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

The Operations Evaluation Department
(OED) is an independent unit within the World Bank. The
goals of evaluation are to learn from experience, to provide
an objective basis for assessing the results of the Bank’s
work, and to provide accountability in the achievement of
its objectives. This report on the Post-Conflict Fund (PCF)
is one of twenty six case studies that have been prepared as
source material for the second phase of OED’s independent

The Investment Climate Study is a
evaluation of the Operations Evaluation Department (OED).
The OED report reviews the Bank’s investment climate lending
and non-lending activities during fiscal years 1993 through
2002-03. The report presents the collected findings of
several evaluative exercises: a literature review; an
analysis of investment climate themes in country assistance
strategies and sector strategies; an analysis of lending

In many countries the private sector has
been involved in financing infrastructure through
concessions under a public-private partnership (PPP)
program. PPP schemes, however, are somewhat underutilized in
transition economies, where the potential financing gaps are
significant and growing, and there seems to be an enormous
potential for more private sector involvement in the
financing and operation of highway assets in these

The provention consortium was created in
February 2000 as a formal partnership between the World
Bank, other International Financial Institutions (IFIs),
bilateral donor organizations, the insurance sector, the
academic community, and civil society. Designed as a
think-tank to commission research and to disseminate risk
reduction tools, the provention secretariat was to rotate
from one partner organization to another. Thus, after three

In carrying out the program for investment climate reform, Orissa State has to keep three things uppermost: It s critical to strike the right balance between private and social interests so that both are mutually reinforced and growth is equitable and inclusive. 2) Both the implementation capacity of government and the political economy of reforms will require appropriate prioritization of reforms with a clear identification of short-, medium-, and long-term actions.

The objective of the study is to analyze
conflict-induced displacement from the point of view of
vulnerability, using a multifaceted definition of
vulnerability. As many as 10 million people have been
displaced by war in the Europe and Central Asia region since
1990. While many people have been able to return home,
approximately half remain displaced, with no available
avenues for sustainable reintegration. Currently, in five

This paper looks at the evidence on the
magnitude and impacts of forest illegal acts, examines the
vulnerabilities of the forest sector, and proposes a
strategy for combating forest crime. Forest crime
prominently includes illegal logging but acts against the
law also affect other sector operations such as forest
products transport, industrial processing, and trade. Almost
universally, criminal exploitation of forest products and

The paper analyzes the linkages between the reform strategies in transition countries and
economic performance. We focus on agriculture because of the sharpness of the policy
changes, fundamental differences among countries, and relative simplicity of agricultural
relationships. We document post reform performance in the transition countries of Asia and
Europe. We show how: a.) pricing reform and subsidy reductions; b.) land rights reform
and policies that affect farm restructuring; and c.) the presence institutions that facilitate

Major changes are needed if Africans and
their children are to claim the 21st century. With the
rapidly growing population, 5 percent annual growth is
needed simply to keep the number of poor from rising.
Halving severe poverty by 2015 will require annual growth of
more than 7 percent, along with a more equitable
distribution of income. Trends in Africa will need to change
radically for a catch-up process to materialize. This will

This issue, which serves as the annual
review on the environment, looks at the Bank's work
from July 2002 through June 2003, dedicated this year to
Water and the Environment, on the occasion of the Fifth
World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa. Following the
overview, which reviews progress in the implementation of
the Environment strategy, the report presents viewpoints on
ways to move forward in delivering water as committed in

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