The decentralization game in Bolivia has
been altered quite significantly with the presence of new
bargainers at the departmental level. Two, opposing groups
have emerged and which follow intricate strategies to
enforce their claims. The highland departments are strongly
aligned to the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) party and the
charismatic leadership of the country's first
indigenous leader Evo Morales. The Media Luna departments in

This paper provides empirical estimates
of the impacts of natural disasters on different forms of
capital (with a focus on human and intangible capital and
natural capital), and on real gross domestic product per
capita. The types of disaster considered are droughts,
earthquakes, floods, and storms and their impacts are
measured in terms of the number of people affected or people
affected per capita. The authors find statistically

Sri Lanka has embarked on a gradual
transition from a system of directed credit in a highly
segmented market toward an integrated market-driven housing
finance system. This transition has included an increased
role of private universal banks in the immediate term and a
functioning secondary mortgage market in the long term. An
active system of housing finance provides real economic
benefits and positively affects savings, investment, and

This study is intended to be a
systematic and practical guide to the basic features of
modern forestry legislation. It identifies a range of issues
that should be considered in assessing the adequacy of
forest laws and presents options for addressing those issues
in ways that may improve the effectiveness of law as a
foundation for sustainable forest management. Part One
locates forestry law within the wider legal framework,

This study on Bangladesh Dhaka-improving
living conditions for the urban poor reflects a
comprehensive look at poverty in Dhaka with an aim to
provide the basis for an urban poverty reduction strategy
for the Government of Bangladesh, local authorities, donors,
and NGOs. While the needs in Dhaka are enormous, this study
focuses on analyzing those critical for the poor -
understanding the characteristics and dynamics of poverty,

This study provides strategic
orientations and recommendations for Bank client countries
and suggests approaches for the Bank's role in a
rapidly changing industry with high economic potential. It
identifies priorities and options for policy adjustments,
catalytic investments, and entry points for the Bank and
other investors to foster environmentally friendly,
wealth-creating, and sustainable aquaculture. The objectives

This paper focuses on the experience of
the national-level adaptation planning efforts and the
lessons that can be derived for more effective adaptation
from an examination of local governance of development and
natural resources. After examining national level adaptation
plans, particularly the NAPAs (National Adaptation
Programmes of Action), the paper analyzes the range of
institutional instruments and relationships visible in

Doing Business 2007: How to reform is
the fourth in a series of annual reports investigating the
regulations that enhance business activity and those that
constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative
indicators on business regulations and the protection of
property rights that can be compared across 175
economies-from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe-and over time. This
publication points out how regulations affecting 10 areas of

Seven years out of brutal conflict,
Sierra Leone is now a peaceful and stable country. Yet, its
strides toward economic recovery and competitiveness have
been modest even in sectors such as tourism, which used to
be a major generator of foreign exchange revenues prior to
the conflict. This paper presents a cluster-based analysis
of the tourism sector in Sierra Leone. The analysis shows
that tourism in Sierra Leone draws entirely on basic factor

Forest-sector collaborative arrangements
come in many forms. The local partner may be a community, an
association, or a set of individual landholders. The outside
partner may be a private organization or a government. The
interest of the local partner may be production of income
from the forest, security of access to land, increased labor
or small business opportunities, protection of traditionally
valued resources, or other values. The interest of the

China has been the most successful developing country in this modern era of globalization. Since initiating economic reform after 1978, its economy has expanded at a steady rate over 8 percent per capita, fueling historically unprecedented poverty reduction (the poverty rate declined from over 60 percent to 7 percent in 2007). Other developing countries struggling to grow and reduce poverty are naturally interested in what has been the source of this impressive growth and what, if any, lessons they can take from China.

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