Son preference is known to be found in
certain types of cultures, that is patrilineal cultures. But
what explains the fact that China, South Korea, and
Northwest India manifest such extreme child sex ratios
compared with other patrilineal societies? This paper argues
that what makes these societies unique is that their
pre-modern political and administrative systems used
patrilineages to organize and administer their citizens. The

This working paper concerns the growth
of investment climate in the Philippines. There are several
resounding ideas in areas both positive and negative. The
growth potential in the Philippines is considerable. The
country has significant natural resources; a large pool of
managerial and entrepreneurial talent; and widespread
proficiency in English. The Government's Medium Term
Development Plan (MTDP), 2005-2010 sets ambitious growth and

The financial sector, dominated by the
banks, is vulnerable to external shocks. The country is
exposed to terms of trade shocks mainly from coffee and oil
prices, which could impact banks through real sector
effects. The banking system is also vulnerable to a decline
in external assistance which funds nearly half of the
government on which a large share of the economy depends.
Burundi has not been directly affected by the international

Rural-urban migration is playing an
increasingly important role in shaping the economic and
demographic landscape of Chinese cities. Over the past two
decades, China has transformed itself from a relatively
immobile society to one in which more than 10 percent of the
population are migrants. China's mobility rate is still
low compared with that of advanced industrial economies, the
sheer size of the migrant flows and their dramatic economic

This book aims to help policy makers
take advantage of the opportunities presented by increased
cross-border trade in information technology (IT) services
and IT-enabled services (ITES). It begins by defining the
two industries and estimating the potential global market
opportunities for trade in each. Then it discusses economic
and other benefits for countries that succeed in these
areas, along with factors crucial to the competitiveness of

Poverty reduction strategies (PRSs)
provide a central framework for macroeconomic, structural,
and social policies in developing countries. Because of the
numerous and complex links between environment and poverty,
it is important that environmental issues are taken into
account in the PRS process. This paper follows six previous
assessments of the degree of mainstreaming environment in
the PRS process using a similar methodology to present

The World Bank Group recognizes the
critical importance of women's contribution to shared
economic growth, especially in Africa. Women's
important contribution to economic activity in Tanzania is
well recognized: In the 2006 World Economic Forum Global
Gender Gap report Tanzania was ranked number 1 globally, out
of 115 countries, in terms of women's economic
participation. This paper includes the following headings:

This paper revisits the institutional
determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) using a
comprehensive new data set on the regulations that govern
FDI in more than 80 countries. It exploits the presence of
confirmed zero investment flows between countries to
estimate productivity cut-offs of firms that invest abroad
profitably. This approach corrects likely biases arising
from firm heterogeneity and country selection in a

This paper develops a framework and some
hypotheses regarding the impact of local-level, informal
legal institutions on three economic outcomes: aggregate
growth, inequality, and human capabilities. It presents a
set of stylized differences between formal and informal
legal justice systems, identifies the pathways through which
formal systems promote economic outcomes, reflects on what
the stylized differences mean for the potential impact of

Global and economic aspects of the
crisis: two aspects of the current crisis are important to
stress. The first is its global nature. As you know, this
crisis started last year in the US and European financial
markets but spread quickly to developing countries. The
second is its economic impact. Before the crisis erupted,
many countries, and many developing countries in particular,
were already suffering from the impact of very substantial

This paper explains how climate change
may increase future migration, and which risks are
associated with such migration. It also examines how some of
this migration may enhance the capacity of communities to
adapt to climate change. Climate change is likely to result
in some increase above baseline rates of migration in the
next 40 years. Most of this migration will occur within
developing countries. There is little reason to think that

Sana'a is located in an upland
basin at an altitude of 2300 meters within a mountainous and
semi-arid region of Yemen. Because of its high altitude, the
city enjoys a moderate climate year around. The main rainy
season is in summer. The nearest port is Hodeidah, roughly
250 kilometers away. Bound by mountains and steep slopes to
the east and west, the city has few options but to expand
primarily along its north and south axes within its basin.