The public sector of most developing countries is often the target of numerous criticisms - lack of or no infrastructure, absenteeism of service providers like teachers and doctors, poor quality of services, corruption, non-transparency, favoritism, discrimination, etc. While several of these...

It is now increasingly recognized that, alongside the state and the market, civil society is a critical factor in determining the level, pace and equity of a country's economic, social and political development. Civic engagement is the participation of private actors in the public sphere,...

The Uruguay Non-lending Technical Assistance (UY NLTA) for Uruguay was undertaken at the request of the Government of Uruguay's Ministry of Social Development (MIDES). Following a devastating financial and macroeconomic crisis in 2002, MIDES was established with a view to coordinating social...

The role and relevance of Social Fund Community-Driven Development (SF/CDD) has been highly debated in the international development community. Some conceive these programs only as parallel and temporary arrangements that can ensure short-term delivery of development benefits. Others emphasize...

The objectives of the Uruguay Nonlending Technical Assistance Project (UY NLTA) were to: (i) evaluate the impact of providing a safety net program's (PANES's) social emergency programs; (ii) inform a dialogue about the future role of social programs and of MIDES as a lead authority responsible...

The Palestinian Authority is committed to improving state-citizen relations through various mechanisms including the complaints resolution. The objective of this technical assistance, which has been undertaken at the request of the DGC, is to strengthen the Complaint Handling Mechanisms (CHMs)...

This report highlights the relationship between poverty, risk and vulnerability facing the people of Afghanistan. The report is divided in to five chapters: Chapter I provides a short historical overview of poverty and vulnerability and highlights some of the ways in which the Afghan people have...

Half of the moderately poor, and one third of the extremely poor now live in urban areas in Mexico. While cities offer a number of opportunities and specific challenges for the poor, low quality and high costs restrict real access to basic public services. Yet, the urban-rural distinctions need...

This study is part of the second phase of a long-term programmatic work on poverty in Mexico, in three phases being carried out by the Bank at the request of the Government of Mexico. Reasons for a study on rural poverty, are because the size and intensity of the phenomenon, poverty, and...