"The authors investigate the extent and nature of distortions in the labor market in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire by using quantile regression analysis on employer-employee data from the manufacturing sector. They find that the labor markets in Côte d'Ivoire do not seem to be much distorted....

This Dissemination Note draws from the recent Bank report, "Eritrea: Investment Climate Assessment produced by the Africa Private Sector Group." It concludes, in short, that Eritrea is facing a critical labor shortage, partly the result of recent conflict. Mobilization has drained white collar...

In an effort to improve employment outcomes and industrial productivity, the Government of Pakistan (GoP) has launched a dual-track reform process involving broad-based overhaul of labor laws and institutions, and expansion and reform of the Vocational and Technical Training (VTT) system. Labor...

Under-pricing of diesel and kerosene continues to cause major financial problems for Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), which is losing over Tk 2 billion monthly. Global forecasts suggest that oil prices will continue to be over $US 50 per barrel for the next couple of years. Bangladesh's...

The decline in international oil prices over the past two years has resulted into an economic crisis in the Republic of Congo that could forestall the transformation efforts to move the country towards higher middle income status. A key strategy that government has pursued in recent years has...

For some Latin American countries - especially, the oil importers in the Caribbean - rising energy prices could pose a significant threat to their current account sustainability, particularly if they are accompanied by other negative shocks. In some countries the fiscal costs associated with...

"Drawing on the World Bank Investment Climate Assessment surveys, this paper investigates the relationship between firm-level technical efficiency and the investment climate for 22 developing economies and eight manufacturing industries. The authors first propose three measures of firms'...

"During the 1990s, foreign direct investment in producer service sectors in Latin America was massive. Such investment may increase the quality of services, reduce their cost, and offer opportunities for knowledge spillovers to downstream users of the services. This paper examines the effects of...