Poverty and Social Impact Analysis of Reforms:

1. Poverty and Social Impact Analysis of Reforms: Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) is an approach used increasingly by governments, civil society organizations, the World Bank, and other development partners to examine the distributional impacts of policy reforms on the well-being of different stakeholders groups, particularly the poor and vulnerable. PSIA has an important role in the elaboration and implementation of poverty reduction strategies in developing countries because it promotes evidence-based policy choices and fosters debate on policy reform options. Poverty and Social Impact Analysis of Reforms presents a collection of case studies that illustrate the spectrum of sectors and policy reforms to which PSIA can be applied; it also elaborates on the broad range of analytical tools and techniques that can be used for PSIA. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

2. Technology Adaptation and Exports: The literature on technological change and growth has mainly used econometric models to establish that factors, such as the degree of openness, skills, research and development expenditures, number of patents etc., are critical determinants of innovation and its effect on growth. However, this approach fails to explain the role of institutions and policies that created the environment for innovation. Using 10 case studies from developing countries, this book examines how governments fostered technological adaptation through public-private partnerships to develop world-class exporters in high-growth, non-traditional industries. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

3. Reproductive Health – The Missing Millennium Development Goal: While women in developing countries continue to die in large numbers in child birth, Population and Reproductive Health specialists and advocates around the world are struggling to keep the policy agenda focused on the rights and needs of poor women. The 1994 Cairo Conference and Program of Action changed how we do business, and opened many doors, but the agenda is not complete and has stalled in a number of ways. At the country level, governments and donors are making difficult choices about how and where to allocate scarce human and financial resources. Funding approaches have moved away from the implementation of narrowly directed health programs to a broader approach of health system development and reform. At the same time, countries are also centering their development agenda on the broad goal of poverty reduction. This volume addresses a large knowledge and capacity gap in the Reproductive Health community and provides tools for key actors to empower faster positive change. It is a synopsis of the materials developed for WBI's learning program on Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: Poverty Reduction, Reproductive Health and Health Sector Reform. The volume brings together knowledge about epidemiology, demography, economics, and trends in global financial assistance. The volume also introduces practical tools such as benefit incidence analysis, costing, and stakeholder analysis to strengthen the evidence base for policy and to address the political economy factors for reform. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

4. Challenges of CAFTA – Maximizing the Benefits for Central America: The report provides a preliminary assessment of DR-CAFTA, with particular attention to three key themes: (i) expected trade and non-trade benefits, (ii) actions that Central American countries need to pursue to capitalize optimally on the new opportunities, and (iii) identification of the population groups that may require assistance to adapt to a more competitive environment. The Introductory Chapter reviews the main findings of the report. Chapter II places DR-CAFTA in the historical context of the economic reforms that Central America has been undertaking since the late 1980s. Chapter III provides a summary overview of the recently negotiated DR-CAFTA. Chapter IV reviews various analyses that assess the potential impacts of DR-CAFTA in Central American countries. Chapter V focuses on the identification of potentially affected populations from the easing of trade restrictions in sensitive agricultural products and analyzes policy options to assist vulnerable groups. Chapter VI reviews evidence related to key macroeconomic implications of DR-CAFTA, namely the potential revenue losses and effect on the patterns of business-cycle synchronization. Chapter VII reviews evidence from each Central American country in the areas of trade facilitation, institutional and regulatory reforms, and innovation and education, in order to identify key priorities for the complementary agenda for DR-CAFTA. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

5. AML/CFT Regulation: Implications for Financial Service Providers that Serve Low-Income People: Across the world, new measures are being introduced and existing measures tightened to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. All financial service providers, including those working with low-income communities, are-or will-be affected by these measures. This paper summarizes the implications of the international framework for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) for financial service providers working with low-income people. The international AML/CFT standards developed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), generally requires financial service providers to enhance their internal controls to cater specifically for AML/CFT risks; undertake customer due diligence procedures on all new and existing clients; introduce heightened surveillance of suspicious transactions and keep transaction records for future verification; and report suspicious transactions to national authorities. These measures could bring additional costs of compliance to financial service providers; and customer due diligence rules may restrict formal financial services from reaching lower income people. The introduction of new or tightened AML/CFT regulations may have the unintended and undesirable consequence of reducing the access of low income people to formal financial services. As a means to avoid this outcome, this paper argues in favor of (1) gradual implementation of new measures; (2) the adoption of a risk-based approach to regulation; and (3) the use of exemptions for low-risk categories of transactions. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

