The overall finding of this report is
that much agricultural policy is made at the regional level,
and here the explicit price, and trade policy distortions
are significantly worse than at the federal level. The
result is patchwork of inconsistent policies, that has
fragmented the Russian national market. The most serious
policy issues at the federal level, are in the legal
framework, the continued state domination of some markets,

This regional study encompasses three
Central American countries: Nicaragua, Guatemala and
Honduras. The focus of this report is Guatemala. The study
is motivated by several factors: First is the recognition
that sub-national regions are becoming increasingly
heterogeneous, and economically differentiated as part of
ongoing processes of development and diversification, with
some areas advancing, and others being left behind. Second

This note on social protection has as
its objective establishing an exhaustive analysis/diagnosis
of the existing social protection framework and of preparing
an integrated approach through developing better social
protection priorities and plans of actions. It a) identifies
the social risks which the Moroccan people face generally;
b) examines current social protection initiatives (public,
private, and civil society-sponsored) set up to reduce

In this exploration of urban and regional dynamics in Poland after the transition, the authors find that the degree of urbanization, and primacy remains low in Poland. The largest cities are not growing at the rate that would be expected if post-transition adjustments were operating freely. As a result, Poland is not fully realizing external economies from urban agglomeration. Internal migration decreased significantly in the 1990s, with rural-to-urban migration declining dramatically.

The objective of this book is to provide
detailed advice on how to design multi-topic household
surveys based on the experience of past household surveys.
The book will help identify define objectives, identify data
needed to analyze objectives, and draft questionnaires to
collect such data. Much of the book is based on the
experience of the World Bank's Living Standard's
Measurement Study (LSMS) program, established in 1980 to

The Africa Gas Initiative (AGI) has been
established by the Oil and Gas Division of the World Bank,
to promote the utilization of natural gas in Sub-Saharan
Africa. The study focuses on coastal countries - Angola,
Cameroon, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, and Gabon - along the
West African coastline, and the Gulf of Guinea, where most
of the region's gas reserves are located, and where
significant proportions of the gas produced, is being wasted

The review focuses on development and
the environment in Yemen, particularly analyzing the
environment resource base, where renewable fresh water is
scarce, mainly ground water, and its over exploitation is
one of the country's major environmental problems.
Fisheries resources are also important, while oil and gas
are significant resources contributing to some eighty five
percent of Yemen's export revenues. Environmental

This report addresses the role public
expenditure can play in the alleviation of poverty in the
Brazilian northeast, involving both regional growth, and
social services. Notwithstanding relatively high growth in
the past two years, the northeast lags behind the rest of
the country, with a per capita GDP just under sixty percent
of the country's GDP, with no significant variations
since 1965. Based on national statistical data, the study

Are the household characteristics that
are good for transition to a more diversified
market-oriented development process in Vietnam also
important for reducing poverty? Or are there tradeoffs? The
determinants of both poverty incidence and participation in
rural off-farm activities are modeled as functions of
household and community characteristics using comprehensive
national household surveys for 1993 and 1998. Despite some

The objective of this paper is to
examine the challenges in the water sector faced by Armenia
today, and outline options for management and allocation of
its water resources in the future, considering the need for
a stable, transparent apublic sector management framework
and sustainable resource use for long-term private
investment and job creation, and for appropriate balances
among water uses for domestic, industrial, agriculture,

This report focuses on understanding key
issues related to poverty, vulnerability and social policy
in the context of a changing Uruguayan economy. Because the
country is highly urbanized (90 percent), and data on rural
areas are scant, most of the analysis in this study focuses
on urban areas. Chapter 1 presents a profile of poverty and
its trends in the nineties using household survey data.
Chapter 2 looks at changes in the structure of the economy

Using panel data from a unique survey of
public primary schools in Uganda, The authors assess the
degree of leakage of public funds in education. The survey
data reveal that on average during 1991-95 schools received
only 13 percent of the central government's allocation
for the schools' nonwage expenditures. Most of the
allocated funds were used by public officials for purposes
unrelated to education or captured for private gain