The first volume of Independent
Evaluation Group (IEG) series (IEG 2009) examined World Bank
experience with the promotion of the most important win-win
(no regrets) energy policies, policies that combine domestic
gains with global greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. These
included energy pricing reform and policies to promote
energy efficiency. This second phase covers the entire World
Bank Group (WBG), including the International Finance

For the purposes of this note, forced
displacement refers to the situation of persons who are
forced to leave or flee their homes due to conflict,
violence, or persecution. Those displaced can either be
refugees outside their country of nationality or be people
displaced inside their country of nationality (IDPs). This
notwithstanding, the portfolio review of Bank activities
addressing displacement indicates a need for systematically

This paper proposes a parametric
approach to estimating a dynamic binary response panel data
model that allows for endogenous contemporaneous regressors.
This approach is of particular value for settings in which
one wants to estimate the effects of an endogenous treatment
on a binary outcome. The model is next used to examine the
impact of rural-urban migration on the likelihood that
households in rural China fall below the poverty line. In

This report profiles 52 business
women, representing countries where IFC works across the
Pacific region, in 30 case studies. Women in the report
share lessons in starting their businesses, and describe the
obstacles and opportunities they encountered in their
pursuit of growth. By revealing their future plans, the
women provide inspiration for current and future business
women of the Pacific to pursue greater entrepreneurial

Women's contributions to poverty
reduction, economic growth, and private sector development
are increasingly recognized globally. A growing amount of
research demonstrates the link between women's
empowerment and societal well-being. Yet research also
indicates that woman's economic contributions continue
to lag behind their achievements in health and education,
and a variety of barriers still prevent women in many parts

The government of Afghanistan has an
opportunity in the coming months to turn the country around.
It is now opportune to improve security, governance, and
development. Unprecedented international military support,
political attention and aid are available to Afghanistan.
The government is inheriting years of good economic
performance, notable progress on social outcomes, and
continuing strong support from the international community.

The consensus among scholars and
policymakers that "institutions matter" for
development has led inexorably to a conclusion that
"history matters," since institutions clearly form
and evolve over time. Unfortunately, however, the next
logical step has not yet been taken, which is to recognize
that historians (and not only economic historians) might
also have useful and distinctive insights to offer. This

This report evaluates International
Development Association (IDA) support to Nepal during
2003-2008. IDA’s overarching goal during this period was to
support the Government’s efforts to reduce poverty and
improve human well-being. IDA focused on helping to foster
broad-based growth, social development, social inclusion,
and good governance. The evaluation highlights the need to
introduce greater realism into the country assistance

The past eight years witnessed
China's phenomenal growth and integration into the
world economy, expedited by its accession to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) in 2001. The accession greatly
accelerated China's domestic reforms. By the end of
2007, China was ranked the second largest exporter and third
largest trader in the world after its exports grew at over
20 percent per year for the sixth year in a row. The

Pakistan has faced a seismic shift in
its global and domestic economic landscape which until
recently limited policy options to address investment
climate concerns. External shocks, internal policy inaction
and political turmoil placed the country in a precarious
economic condition, calling on the authorities to take a
hard look at the policy choices ahead. Macroeconomic
instability resulting in inflation, exchange rate

This book grew out of the Global Issues
seminars and is itself a testament to that two-way dialogue:
the suggestion to compile the speakers' lecture notes
into a book came from the students themselves. Both the
seminars and this book reflect the Bank's conviction
that the seemingly intractable problems of our globalizing
world-from entrenched poverty, to climate change, to new
infectious diseases such as AIDS and avian flu-can be

Improving the investment climate is a
key pillar of the World Bank's private sector
development strategy. Without a good investment climate,
firms and entrepreneurs of all types-from farmers to
micro-enterprises to local manufacturing concerns and
multinationals-have few opportunities and incentives to
invest productively, create jobs, and expand, enter and
remain in the formal economy, and thereby contribute to