China's environmental
degradation has developed over centuries, but record recent
rates of economic growth have now widened environmental
impacts and accelerated many adverse trends. China's
urbanization and industrialization have produced rising
material standards of living but have ever more costly
environmental consequences. The period 1992-2001 coincided
with a renewed Bank commitment to the environment,

This paper focuses on Tohoku University in Sendai in the nonmetropolitan area of Japan. Both a long historical and comparative perspective and a spacial perspective are essential to discuss the relevance of university-local industry linkages to local regional economic development. The conjunction of these linkages and economic development has been affected by two evolutionary processes: institutional configurations and territorial dynamics in the national innovation system.

This paper tells a story about
conditions in Tanzania's hidden economy, the parts of
the natural resource sector often ignored in conventional
economic analyses and studies, and makes recommendations for
future policy actions. The paper draws primarily from
extensive background studies undertaken of the forestry,
fishery, wildlife, mining, and tourism sub sectors (COWI
2005) as well as a wide range of complementary studies

This report analyzes the experience of
Ethiopia with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)
process. The focus of the report is on evaluating the
performance of the World Bank in supporting the PRSP
initiative, not on appraising the authorities’ policies. The
emphasis of the report is on the formulation and
implementation of the PRSP until the time of the evaluation
team’s mission to Ethiopia in mid-2003. The report is

This report summarizes the findings of
Investment Climate Assessments (ICAs) carried out for all
countries in the South Asia region. It compares South Asian
countries to countries in other regions, analyzes
similarities and differences within the region, and
identifies the way forward in improving the investment
climate. The first volume analyzes similarities and
differences within the region and between South Asia and the

The purpose of this study is to update
the review of World Bank experience in Irrigation (IEG 1994)
and to broaden the scope of evaluation to include all water
lending for agricultural development. Since that first
study, the proportion of World Bank lending for agricultural
water management continued to decline, a trend that started
in the late 1970s when the sub-sector received 11 percent of
the lending, is falling to less than 2 percent in 2001-03.

The purpose of this study is to assess
agriculture's competitiveness in Colombia. During the
past 12 years, Colombia's agricultural sector has
performed poorly, resulting in the continuation of extensive
rural poverty. Improving the sector's competitiveness
is the only sure and lasting way to improve its growth
performance and reduce poverty. Thus, the main objectives of
this study are to assess: (a) the sector's current and

Malawi, a landlocked country in
southern, central Africa, depends on its natural resources,
especially the agriculture sector, to meet the demands of a
population of about 11 million people. The country has
developed a remarkable fishing industry, keeping in mind
that about 20 percent of the area is covered by water,
including the famous Lake Malawi (called Lake Nyasa by the
riparian states, Mozambique and Tanzania). Lake Malawi/Nyasa

This report addresses key structural,
institutional, and sectoral policy impediments to achieving
a higher, and sustained economic growth in the sector, and
poverty reduction in rural areas of Iran. It focuses mainly
on an assessment of agricultural development outcomes, a
discussion of the agricultural policy agenda, and provides
recommendations for future policy dialogue between the Bank,
and the Government of Iran. On examining development

This qualitative assessment of poverty
in Albania seeks to deepen the understanding of poverty in
the country, first, by involving poor Albanians in a process
of exploring the causes, nature, extent of poverty, and how
it affects their livelihoods. Second, it is intended to
support the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
(PRSP). Third, it supports preparation of the Country
Assistance Strategy (CAS), and the Living Standards

This regional study encompasses three
Central American countries: Nicaragua, Guatemala, and
Honduras. The focus of this report is Honduras. The
objective of the study is to understand how broad-based
economic growth can be stimulated and sustained in rural
Central America. The study identifies "drivers" of
sustainable rural growth and poverty reduction. Drivers are
defined as the assets and combinations of assets needed by

This book is organized as follows:
Introduction: Is Geography Destiny? Chapter 1 discuses The
Channels of Influence of Geography: Latin America from an
International Perspective. Chapter 2 discusses The Other
Side of The Mountain: The Influence of Geography Within
Countries. Chapter 3 discusses Policies to Overcome the
Limitations of Geography