This paper examines whether and to what
extent amendments in inheritance legislation impact
women's physical and human capital investments, using
disaggregated household level data from India. The authors
use inheritance patterns over three generations of
individuals to assess the impact of changes in the Hindu
Succession Act that grant daughters equal coparcenary birth
rights in joint family property that were denied to

Kosovo's economic growth in the
past decade has been solid, yet, with a gross domestic
product (GDP) per capita of 1,760, the country remains one
of the poorest in Europe. The end of the conflict, output
was growing at double-digit rates, driven by the
donor-funded reconstruction efforts. Since 2005, annual
growth has decelerated to below 5 percent. However, the
other countries in Southeast Europe have been growing

The report starts with an introductory chapter that sets the stage for the issues and provides a short historical background on the development of the private sector in Middle East and North Africa (MENA), drawing on anecdotes and stories heard from many entrepreneurs and public officials consulted throughout the region during the preparation of this report. The core of the analysis is then presented in three parts. Part one assesses the performance of private sector development in the region from a macroeconomic and microeconomic standpoint (chapter two).

This report undertakes a comprehensive
assessment of Ukraine's growth experience over the past
decade. It shows how vulnerabilities were allowed to
accumulate during the economic boom. And how growth,
averaging seven percent annually between 2000 and 2008, was
achieved without tackling Ukraine's well known
weaknesses in the investment climate and public sector
governance. The report also traces the emergence of large

Climate change is both a cause and an
effect of biodiversity change. Along with anthropogenic
dispersion, climate change is the main driver of change in
the geographical distribution of both beneficial and harmful
species, crops, livestock, harvested wild species, pests,
predators and pathogens. And the capacity of ecosystems to
adapt to climate change depends on the diversity of species
they currently support. This paper considers the connection

Economic growth in Solomon Islands since
the end of civil conflict in 2003 has been driven by rapid
expansion of the forestry sector and large increases in
international aid flows. Stocks of natural forest logs are
nearing exhaustion and, as the security situation improves,
aid flows are likely to flatten off. The Solomon Islands
Government asked the World Bank to investigate future growth
prospects. This note summarizes the findings and presents a

This report presents the problem,
describes the analytical framework, the African and World
context and the characteristics that need to be present for
a responsible and effective urbanization. Chapter one
discusses the issues involved in measuring urban growth and
density and the problem of under-measuring density. Chapter
two introduces key aspects of the recent urbanization in
Tanzania, including migration, structure of economy and

Togo is one of the smallest countries in
mainland Africa, with an area of 57,000 k

Cambodia's growth over 1998-2008
has been remarkable (almost 10 percent per annum for a
decade). This paper applies a "growth diagnostic"
approach to understand how this happened and how it can be
sustained. Past growth has been driven by the coincidence of
a set of historical and geographic factors (including
opportunistic policy responses), together with the use of
natural assets (although in a non sustainable way) and the

In May 2008, the commission on growth
and development (the growth commission) issued its report
entitled 'the growth report'. In it the commission
attempted to distill what had been learned in the past two
decades, from experience and academic and policy research,
about strategies and policies that produced sustained high
growth in developing countries. It became clear in the
course of the work that politics, leadership, and political

The purpose of this note is to raise
awareness of Nigeria's potential as an African
offshoring hub, and it is aimed primarily toward policy
makers, potential private sector investors, and development
partners. This note addresses the following questions: what
can Nigeria do to take advantage of the benefits of global
trade in services; how can the country brand itself as an
offshoring destination for international investors; and what

The Tajik government in its Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper for 2010-12 set an ambitious target
of doubling Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in a decade.
Tajikistan clearly has the potential to grow at more than
seven percent a year as it has done in the recent past, but
it is not going to be easy. The potential for
'catch-up' growth from the depths of the recession
of the 1990s is largely exhausted, the external environment