Size, age, sector, and productivity are
commonly cited as factors determining a firm s survival.
However, there are several dimensions of the investment
climate in which the firm operates that affect whether it
continues in business or exits. This paper uses new panel
data from 27 Eastern European and Central Asian countries to
test the importance of five areas of the business climate on
firm exit: the efficiency of government services, access to

Financial intermediation in Tajikistan
has deepened in recent years, albeit from a low base. This
is reflected in the overall growth of the financial system,
greater diversification, and the expansion of lending to
previously under-served sectors, such as agriculture and
small- and medium-sized enterprises. Even after the
expansion, however, the financial sector remains small and
cannot serve all the financing needs of the economy. While

Driven by population growth,
urbanization, and increased income, the demand for
animal-source food products in developing countries is
rapidly increasing. Livestock, which already constitutes 30
percent of the agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in
the developing world, and about 40 percent of the global
agricultural GDP, is one of the fastest-growing subsectors
in agriculture. Growing demand presents real opportunities

With favorable geographical location,
macroeconomic stability, debt reduction, progress on
structural reforms, and political stability, Benin will seem
to have the foundations for a dynamic, diversified economy.
Yet the country's economic structure has not evolved,
remaining highly dependent on cotton and transit trade, and
per-capita growth has slowed down in recent years. The
government has requested the World Bank's assistance in

Well-functioning groups enforce social
norms that restrain opportunism, but the social structure of
a society may encourage or inhibit norm enforcement. This
paper studies how the exogenous assignment to different
positions in an extreme social hierarchy - the caste system
- affects individuals' willingness to punish violations
of a cooperation norm. Although the analysis controls for
individual wealth, education, and political participation,

The name Tanzania is a portmanteau of
Tanganyika, the mainland, and Zanzibar, the nearby
archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The two united to become
the United Republic of Tanzania in 1964. With a surface area
of 947,300 square kilometers, Tanzania is comparable in size
to Nigeria and is slightly more than twice the size of the
U.S. state of California. Tanzania's population of
approximately 40.4 million (as of 2007) is the second

Poor governance is a major impediment to
achieving development outcomes of the forest sector. It
results in losses of income, employment, government
revenues, and local and global environmental services.
However, at present, no comprehensive guide to reforming
forest governance has been developed. Although usually it is
relatively easy to recognize that the forest sector in a
country is failing to deliver all its potential benefits,

Although much has been written about
climate change and poverty as distinct and complex problems,
the link between them has received little attention.
Understanding this link is vital for the formulation of
effective policy responses to climate change. This paper
focuses on agriculture as a primary means by which the
impacts of climate change are transmitted to the poor, and
as a sector at the forefront of climate change mitigation

This paper addresses two vital concerns
in the debate on adaptation to climate change. First, how
can countries prepare to manage the impact of climate-change
induced natural disasters? Second, how can countries ensure
that they have the governmental institutions required to
manage the phenomenal challenge of adaptation to climate
change? A range of economic and institutional measures are
tested for their potential effects on natural disaster

Firms in Africa report "regulatory
and economic policy uncertainty" as a top constraint to
their growth. This paper argues that often firms in Africa
do not cope with policy rules, rather they face deals:
firm-specific policy actions that can be influenced by firm
actions (such as bribes) and characteristics (such as
political connections). Using Enterprise Survey data, the
paper demonstrates huge variability in reported policy

This survey report will help the
government of Afghanistan think through its approach to
private sector development. Historically, there has been a
dearth of information and reliable statistics about
Afghanistan's economy. This report reviews the
constraints that firms currently operating in Afghanistan
face and provides a basis for possible policy
recommendations to address these constraints. It is hoped

Food policy often depends on markets and
markets depend on institutions. But how good do institutions
have to be before reforms can be launched? Relying on well
timed surveys of agricultural prices and a joint study by
the Government of Bulgaria and the World Bank on
agricultural market institutions, this paper presents
evidence that performance in food markets improved following
significant policy reforms in Bulgaria, although public