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...

The pharmaceutical industry is unique because of a close connection between knowledge and final product. As the quintessential science-based industry, pharmaceuticals depend heavily on high level manpower and substantial R&D for innovation. Because these requirements are costly, the industry is...

This study of six industries in eight economies examined the role in building industrial technological capability played by outside sources particularly technology institutions (TIs) such as research and standards organizations and by directed policies such as tax incentives. It concluded that...

An effective legal and regulatory framework is essential in order to attract private investment into the telecommunications sector of most transitional and developing (TDCs) and to ensure that the TDC has the best chance of achieving the benefits for the country as a whole that flow from a...

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...

Offshore wind holds tremendous promise for many emerging markets as a large-scale, clean, reliable form of new electricity generation with the potential to stimulate valuable economic benefits. However, developing a new offshore wind sector in an emerging market is no easy task. Decision makers...

In this report, the authors investigate state-owned enterprise (SOE) listings as a solution to promote local capital markets development. Thus, SOE listings can offer governments an enormous opportunity to kick-start the development of their local capital markets while achieving other divestment...

Physical cash and commercial bank money are dominant vehicles for retail payments around the world, including in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). Yet payments in EMDEs are marked by several key deficiencies, such as lack of universal access to transaction accounts, widespread...

Outdoor air pollution accounts for an estimated 4.2 million deaths worldwide, the majority of which are caused by exposure to fine particulate matter (or PM2.5) air pollution. Most of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Reducing PM2.5 air pollution is thus crucial for...

This Good Practice Handbook is designed to provide guidance to practitioners on taking rigorous and consistent approaches to assess hydropower project impacts on downstream river ecosystems and people, and determine their Environmental Flows (EFlows) commitments. The Handbook outlines a good...