In 2008 nine low- or middle-income countries implemented at least 65 water projects with private participation, involving investment of more than US$3.1 billion, according to just-released data from the Private Participation in Infrastructure Project Database. The number of new projects...

Investment commitments to infrastructure projects with private participation in the Middle East and North Africa grew by 7 percent to US$12.8 billion in 2007, the highest level since 1990, according to just-released data from the private participation in infrastructure project database. The...

Investment commitments to infrastructure projects with private participation in Sub-Saharan Africa amounted to almost US$11 billion in 2007, the second highest level since 1990, according to just-released data from the private participation in infrastructure project database. The region...

The report is about the private participation in infrastructure database. Energy and telecommunications drove most of the year's growth. Energy had growth of 96 percent, reaching its second highest level since 1990. Telecommunications saw an increase of 13 percent to its highest level ever. The...

This note states that investment commitments to telecommunications projects with private participation in low- and middle-income countries amounted to US$75 billion in 2007, according to just-released data from the Private Participation in Infrastructure Project Database. That marked a new peak...

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...