This review systematically assesses the
focus of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) on
environment-related issues. A total of 40 Interim and full
PRSPs from countries in Africa, Latin America and Eastern
Europe, the Middle East, Central and East Asia are reviewed.
Four major questions: are posed: (i) What issues of
environmental concerns and opportunities are identified in
the PRSPs?; (ii) To what extent are poverty-environment

The Center for International Forestry
Research (CIFOR) receives its major funding from
governments, international development organizations,
private foundations and regional organizations. This study
analyzed journal citations of CIFOR publications, using the
International Statistical Institute (ISI) web of Science
database. CIFOR research and publications have an impact on
the scientific community? One way to answer this question is

Favorable economic conditions offer a
window of opportunity for the Ukrainian government External
factors served as a catalyst for the economic turnaround but
policies and reforms have also played a critical role.
Nevertheless, the positive trends will weaken without vision
at the top level of government. An "insider
economy" threatens to become a primary obstacle to
Ukraine's future development and also weakens the link

This report finalized in March 2001
constitutes a step toward the objective of designing an
integrated strategy for rural poverty reduction in Brazil,
The report contains an updated and more detailed profile of
the rural poor in the northeast (NE) and southeast (SE) of
Brazil; identifies key determinants of rural poverty in
these regions; and proposes a five-pronged strategic
framework in which to couch a set of integrated policies

Latin America missed opportunities for
rapid resource-based growth that similarly endowed
countries-Australia, Canada, Scandinavia-were able to take
advantage of. Fundamental to this poor performance was
deficient technological adoption driven by two factors.
First, deficient national "learning" or
"innovative" capacity, arising from low investment
in human capital and scientific infrastructure, led to weak

The asset-based approach considers links between households' productive, social, and locational assets; the policy, institutional, and risk context; household behavior as expressed in livelihood strategies; and well-being outcomes. For sustainable poverty reducing growth, it is critical to examine household asset portfolios and understand how assets interact with the context to influence the selection of livelihood strategies, which in turn determine well-being. Policy reforms can change the context and income-generating potential of assets.

The major constraints to RNF growth,
according to a large survey of rural entrepreneurs,'
include (1) flood and natural disasters; (2) access to
electricity; (3) road conditions, (4) access to finance and
(5) transportation to markets. Bangladesh's
vulnerability to frequent floods and other natural disasters
severely hampers operations of more than a third of rural
firms. The next most important constraint to RNF growth is

High and sustained rate of economic
growth in Yemen is a necesary, though not sufficient,
condition for reduction of the high incidence of poverty and
for raising the living standards of Yemeni citizens.
Evidence in this report suggests that the main obstacle to
rapid and sustained economic growth is the weak governance
that characterizes Yemen in addition to the weaknesses in
domestic security, property rights, and rule of law systems.

(covering the activities of IBRD/IDA), the Operations Evaluation Group (covering IFC), and
the Operations Evaluation Unit (covering MIGA). The purpose of the evaluation is to assess
the effectiveness of the World Bank Group (WBG) in helping its member countries improve
their investment climates, within the context of the WBG’s overall mission of poverty
reduction and sustainable development. Its findings and recommendations provide guidance for
the WBG’s future strategy and activities in this area. The evaluation was conducted in parallel

The transition economies of Central and
Eastern Europe, through the reform process of
decentralization, are now seeking the devolution of fiscal
powers, and responsibilities from central, to local
governments, within financially sustainable environments. To
this end, a system of local budgets, and taxes needs to be
devised, over which local governments may have control.
Thus, this report focuses on the tax on immovable real

This regional study encompasses three
Central American countries: Nicaragua, Guatemala, and
Honduras. The focus of this report is Nicaragua. 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, where
drivers are defined as the assets and combinations of assets

This report is part of an ongoing
project to understand poverty, growth, and human development
in Pakistan. It argues that if the country does not close
its social gap, its long-term ability to grow economically,
alleviate poverty, and sustain its debt will be
fundamentally compromised. Spanning social, economic, and
fiscal difficulties, the country's current predicament
is not rooted in a discrete set of policies amenable to