Diversification of the financial sector has been one of the central features of China's recent and rapid economic growth. This book traces the development of China's Trust and Investment Companies (TICs), the most numerous non-bank financial institutions to emerge in China, and their link to the...

This document is intended to be used by technical and social science staff involved in planning and implementation of water and sanitation facilities for the poor. It may also be useful to social science researchers applying their craft to the low cost water supply and sanitation sector. With...

Group-based lending programs for the poor have become a focus of attention in the development community over the last several years. To date, there has been no comprehensive investigation of their impact on household behavior that has been sufficiently attentive to issues of endogeneity and...

This paper reports on the microfinance program of Hatton National Bank Limited (HNB), the largest private commercial bank in Sri Lanka. It reviews the experience of HNB, which has initiated a program offering financial services to the poor while continuing its traditional business operations.

This study focuses on the process of technology catch-up and competitive advantage creation, drawing on the successful experiences of Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong -- the newly industrialized countries (NICs). It shows how the NICs countries have exploited the opportunities made...

This paper traces the evolution of Workd Bank support to agricultural services, particularly extension and research, in Sub-Saharan Africa from the early 1970s to the present.

Over the course of history, different legal instruments for protecting intellectual property have emerged. These instruments differ in their subject matter, extent of protection, and field of application, reflecting society's objective to balance the interests of creators and consumers for...