Reserve requirements in electricity markets may get each producer to internalize the cost of grid-wide blackouts it might cause if unable to meet consumer demand. Markets for how such capacity might be procured have been studied. Less examined is how the costs of reserve capacity are covered....

The first progress report of the government of Niger on the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) covers the period January 2002 to June 2003. The implementation of the PRSP has been broadly satisfactory since January 2002, and the report provides a candid review of...

This paper examines demand for electricity in Kuwait. As, given the climatic conditions, the planning for electricity generating capacity is based on peak-load, the main focus of the paper is peak-load demand. The analysis in the paper is based on annual time series data, and generalized least...

This Joint Staff Advisory Note provides IMF staff advice on key priorities for strengthening Bangladesh’s poverty reduction strategy (PRS) and for ensuring its effective implementation. It highlights key strengths of the PRS while bringing out some weaknesses of existing policies that may...

Telecom supply chains are subject to instabilities and uncertainties that make substantial the risks handled by the chain actors. This paper demonstrates that the exchange or sharing of reliable information improves both actors' and SC's performance. In particular, this paper presents a system...

This Joint Staff Advisory Note focuses on the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) for Sudan. I-PRSP provides a useful stock taking of the socioeconomic situation in Sudan and offers a good basis for the design and monitoring of growth and poverty reduction policies. It is the first...

This paper investigates the concentration of access to safe water across income levels in Bolivia. In particular, it focuses on how privatisation has changed coverage, affordability and the concentration of access to water on the part of the poor. We compare the performance of cities in which...