Management has a large effect on the productivity of large firms. But does management matter in micro and small firms, where the majority of the labor force in developing countries works? This study developed 26 questions that measure business practices in marketing, stock-keeping,...

This paper develops a classification of investor risks and surveys 51 private investors and financiers in the power sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper aims for a better understanding of what can be done to attract private solutions to fill the investment gap. It finds that the average...

This paper presents recent trends in government and foreign bank ownership across countries and summarizes the evidence regarding the implications of bank ownership structure for bank performance and competition, financial stability, and access to finance. The evidence reviewed suggests that...

This paper reviews recent literature on the impacts of various components of power sector reform on the performance of electric utilities in developing countries. Recent literature is heavily focused on statistical testing of the significance of the links between four components of sector reform...

Although Sri Lanka has made significant progress in social and economic development over the past decade, the Northern and Eastern provinces that faced the brunt of the decades-long conflict remain disproportionately poor. To understand the labor market dimensions of poverty in these regions,...

This volume summarizes a series of studies undertaken to better understand the current socioeconomic context of the Northern and Eastern provinces in Sri Lanka. Nearly a decade after the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, the Northern and Eastern provinces lag in key social and economic measures....

Sri Lanka has shown remarkable persistence in low female labor force participation rates-at 36 percent from 2015 to 2017, compared with 75 percent for same-aged men-despite overall economic growth and poverty reduction over the past decade. The trend stands in contrast to the country's...