Using a political economy approach, the authors analyze the pattern of protection in Mexico's manufacturing sector during the period of trade policy reforms (1985-89), when Mexico experienced significant trade liberalization and an important inflow of foreign direct investment. They take into...

The authors discuss key choices policy makers face about China's pension system in the face of a rapidly aging population. They describe the problems the current pay-as-you-go system faces in the near and long term and simulate policy options for solving those problems. They find that simple...

The authors present empirical evidence on the determinants of industry-level multifactor productivity growth. They focus on"traditional factors,"including the process of technological catch up, human capital, and research and development (R&D), as well as institutional factors affecting labor...

The recent literature on law and finance has drawn attention to the importance of creditor rights in influencing the development of financial systems and in affecting firm corporate governance and financing patterns. Recent financial crises have also highlighted the importance of insolvency...

This paper examines the adjustment policies applied by two East Asian newly industrializing economies, Korea and Taiwan, in the period following the quadrupling of oil prices in 1973. As an introduction to the discussion, the policy performance of the two East Asian economies prior to 1973 is...

Equity flows to developing countries climbed to an estimated $13 billion in 1992, four times the amount invested three years earlier. Investment increased partly because countries removed restrictions on foreign ownership, liberalized capital account transactions, and generally made foreign...

Chile's success with pension reform in the early 1980s and the continuing financial pressures facing the social security systems of many developing (and some industrial) countries have elicited considerable interest in the mechanics of pension systems that are based on fully funded individual...

Technical assistance (TA), including project-related training, is the principal instrument the Bank uses to promote institutional development (ID). This paper reviews trends in ID-related TA for FY1982-88 and examines why there is little evidence of improvement in its use, despite the...

The continuum of institutions providing microfinance cannot develop fully without a regulatory environment conducive to their growth. Without such an environment, fragmentation and segmentation will continue to inhibit the institutional transformation of microfinance institutions. The authors...

The authors develop a macroeconomic framework that captures links between aid, public investment, growth, and poverty. Public investment is disaggregated into education, infrastructure, and health, and affects both aggregate supply and demand. Dutch disease effects are captured by accounting for...