This report shows how business registers employ information and communication technology (ICT) to perform their functions more efficiently while at the same time providing businesses with more user-friendly services. Particular attention is paid to achieving innovative solutions, that is,...

"The claim by global trade modelers that the potential contribution to global economic welfare of removing agricultural subsidies is less than one-tenth of that from removing agricultural tariffs puzzles many observers. To help explain that result, the authors first compare the OECD and...

As part of its technical assistance initiative to develop (and strengthen) the regulatory framework for business, the single window system to stimulate the development of the private sector, the World Bank commissioned ICRA Management Consulting Services Limited (IMaCS) to conduct a detailed...

The objective of this assessment is to provide background information about GBV issues, policies, programming, and gaps in Malawi, for the purpose of assisting the World Bank (WB) to 1) consider how to directly support efforts to address GBV in Malawi; 2) inform strategies for integrating...

"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...