This paper uses data from a large survey
of Chinese firms to investigate whether local government
efforts to facilitate market development improve firm
efficiency. Both government provision of information about
products, markets, and innovation and government assistance
in arranging loans are positively associated with firm
efficiency. Those private firms with weak access to and
knowledge of financial, input, and product markets benefit

This study has been undertaken to
provide input to the Government of Kazakhstan on mineral
exploration policy. The purpose is to offer advice for
policy reform in the mineral sector. It examines best
practices in licencing and regulation for mineral
exploration. It will review common best practices which
pertain to mineral exploration on a world-wide basis. It
will also provide examples of countries which have

Political risk has once again become a
key concern of investors after the perceived openness and
liberalization of foreign direct investment (FDI) regimes in
the 1990s. Governments that do not recognize this trend pay
a high price in lost investments. Confronting political and
regulatory risks as part of the investment climate is thus
crucial for countries to make their business environments
more competitive. This note suggests reforms that can have

Despite several attempts at reform,
immovable property rights in Albania are not adequately
secure and represent an important governance challenge.
Problems have resulted from incomplete first title
registration, the lack of accurate cadastral records, and,
in many cases, the absence of reliable evidence of
ownership. Although Albania has adopted legislation calling
for restitution or compensation for owners whose property

Over the last three decades,
China's product, labor, and capital markets have become
gradually more integrated within its borders, although
integration has been significantly slower for capital
markets. There remains a significant urban-rural divide, and
Chinese cities tend to be under-sized by international
standards. China has also integrated globally, initially
through the Special Economic Zones on the coast as launching

The objective of this review of
resettlement policy and implementation in Brazil, is to
identify ongoing good practices, as well as areas for
further improvement. It draws upon an assessment of the
Brazilian legal and institutional framework related to land
acquisition for projects in the public interest, a rapid
evaluation of the resettlement programs in six projects
(three projects that received Bank financing and three

Integration in the East African
Community offers significant opportunities not only to
expand trade among member states, but more importantly to
scale up regional production to take advantage of much
larger global market opportunities. Special economic zones
are a potentially valuable instrument to facilitate the
integration of regional value chains in support of this
scaling up. They also have the potential to deliver powerful

This report argues that in the future
Moldova will need to develop a second engine of growth from
exports of goods and services. We argue that Moldova needs
to resurrect agro-based exports, to raise their value by
exporting to higher value markets, and develop service
exports in order to provide job opportunities for
underemployed tertiary graduates. To be successful in doing
so, the government will need to implement deep fiscal and

Improving the investment climate is a
key pillar of the World Bank's private sector
development strategy. Without a good investment climate,
firms and entrepreneurs of all types-from farmers to
micro-enterprises to local manufacturing concerns and
multinationals-have few opportunities and incentives to
invest productively, create jobs, and expand, enter and
remain in the formal economy, and thereby contribute to

This paper applies a growth diagnostics
approach to identify the most binding constraints to
private-sector growth in Malawi - a small, landlocked
country in Southern Africa with one of the lowest per capita
incomes in the world. The approach aims to identify the
constraints (in terms of public policy, implementation, and
investments) most binding on marginal investment, and
therefore whose relaxation would have the largest impact on

Today, Brazil has the second longest
highway network under private concessions in the world. This
paper analyzes Brazil's experience under the two first
phases of the federal road concession program, and
highlights some of the program's strengths and areas
for further development. Despite the unfolding world
financial and economic crisis, the potential for further
private participation in the sector appears very good. This

These organizations have joined together to recommend the principles presented below. The document concludes with anticipated next steps, which point toward a toolkit of best practices, guidelines, governance frameworks, and possibly codes of practice by the major sets of private actors.