This Policy Note looks at impacts of European Union accession on agriculture and rural sectors, taking into account specific sectoral features and policy choices pre- and post-accession. The most important lesson learned from recently acceded member states is that policy choices before accession will largely determine whether the agriculture sector will be able to fully reap the benefits of EU membership, by expanding trade, or will struggle in the face of increased market pressure.

This paper develops a novel methodology
to measure the quantity of jobs and value of wages embodied
in exports for a large number of countries and sectors for
intermittent years between 1995 and 2011. The resulting
Labor Content of Exports database allows the examination of
the direct contribution of labor to exports as well as the
indirect contribution via other sectors of the economy for
skilled and unskilled labor. The analysis of the new data

The paper analyzes the linkages between the reform strategies in transition countries and
economic performance. We focus on agriculture because of the sharpness of the policy
changes, fundamental differences among countries, and relative simplicity of agricultural
relationships. We document post reform performance in the transition countries of Asia and
Europe. We show how: a.) pricing reform and subsidy reductions; b.) land rights reform
and policies that affect farm restructuring; and c.) the presence institutions that facilitate

On September 15, 2015, the World Bank announced US$600 million of financing for a new initiative in Ethiopia, Enhancing Shared Prosperity through Equitable Services (ESPES). Its purported aim, like its predecessor, the Promoting Basic Services (PBS) program, is expanding access to basic services such as water, education, and healthcare.

This study integrates situs theory as defined by Andrews (1971) into comparative investment analysis, approaching a single use development from the perspective of modern investment theory and a potential mixed use development on the same site as a portfolio of uses generating portfolio risk and return trade-offs. The theoretical integration of situs theory, rent theory and portfolio/investment economics is tested against a statistically significant number of development proposal case studies, conducted during distinct economic phases (over time).

In this context, this note summarizes
the findings of a recent World Bank, SACU Secretariat
assessment of regional trade facilitation based on the Trade
and Transport Facilitation Assessment (TTFA) methodology.
The assessment looks at regional trade facilitation through
the lens of value chains, with the objective to understand
how the region’s trade and transport environment could be
improved to facilitate more extensive and deeply integrated

Once concentrated among a few large
economies, global flows of goods, services, and capital now
reach an ever-larger number of countries worldwide. Global
trade in goods and in services both increased 10 times
between 1980 and 2011, while foreign direct investment (FDI)
flows increased almost 30-fold. A value chain is global when
some of these stages are carried out in more than one
country, most notably when discrete tasks within a

The countries comprising the Southern
African Customs Union (SACU) are currently not very
integrated into global value chains (GVCs), potentially
missing out on important development opportunities.
Accordingly, we explore high level options for promoting
their integration. Given East Asia’s spectacular success
with integrating into GVCs, we first assess the probability
that SACU can copy their flying geese pattern. That was

Dans un contexte de pression accrue sur les terres et les ressources naturelles, la formalisation (reconnaissance légale et écrite) des droits fonciers est aujourd’hui présentée comme un moyen à privilégier pour une meilleure sécurisation foncière.

This paper establishes that the Caloric Suitability Index (CSI) dominates the commonly used measure of agricultural suitability in the examination of the effect of land productivity on comparative economic development. The analysis demonstrates that the agricultural suitability index does not capture the large variation in the potential caloric yield across equally suitable land, reflecting the fact that land suitable for agriculture is not necessarily suitable for the most caloric-intensive crops.

This paper complements the results of
earlier work on factor misallocation. The paper first
expands the methodology and provides two important
decompositions for the main indices. The main result is that
factor and output misallocation across districts is at least
as important as misallocation within districts. Second, the
paper provides an exploration of the service sector that
complements earlier work on manufacturing. The analysis

The paper highlights the fast changes in understanding and conceptualizing the complex topic of land governance, its multi-facetted aspects and inter-linkages to other thematic sectors. Major policy developments, such as state divestiture and increasing private investment into land, and a stronger and more influential role of Civil Society Organizations are addressed in more detail. Capacity development at all levels (e. g. academic, administrative, community, private investors) is identified to be essential for good and transparent governance in the sector.