6. Anticorruption in Transition 3 – Who is Succeeding and Why? The Anticorruption in Transition Series examines patterns and trends in corruption in business-government interactions in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and the progress achieved by countries in addressing it. The findings of this third volume, derived by a large-scale survey undertaken in collaboration with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, indicate continued improvement in many countries thanks to their reform efforts and external/internal drivers of change. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

7. Managing the Implementation of Development Projects: This resource kit represents a milestone in the discipline of development project implementation. It contains practical learning materials based on decades of use and refinement in on-site courses in numerous developing countries throughout the world. I recommend this resource kit without reservation to teachers, consultants, practitioners, contractors, vendors, and learners from all cultures who want to improve the management of international development projects." Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

8. Pakistan: An Evaluation of the World Bank’s Assistance This book analyzes the objectives and content of the World Bank's assistance program during the period 1994-2003, the economic and social development outcomes in Pakistan, and the contributions of the Bank to development outcomes. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

9. Improving Investment Climates – An Evaluation of World Bank Group Assistance The quality of the investment climate (IC) varies significantly across countries, regions, and industries. The World Bank Group (WBG) needs to customize interventions to country needs, using local knowledge and expertise to build an understanding of country-specific constraints and opportunities. Institutions - the "rules of the game" - are key to the quality of the investment climate. World Bank Group strategies for improving the IC have suffered from a lack of knowledge about what types of institutional arrangements will work in different environments. The feasibility of reform depends on the political economy of the reform process, and the sustainability of reform hinges on broad stakeholder support. The WBG needs to assess the capacity and incentives facing public sector organizations to implement reforms. The broad nature of the IC as a topic and the need to work with both the public and private sectors creates organizational challenges for the WBG. Better use of the comparative advantages of the Bank, IFC, and MIGA would help the WBG deliver on its IC agenda more effectively. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

10. Hazards of Nature, Risks to Development – An IEG Evaluation of World Bank Assistance for Natural Disaster This report is the first assessment of World Bank assistance for natural disasters, and one of the most comprehensive reviews of disaster preparedness and response ever conducted. The World Bank is the largest funding agency of disaster recovery and reconstruction in developing countries. Since 1984, the Bank has financed a total of $26 billion in disaster activities. These more than 500 projects represent almost 10% of all Bank loan commitments during this period. Over 80 percent of Bank disaster financing has addressed rapid onset disasters -- floods, earthquakes, tropical storms and fires. The report found that the Bank's disaster projects performed better than the Bank's portfolio as a whole. When disasters struck, the Bank demonstrated flexibility in managing small and large scale disaster responses, and coordinated with other donors to ensure rapid assistance. Within disaster projects, the Bank did better at reconstructing damaged infrastructure and housing than it did in reducing vulnerabilities and addressing their root causes. Moreover, in almost half of the countries where the Bank was later called on to finance disaster reconstruction projects, disaster prevention did not play any role in the overall development strategy for the country. The report urges that disaster risk be built into development planning from the start. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

11. Explaining South Asia’s Development Success – The role of Good Policies South Asia has performed well over the past 25 years in reducing poverty, improving human development and increasing growth, but faster progress with poverty reduction will require a higher rate of growth. This book shows that the development performance is not a puzzle but largely explained by good policies. Countries in the region have maintained good macroeconomic environments, opened up their economies to greater domestic and international competition, and reduced the role of corrupt and inefficient public enterprises. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

