Although the Latin American region's growth rates are at a three decade high, they have been historically disappointing in relative terms, which cannot be dissociated from the microeconomic environment in which firms operate. Policy makers may need to complement their focus on macroeconomic...

The World Bank has completed a major study of East Asian growth every four years, beginning with the seminal The East Asian Miracle in 1993. Three major developments since the early 1990s call for a reexamination of East Asian growth: the meteoric rise of China, the economic crisis of the...

This book brings together analysis and insights from high-level Chinese policy-makers and prominent international scholars in addressing the key challenges China is facing in maintaining rapid growth and achieving the Government's stated goal of creating a harmonious society. It analyzes such...

The economic successes of China and India are viewed with admiration but also with concern because of the effects that the growth of these Asian economies may have on the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region. The evidence in China's and India's Challenge to Latin America indicates that...

The study offers a unified perspective on what has driven productivity, economic integration, migration, employment and living standards in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, drawing on household budget surveys, enterprise surveys and special purpose firm level data sets.

While Tanzania has been at the forefront of creating a positive legal framework and political context for gender equality, certain legal, regulatory, and administrative barriers still hinder women's full participation in private sector development. This report analyzes these barriers and makes...

Over the past two decades China's growth has been rapid, social indicators have improved, and poverty levels have inched downward. However,widening inequality, increasing resource and financial imbalances, and growing environmental concerns provide China with daunting challenges in improving the...

The Kyrgyz Republic has made major strides in the past decade in its transition to a market-based economy. Its trade and investment policies are arguably the most liberal among the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Despite the generally progressive stance on structural...

This book reviews the access to services, investment needs, tariffs, and efficiency of fifteen Caribbean countries across five infrastructure sectors (telecommunications, electricity, water and sanitation, maritime transport and ports, and airports and air services). Benchmarks are established...