"The paper evaluates the effects of privatization in the post-communist economies and China. In post-communist economies privatization to foreign owners results in a rapid improvement in performance of firms, while performance effects of privatization to domestic owners are less impressive and...

"Are natural resources a blessing or a curse? Bravo-Ortega and De Gregorio present a model in which natural resources have a positive effect on the level of income and a negative effect on its growth rate. The positive and permanent effect on income implies a welfare gain. There is a growth...

India's Northeastern Region consists of eight states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura -- occupying 262,179 square kilometers and with a population of 39 million (2001 census). This report has come about at the request of the Indian...

Ecuador is a country with exceptional natural resource and environmental advantages and challenges. It is strategically located and has considerable oil reserves in the interior and the coastal region. This document does not aim to describe the state of the environment in Ecuador. Rather, its...

Cote d'Ivoire was an economic success story in the first twenty years of independence, but a sharp reversal began in 1980 and by 1993 per capita incomes was back to the level of 1960. Devaluation of the African Financial Community (CFA) franc triggered an economic rebound, but this was soon...

"Ownership and control over assets such as land and housing provide direct and indirect benefits to individuals and households, including a secure place to live, the means of a livelihood, protection during emergencies, and collateral for credit that can be used for investment or consumption....

"The authors use data on 27,000 firms from 50 countries, half of which are transition economies, together with the case of Serbia to examine the relationship between productivity, the investment climate, and private ownership of firms. As government capacity to address investment climate...

"The debate over the curse of natural resources has haunted developing countries for decades if not centuries. A review of existing empirical evidence suggests that the curse remains elusive. The fragile negative effect of natural resources on economic growth might be due to international...