The authors examine the wide-ranging and fundamental trade reforms undertaken in 16 Latin American and Caribbean countries in the 1980s. These reforms have dramatically altered the nature of the trade regimes in these countries and are particularly significant because they were undertaken during...

The analysis presented in this report assembles, for the first time, evidence from a variety of sources in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to show that policy and institutional reforms are important in achieving higher productivity growth. However, significant...

Recent developments in trade theory - the result of applying modelsthat embody imperfect competition and increasing returns to scale - suggest an activist role for government in trade policy and threaten to undermine the case for trade liberalization. But the new modelling of international trade...

Transition literature has emphasized stabilization and enterprise restructuring. Both cross-country analyses and country-specific studies have tended to focus on fiscal stabilization and its indicators, highlighting the importance of quantitative fiscal adjustment to stabilization outcomes. Less...

Uzbekistan adopted a cautious, gradual approach to market reform. Kazakhstan followed a more aggressive strategy. But while Kazakhstan may have achieved a better policy environment, its economic performance has not been better than Uzbekistan's. The authors examine the interplay between...

While the countries of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union have made significant progress in reducing poverty in the past five years, poverty and vulnerability remain significant problems. More than 60 million are poor and more than 150 million are vulnerable. Growth, Poverty, and...

The main objective of the Life in Transition Survey (LiTS) was to assess the impact of transition on people, and so the survey questionnaire covered four main themes. First, it collected personal information on aspects of material well-being, including household expenditures, possession of...

While the countries of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union have made significant progress in reducing poverty in the past five years, poverty and vulnerability remain significant problems. More than 60 million are poor and more than 150 million are vulnerable. Growth, Poverty, and...

South Africa has achieved a lot on its path of socio-economic transformation since the end of Apartheid in 1994. While many challenges remain to foster inclusive growth to address the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty, and inequality, some innovative approaches have been used to build...