Stopping Tuberculosis in Central Asia reviews the epidemiological situation, control efforts, and financing of tuberculosis programs in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It was based on a review of existing statistics and reports, and on consultation with key...

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...

In recent years, Europe and Central Asia (ECA) has seen the world's fastest growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. The Balkans countries and territories under study - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the UN-administered Kosovo -- have reported over 2,000 HIV/AIDS cases...

Available evidence indicates that there was a significant decline in smoking in Brazil between 1989 and 2006. About two decades ago, the government launched a tobacco control program, with a marked acceleration of efforts since 1990, focusing on non-price interventions such as bans on...

The objective of this study was to assess the smoking situation in Brazil, and the role of the tobacco control program, and compare it to experience in other countries. The study assessed key trends in smoking rates and lung cancer in Brazil, and reviewed price and non-price interventions. A...

To many, reducing water losses is seen as key to more sustainable water management. The arguments to reduce water losses are compelling, but reducing water losses has turned out to be challenging. This paper applies a panel data analysis with fixed effects to determine the major drivers of...

Aid is good for the poor. This paper uses detailed aid data spanning 60 developing countries over the past two decades to show that social aid significantly and directly benefits the poorest in society, while economic aid increases the income of the poor through growth. This new and unequivocal...

This paper uses the gravity model to analyze whether the varying export performance of Croatian counties can be explained by their proximity to border gates, ports, and other county-specific characteristics. The analysis finds that longer distances to border gates increase trade frictions...

Extension services are a keystone of information diffusion in agriculture. This paper exploits a large randomized controlled trial to track diffusion of a new technique in the classic Training and Visit (T&V) extension model, relative to a more direct training model. In both control and...

Market integration is key to ensuring sufficient and stable food supplies. This paper assesses the impediments to market integration in Central and Eastern Africa for three food staples: maize, rice, and sorghum. The paper uses a large database on monthly consumer prices for 150 towns in 13...