Program-based approaches to providing development assistance, especially sector investment programs (SIPs), are receiving increased attention as donors and recipient countries search for effective instruments to foster sustainable development. A SIP is a long-term national program covering...

There has been tremendous growth worldwide in the mobilization of financial resources outside traditional banking systems. Channeled mainly through capital markets, such rapid financial diversification is posing new challenges for regulators in many emerging markets. This document describes the...

Promoting a high savings rate is high on the World Bank's agenda for promoting national income growth. This study surveys broad saving trends worldwide, summarizes current knowledge about savings and consumption, identifies main unresolved issues, and outlines the major policy questions to be...

Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia. Because privatization methods show similar results, the extent of restructuring is compared across firms in the seven countries and used for determining which country.Measures of restructuring are...

This report examines the currentstate of Russian agriculture and agricultural research system. It develops a conceptual framework for managing the transformation and rehabilitation of agricultural research systems in transition economies, with particular focus on Russia.

Russia's agricultural sector has potential to make a significant contribution to global food supply in the coming century. The country's agriculture is now, however, under-performing. Production continues to decline and productivity is low. At a time when world grain stocks are at historic lows,...

Six years into the transition from planned to market economies in Central and Eastern Europe, high unemployment rates, including a growing proportion of the long-term unemployed, represent a serious challenge to social welfare systems and policymakers. This paper analyzes labor market...