Urban growth is, in all parts of the
world, inevitable and welcomed. Despite concerns that local
governments will not be able to address those issues
associated with increased urban population, the number of
people living in urban centers will sur-pass those of the
rural population by 2030. Since productivity levels are
consistently higher in urban areas than in rural settings,
this would seem a reason to rejoice since it suggests more

This review of the active portfolio of
World Bank projects aimed at improving urban environmental
quality was carried out during 2002-03 in order to assess
the level of commitment of the institution to urban
sustainability. The review focuses on the contributions of
key sectors to urban environmental improvements, in
particular on those belonging to the Infrastructure
Vice-Presidency, and on how projects are contributing to

This book talks about participation,
from the first to the last page. And that is its strength,
for participation is a road leading to democracy. The true
participation it talks about does not rely on hours of
compulsory labor or imposed levies; there is nothing forced
about it. Rather, it is a process in which men and women
engage their will, their sense of responsibility, their
abilities, their dignity. It is a vital participation,

This Public Expenditure Review (PER) for
FY00, provided support to the Government of Tanzania in the
preparation of its budget, and Medium Term Expenditure
Framework (MTEF), and performed as well an external
evaluation of the country's budget performance. The
report contains two volumes, the Main Report (v. I) first
describes the main features of the PER process, to then
present the main findings emerging from a review of fiscal

This report finalized in March 2001
constitutes a step toward the objective of designing an
integrated strategy for rural poverty reduction in Brazil,
The report contains an updated and more detailed profile of
the rural poor in the northeast (NE) and southeast (SE) of
Brazil; identifies key determinants of rural poverty in
these regions; and proposes a five-pronged strategic
framework in which to couch a set of integrated policies

The report provides a synthesis of the
main results obtained on the evolution of poverty, and other
indicators of well being over the 1990s, and is intended to
facilitate debate on strategy options for poverty reduction
in Madagascar. Section I provides the setting for study, and
presents a synthesis of macroeconomic trends in the country
during the last decade. Section II looks at the evolution of
poverty, inequality, and other indicators over the 1993-1999

This report is part of an ongoing
project to understand poverty, growth, and human development
in Pakistan. It argues that if the country does not close
its social gap, its long-term ability to grow economically,
alleviate poverty, and sustain its debt will be
fundamentally compromised. Spanning social, economic, and
fiscal difficulties, the country's current predicament
is not rooted in a discrete set of policies amenable to

The report's objectives are i) to
better understand the nature and magnitude of urban
transport problems, particularly in respect of the poor, and
ii) to articulate a strategy by which the World Bank and
other agencies can assist national and city governments to
address these problems. The first part of the report
considers how urban transport can be used as an instrument
of urban development and poverty reduction. Chapter 2

The present study describes, and
quantifies the provision of basic urban services to the
poor, in three Central American cities in El Salvador,
Honduras, and, Panama. It also identifies priority areas for
government intervention, using specialized household surveys
to quantify current deficits, and to rank households from
poor to rich, using aggregate consumption as the measure of
welfare. The urban poverty profile is examined in each city,

This Poverty Assessment report reviews
the evolution, and nature of poverty in Sri Lanka, by
examining why its significant, recent economic downturn
contrasts sharply with its considerable, economic advances
during the 1960s; why poverty fell rapidly, and to a
relatively, low level in some areas, though it remained high
in other parts of the country; and, whether the large
resources given to re-distributive programs, really helped

This study reviews the available
quantitative and qualitative information on urban poverty
issues and trends in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) Region,
with particular focus on Indonesia, the Philippines, and
Vietnam. The review is a desk study-which is limited to
material accessible to the Bank in Washington and draws
mainly on existing field work and other published and
unpublished papers. The empirical analysis focuses on the

The study outlines the socioeconomic
development strategy for Vietnam, during the first decade of
the twenty first century, envisaging sustainable economic
development, to rapidly adjust to social stability, while
maintaining cultural, and traditional ties. The aim is to
become a socialist market economy, fully integrated into the
global economy, internationally competitive, with
characteristics of an industrialized, and knowledge-based