12. Beyond Survival- Protecting Households From Health Shocks in Latin America Beyond Survival breaks new ground in the ongoing debate about health finance and financial protection from the costs of health care. The evidence and discussion support the need to consider financial protection, in addition to health status, as a policy objective when setting priorities for health systems. This book reviews the Latin American experience with health reform in the last 20 years and the fundamentals of health system financing, using new evidence to show the magnitude and mechanisms that determine the impoverishing effects of health events (diseases, accidents, and those of the life cycle). It provides options for policy makers on how to protect, and help household to protect themselves, against this impoverishment. The authors use empirical evidence from six case studies commissioned for this report, on Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, and Mexico. This book provides policy makers with a solid conceptual basis for decisions on the contents of mandatory health insurance benefit packages, choices of financing mechanisms, and the roles of public policy in this field. Beyond Survival provides an in-depth analysis of, and organizational alternatives for, risk pooling and health insurance for financial protection. It analyzes the urgent need to extend risk pooling to the informal sector, the challenges for current social insurance arrangements, and options for policy makers to effectively extend risk pooling to the informal sector. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

13. Effective Learning for the Poor: Large-scale efforts have been made since the 1990s to ensure that all children of the world go to school. But mere enrollment is not sufficient, students must become fluent in reading and calculation by the end of grade 2. Fluency is needed to process large amounts of text quickly and use the information for decisions that may ultimately reduce poverty. State-of-the-art brain imaging and cognitive psychology research can help formulate effective policies for improving the basic skills of low-income students. This book integrates research into applications that extend from preschool brain development to the memory of adult educators. In layman’s terms, it provides explanations and answers to questions such as: Why do children have to read fast before they can understand what they read? How do health, nutrition, and stimulation influence brain development? Why should students learn basic skills in their maternal language? Is there such a thing as an untrained teacher? What signs in a classroom show whether students are getting a quality education? How must information be presented in class so that students can retain it and use it? What training techniques are most likely to help staff put their learning into use? This book would be useful to policymakers, donor agency staff, teacher trainers, supervisors, and inspectors, as well as university professors and students. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

14. India’s Undernourished Children – A Call for Reform and Action This paper explores the dimensions of child under nutrition in India, and examines the effectiveness of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program in addressing it. The paper finds that although levels of under nutrition in India declined modestly during the 1990s, the reductions lagged far behind that achieved by other countries with similar economic growth rates. Nutritional inequalities across different states, socioeconomic and demographic groups are large - and, in general, are increasing. The study also finds that the ICDS program appears to be well-designed and well-placed to address the multidimensional causes of malnutrition in India. However, there are several mismatches between the program's design and its actual implementation that prevent it from reaching its potential. The paper concludes with a discussion of a number of concrete actions that can be taken to bridge the gap between the policy intentions of ICDS and its actual implementation. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

15. Sustainable Land Management: Land is the integrating component of all livelihoods depending on farm, forest, rangeland, or water (rivers, lakes, coastal marine) habitats. Due to varying political, social, and economic factors, the heavy use of natural resources to supply a rapidly growing global population and economy has resulted in the unintended mismanagement and degradation of land and ecosystems. Sustainable Land Management provides strategic focus to the implementation of sustainable land management (SLM) components of the World Bank's development strategies. SLM is a knowledge-based procedure that integrates land, water, biodiversity, and environmental management to meet rising food and fiber demands while sustaining livelihoods and the environment. This book, aimed at policy makers, project managers, and development organization, articulates priorities for investment in SLM and natural resource management and identifies the policy, institutional, and incentive reform options that will accelerate the adoption of SLM productivity improvements and pro-poor growth. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

16. Beyond The Numbers – Understanding the Institutions for Monitoring Poverty Reduction Strategies: This volume provides lessons on the design and functioning of such monitoring systems, based on the experience of twelve Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) countries. The focus is on the institutional arrangements of PRS monitoring systems - the rules and processes which bring the various actors and monitoring activities together in a coherent diagnostic tool, and a summary of the situation in twelve PRS countries. Now available at the World Bank Public Information Center/Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource CenterHeritage Plaza I, 1st floor, Kamaladi, KathmanduFor more information:E-mail: rshrestha1@worldbank.orgCall: 4238545, 4249731Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm