Climate change is a huge challenge for
the agriculture and rural development (ARD) sector in
Romania. On the one hand, agriculture is a source of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and must therefore be
expected to contribute towards the climate change mitigation
goals of the Europe 2020 strategy. European farmers,
foresters, rural businesses, and other local people
therefore need to start paying much greater attention to

Romania relies on the European
Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) to achieve its
commitments to the European Union (EU) 2020 targets. The use
of the European Agriculture and Rural Development Fund
(EARDF) requires that at least 30 percent of the budget
allocated for rural development as part of the National
Rural Development Plan (NRDP) be spent on the environment
and addressing climate change. The forest sector rapid

Yet the current situation differs from
2007-2008 in critical respects. First, recent international
price increases are more widespread across agricultural
commodities than in 2008, when price spikes were led by few
grains such as wheat and rice. Second, natural resources are
affecting food production: land and water constraints are
more binding than in the past and weather induced production
shortfalls are more of a factor now than it was 2008.

This paper presents a somewhat novel
approach to explore the economic contribution of ecosystems.
It develops linked models to capture connections between
resource stocks and flows and the resulting microeconomic
and macroeconomic impacts. A bioeconomic model is developed
that is imbedded into a computable general equilibrium (CGE)
model. Incorporating imperfect regulation, the bioeconomic
model characterizes optimal policies, while the CGE model

This First Phase Report on Sierra Leone
growth poles is the result of a 9 months consultative
process led by the Office of the President which
specifically requested that the output of this diagnostic be
in an engaging format. The fundamental concept of growth
poles is that they exploit agglomeration economies and
spillover effects to spread resulting prosperity from the
core of the pole to the periphery. At the basis of this

The report focuses on the two decades
of the World Bank - Global Environment Facility (GEF)
partnership with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
countries. This partnership has had a global environmental
impact by working both at the local and national level and
engaging all relevant partners and stakeholders. In
addition, many GEF financed operations stand as examples of
what a more holistic approach can achieve in terms of

Global growth is projected to pick up to 3.4 percent in 2015 and 3.5 percent in 2016, propelled by highincome countries. Developing country growth will benefit from these tailwinds, with growth projected to increase from 4.8 percent in 2014 to 5.5 percent in 2016 broadly in line with potential. Global growth projections for 2014, however, have been marked down from 3.2 percent to 2.8 percent on account of the bumpy start this year, buffeted by poor weather in the United States, financial market turbulence and the conflict in Ukraine.

Environmental stress is a serious
concern in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Recent years have witnessed important changes that are
pushing the boundaries of the region's environmental
legacy. The current trends are declining water resources per
capita, shrinking arable land, deteriorating vulnerable
coastal zones and marine resources, rising energy use, and
mounting pollution, particularly in urban areas. This

Within the next two decades Indonesia
aspires to generate prosperity, avoid a middle-income trap,
and leave no one behind as it tries to catch up with
high-income economies. Can Indonesia achieve them? This
report argues that the country has the potential to rise and
become more prosperous and equitable. But the risk of
floating in the middle is real. Which pathway the economy
will take depends on: (i) the adoption of a growth strategy

Private sugar processors in Andhra
Pradesh, India use an unusual form of vertical coordination.
They issue 'permits' to selected cane growers a
few weeks before harvest. These permits specify the amount
of cane to be delivered during a narrow time period. This
article investigates why processors create uncertainty among
farmers using ex post permits instead of ex ante production
contracts. The theoretical model predicts that ex post

Recognizing the importance of policy
debate and knowledge sharing in the field of development,
the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the
World Bank (Middle East and North Africa Region) agreed in
March 2010 to hold joint high-level development seminars
around issues pertaining to the Arab World. These were to be
known as the Arab Development Symposia (ADS) and will be
held on a regular basis, every 18 months or so, at the Arab