Improving the investment climate is a key pillar of the World Bank's private sector development strategy. Without a good investment climate, firms and entrepreneurs of all types-from farmers to micro-enterprises to local manufacturing concerns and multinationals-have few opportunities and...

"This paper studies the spatial dimension of growth in Mexico over the past three decades. The literature on regional economic growth shows a decrease in regional dispersion from 1970 to 1985, and a sharp increase afterward coinciding with the trade liberalization of the Mexican economy. Using...

"The authors examine the determinants of entry by foreign firms using information on 515 Chinese industries at the provincial level during 1998-2001. The analysis, rooted in the new economic geography, focuses on market and supplier access within and outside the province of entry, as well as...

The Bulgarian labor market has seen remarkable improvements in recent years and has contributed to strong economic growth. The benign environment for job creation is now changing, as the global economic crisis impacts on labor market demand in Bulgaria. Compared to the EU27 averages, activity...

In the most general sense, convergence is the integration of any traditionally segmented areas of communications systems. Convergence is happening today in Egypt, and is driven by the growth of digital media and packet data communication. In specific terms, it is essential that the Government of...

Bulgaria's entry into the EU Single Market raises new opportunities and new risks for the national economy. As shown in the rest of Europe, a program of regulatory reform offers an effective strategy for managing the risks of more intense competition while preparing Bulgarian companies to...

Lithuania's long-term economic strategy aims at building the foundations for achieving rapid convergence with Western European countries. The medium-term objective of the economic policy is to meet the economic criteria for accession and to get ready for membership in the European and Monetary...

"In defiance of its unimpressive track in structural reforms and relatively low foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, Romanian exports have experienced surprisingly strong performance in both EU and non-EU markets since 2000 after a four-year period of flat growth. While the first phase of...

The forces unleashed by the Arab political awakening have the power to be transformational. One critical parameter of success will be whether the Arab political awakening is accompanied by a concurrent economic awakening. Economic integration through increased trade and foreign direct investment...