The global toll of human suffering and material loss due to disasters has led to growing public concern and expanded institutional response in the form of disaster relief and recovery assistance from individuals, governments, and intergovernmental organizations. Initial humanitarian concern has...

Kenya is an emerging middle income country with a growing share of its population living in urban areas. The country is at a relatively early stage of urbanisation, with around 27 percent of Kenyans living in urban areas, yet projections suggest that by 2050, about half the population will be...

The recent rapid evolution of digital technologies has been changing behaviors and expectations in countries around the world. These shifts make it the right time to pose the key question this paper explores: Will digital technologies, both those that are already widespread and those that are...

The South African government offers various support mechanisms to support Eskom, the state-owned electric utility, and the independent power producers in providing low-cost electricity, including credit and payment guarantees. Guarantees constitute contingent liabilities to the government and...

As part of their commitments under the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade Facilitation, many developing countries are set to adopt risk management, a strategy for selecting import shipments for inspection. This paper formalizes key enforcement issues related to risk management. It...

Pakistan's power sector underwent a substantial, if protracted, reform process. Beginning with an independent power producer program in 1994, the full unbundling of the national vertically integrated power and water utility, the Water and Power Development Authority, and the establishment of a...

There is a global trend toward more production, use, and sale of services by manufacturing firms. This phenomenon is known as the servicification of manufacturing. Services inputs as well as services activities within manufacturing firms account for over half of the value of manufacturing...

Beyond their key contribution to value chains in all sectors, services represent a centrally important source of economic and export diversification. This paper discusses how to promote trade in services as a channel for growth, employment, and diversification by assessing services trade costs...

Vietnam's power sector has developed rapidly since the 1990s to become a top performer among developing countries. This success has occurred mostly under a state-owned utility, Electricity Vietnam. Select market-oriented reforms to date have also had some positive impact. By the late 1990s, the...