This paper presents the results of research recently conducted by the authors on ex-post analysis focused on the long-term economic impacts of transportation system investments in the United States (US). For a variety of reasons, the US has had a tradition of making transport investments to...

China has suffered railway capacity constraints for more than several decades and the need for a large increase in rail capacity has been viewed as the primary challenge. The former Chinese Ministry of Railways believed that building a national wide high speed railway (HSR) network was the most...

The UK National Audit Office (NAO) scrutinises public spending on behalf of Parliament, helping it to hold government departments to account and helping public bodies improve performance and delivery. We publish around 60 value for money studies each year across a range of government activities,...

This paper reviews methods that seek to draw causal inference from non-experimental data and shows how they can be applied to undertake ex-post evaluation of transport interventions. In particular, the paper discusses the underlying principles of techniques for treatment effect estimation with...

This paper reports estimates of the economic impact of HIV/AIDS in the Asian and Pacific region using a standard growth model. Following previous research on this issue, an economywide aggregate production function is estimated with health capital as an input. HIV/AIDS is assumed to influence...

In this paper, we study the effects of institutions and policies on economic growth and poverty, paying close attention to institutions and policies that relate to the overall climate and regulations under which the private sector operates. We find that good governance, as measured by a strong...

The expected slowdown in the economy of the United States (US) has ignited increasing concerns over the short-term growth prospect of East Asia. Historically, a US slowdown has often been associated with a global slowdown. East Asia has been particularly vulnerable to slowing US growth, given...

"Nedelyn Magtibay-Ramos, Gemma Estrada, and Jesus Felipe provide an analysis of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines. The paper provides a profile of the BPO sector; makes comparisons with other large BPO providers; and uses input–output tables to estimate...

Existing policy instruments for conserving tropical forests have shown limited success. This paper investigates the feasibility of improving the technical efficiency of the wood processing industry as an alternative approach to forest conservation, using sawmills in Sri Lanka as a case study....

A key legacy of the Asian financial crisis of 1997–1998 is a sustained drop-off in the investment rates of East Asian countries that were hardest hit by the crisis. We first review the stylized facts of investment in those countries, and then explore and evaluate the various possible...