Governments in developing countries have been increasingly involved in the support of commercial agricultural (crop and livestock) insurance programs in recent years. A striking example is China, where, with support (and premium subsidies) from the central and provincial governments, the...

Political risk is a top concern for corporate foreign investors from industrialized but also developing countries when venturing into emerging markets. At the same time, these investors maintain a positive outlook on economic and business prospects in the developing world, which is expected to...

This World Bank Annual Report for FY2006 notes that the past year saw both progress and continued challenges in the global fight against poverty and inequality. The Report discusses the following topical highlights: Debt relief for the poorest countries; targeting development in Africa; addressing...

This book examines recent changes in the landscape of retirement products and annuity markets in five countries. All the selected countries (Australia, Chile, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland) have mandatory or quasi-mandatory savings schemes. But they also exhibit significant differences in the...

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency's (MIGA's) mandate to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries to improve people's lives and create more opportunities remains more important than ever. Despite a challenging business climate, during the past year MIGA sought out...

This publication is the third in a series of volumes based on the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency-Georgetown University Symposium in International Political Risk Management. Like its predecessors, this volume offers expert assessments of needs, trends, and challenges in the...

The report covers several types of structured finance with such capital market instruments as mortgage-backed securities, structured bond issues for infrastructure financing, securitization of small and medium enterprises (SME)-related assets, and securitization of loans to SMEs. The report also...

Examining innovative ways to address Africa's infrastructure deficit is at the heart of this analysis. Africa's infrastructure stock and quality is among the least developed in the world, a challenge that significantly hinders economic development. The study is structured around the most...