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The state, as an owner of businesses, competes and collaborates with the private sector, and this involvement has profound implications for investment and growth. Governments actively participate in commercial markets in different forms, from controlling the production of goods and services to investing in firms as a minority shareholder. The impact of state participation on an economy's growth depends on the type of public-private ownership, the types of markets, and the importance of those markets in the economy. The impact also depends on how policies and institutions regulate both the businesses with state ownership and the markets in which they are active.The Business of the State uses ...
The economies of Europe and Central Asia (ECA) are facing complex challenges. In the eastern part of the region the task of governments is to orchestrate a coordinated crisis response. The collapse of oil revenues and the associated decline in remittances triggered a chain reaction of shocks. Adjustment to these shocks requires a new monetary policy regime, resolution of serious fragilities in banking sectors, fiscal reforms that put government finances on a sustainable path, while guaranteeing fair burden sharing, and facilitation of job creation in sectors that compete internationally. In the western part of the region policy coordination within the European Union is being tested by the refugee crisis and a possible Brexit. Meanwhile the Chinese economy has slowed down and is in the process of fundamental transformation. Also these developments have major impacts on the ECA region. The report analyses all these challenges and points at the opportunities to become more competitive in global markets.
At a time of geopolitical tension and mutual distrust, the United States and Russia must work together in those areas where coordination is critical to global security, both to help stabilize the relationship and to buffer against conflict in the future. The analyses in this volume examine prospects for Russia-U.S. cooperation in several crucial regions and fields: economics, energy, the Arctic, Euro-Atlantic security, the Middle East, strategic stability, cybersecurity, and countering terrorism and extremism. They offer concrete, actionable recommendations in each area.
Growth in the developing East Asia and Pacific region slowed sharply in 2020Q1 because of the negative impact of the Covid-19 on economic activity. The decline has been broad-based reflecting the interconnectedness of the EAP economies and reverberations from the global economy as the virus turned into a pandemic. The Covid-19 outbreak followed an extended period of subdued growth in the region amid multiple external headwinds and heightened trade policy uncertainty. China and other regional economies have implemented monetary and fiscal policy measures to mitigate the negative impact of the outbreak. Growth in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region is projected to slow from 5.8 percent in 2...
Conditions in the region and the rest of the world have changed dramatically since the April 2020 Regional Economic Update (World Bank 2020a). In addition to still unfolding unprecedented health crisis, the world is now experiencing the deepest global recession since the Second World War (World Bank 2020b). The global economy is projected to contract by 5.2 percent this year, with output in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) shrinking by 2.5 percent—the first contraction in at least sixty years. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant loss of life and has had severe economic effects on the developing East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region. Many governments have respon...
Global growth prospects have deteriorated in 2016. Emerging market and developing economies are facing increased external headwinds, including softer growth in advanced economies. Commodity exporters are struggling with particularly challenging conditions, while commodity importers are thus far showing greater resilience. Global growth is expected to gradually accelerate in 2017-18 but risks to the outlook are increasingly more pronounced. In addition to discussing global and regional economic developments and prospects, this edition of Global Economic Prospects includes two Special Focus essays of critical importance for emerging and developing economies: an analysis of the buildup of priva...
Mandatory health insurance schemes are being proposed or expanded in many developing countries, but with relatively little attention to how they should be governed. This book considers how five dimensions of governance, i.e., coherent decision-making structures, stakeholder participation, transparency and information, supervision and regulation, and consistency and stability, influence the coverage, financial protection, and efficiency of mandatory health insurance entities. It also looks at the institutional and political forces that affect the behavior of such entities within their social and historical context. It addresses these issues by analyzing experiences from four countries, i.e., Chile, Costa Rica, Estonia, and the Netherlands, and develops lessons for developing countries related to these important dimensions of governance, paying special attention to questions of assuring solvency, financial protection, and quality health care services.
High-income economies appear to be finally turning the corner, contributing to a projected acceleration in global growth from 2.4 percent in 2013 to 3.2 percent this year, 3.4 percent in 2015, and 3.5 percent in 2016. Overall, growth in developing countries is projected to pick up modestly from 4.8 percent in 2013 to 5.3 percent this year, 5.5 percent in 2015, and 5.7 percent in 2016. In the baseline, the withdrawal of quantitative easing (and its effect on the long end of U.S. interest rates) is assumed to follow a relatively slow orderly trajectory. If, however, the taper is met with an abrupt market adjustment, capital inflows could weaken sharply?placing renewed stress on vulnerable developing economies. In a scenario where long-term interest rates rise rapidly by 100 basis points, capital inflows could decline by as much as 50 percent for several quarters.
This volume presents findings of a World Bank review of the existing and potential role of private voluntary health insurance in low- and middle-income countries and is the third volume in a series of reviews of health care financing. Also, this volume is about managing risk. Not the risk of national or man-made disasters but the risk of illness. The developing world is plagued by many of the historical scourges of poverty: infectious disease, disability, and premature death. As countries pass through demographic and epidemiological transition, they face a new wave of health challenges from chronic diseases and accidents. In this respect, illness has both a predictable and an unpredictable d...
Global growth is expected to be 2.8 percent in 2015, but is expected to pick up to 3.2 percent in 2016-17. Growth in developing countries and some high-income countries is set to disappoint again this year. The prospect of rising borrowing costs will compound the challenges many developing countries are facing as they adapt to an era of low commodity prices. Risks to this outlook remain tilted to the downside. This edition of Global Economic Prospects includes two Special Features that analyze the policy challenges raised by the two transitions in developing countries: the risks associated with the first U.S. central bank interest rate increase since 2006 and the implications of persistently low commodity prices for low-income countries. Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on developing countries, on a semiannual basis (in January and June). The January edition includes in-depth analyses of topical policy challenges faced by developing countries while the June edition contains shorter analytical pieces.