A successful demobilization and reintegration program (DRP) for ex-combatants is the key to an effective transition from war to peace. The success of this first step following the signing of a peace accord signals the end to organized conflict and thereby provides the security necessary for...

This French edition of the proceedings of the Regional Workshop on Civil Service Reform in francophone Africa is a timely and useful addition to the studies in the field of public sector management. The workshop focused on four main themes: strategies and sequencing of civil service reform;...

This report presents an update of poverty and income distribution statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean and examines the trends in these statistics during the 1980s. The document also provides a series of nonmonetary social indicators to help complete the profile of living conditions in...

Decentralization and democratization in the Latin America and the Caribbean region have produced a wave of innovations on the local government level upgrading professional staffs, raising taxes and user fees, delivering better services, and mobilizing participation in public choice-making. This...

Since approximately 1990, most countries in Latin America have embarked on a unilateral process of trade liberalization for agricultural and non-agricultural products, effectively putting an end to four decades of import-substitution policies. Most countries adopted tariffication, with bound...

This paper proposes a program for judicial reform which specifically addresses the main factors affecting the quality of court services, its monopolistic nature and the resultant inefficiency. The reform program also addresses the economic and legal causes at the root of an inefficient and...

This paper reviews recent institutional change and innovative mechanisms for funding of agricultural research in Latin America, including commercialization of research results through joint public- private sector ventures, competitive funds, research foundations, farmer-managed levies on...

A social development perspective is used to seek an answer to the question: why is the incidence of absolute poverty so different among developing countries in East Asia, South Asia and Latin America?

After a period of rapid economic growth associated with high commodity prices, the region had entered a phase of lackluster performance. Recent developments, including a new oil price shock, and the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic will push the region into recession. Many countries are...

Efficient energy services are essential for economic growth, competitiveness, and human development. Globally, energy markets are undergoing a transformation: fossil fuel prices are responding to new and unpredictable dynamics, and new energy and information and communication technologies (ICT)...