
institutional reform; adjustments to the legal framework;
systematic regularization of land rights; and, firmly
addressing previous land invasions, and preventing future
invasions. The issue of land distribution, and ownership is
especially critical in Nicaragua; indeed, the country

Agriculture is among the most risk-prone
sectors in the economies of Central Asia. Production shocks
from weather, pests and diseases and adverse movements in
agricultural product and input prices not only impact
farmers and agri-business firms, but can also strain
government finances. Some of these risks are small and
localized and can be managed by producers. Others are the
result of more severe, exogenous shocks outside agriculture

As countries increasingly strive to
transform their economies from agriculture-based into a
diversified one, land rental will become of greater
importance. It will thus be critical to complement research
on the efficiency of specific land rental arrangements --
such as sharecropping -- with an inquiry into the broader
productivity impacts of the land rental market. Plot-level
data for a matched landlord-tenant sample in an environment

The present study is part of an effort
by the World Bank and the State of Bahia to assess
agriculture sector risks as a contribution to the strategic
economic development and poverty reduction agenda of the
state government. It is composed of two phases: an
agricultural sector risk identification and prioritization
(volume one) and a risk management strategy and action plan
(volume two). The study provides practical elements for the

The objective of this policy note on
land is to assist the Government of Moldova in improving the
effectiveness of land management in agriculture, with a view
to enhancing the sector's contribution to
Moldova's economic growth and poverty reduction
objectives. The note reviews the progress that has been
made to date on land reform in Moldova, and provides
rigorous economic analysis of the impacts of the reforms and

Policies that enable rural communities
to participate in expanding economic opportunities can be
central to inclusive growth in Myanmar. Rural communities
are home to the majority of Myanmar’s population, the
majority of its many ethnic groups, and 70 percent of its
poor. Development in rural areas is constrained by low
returns to agriculture, and significantly lower levels of
public service delivery and human development outcomes