The author recommends using more quantitative economic analysis in appraising technical assistance loans and loan components. After giving a brief history of tecnhical assistance and the problems commonly associated with it, he describes classifications of technical assistance, proposes a new...

By using better data on German foreign direct investment (FDI) than previous studies, the author found that: (i) developing countries might attract more FDI flows by easing investment restrictions or implementing incentives - but the effect of incentives could be modest and does not justify...

This paper contains abstracts of Policy Research Working Paper series, Numbers 2499-2567.

Indicative planning which involves the establishment of sectoral targets which are not compulsory for the private sector and are embedded in macroeconomic projections that pertain to a period of several years. Indicative planning has been widely practiced in developing countries during the post...

This paper is an account of the World Bank's effort to collect household-level data on poverty in developing countries and what that data says about the effects of government policies on living conditions of the poor. The main objective of the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) surveys is...

This study shows that in developing countries with no more than partly favorable policies toward manufactured exports, outside assistance to services that promote and support manufactured exports has had little discernible impact on exports and has rarely been effective in expanding them. The...

A large number of public pension schemes around the world have accumulated significant reserves. Pre-funding might reduce the risk that future governments will not be able to meet pension obligations. The management of these funds therefore, has a direct effect on financial sustainability and...

Emergency programs are designed to soften the impact of economic crises-income shocks experienced by an entire community or country-on consumption and human capital accumulation. Of particular concern are poor people: as a result of inadequate savings or inadequate access to credit or insurance...

Do inward-focused development strategies reduce competition in factor markets and incentives for more efficient skills development? Do outward-focused development strategies improve them? The authors compared vocational education and training systems in six developing countries in the 1980s....

This paper contains abstracts of Policy Research Working Paper series, numbers 2857 - 2882