Albania has undertaken major reforms in
its system of local government finance since 2000. What had
been a system in which local functions were ambiguous and
financing was largely provided through tightly controlled
earmarked grants is now one in which functions are
relatively clear and local governments have more autonomy
over the allocation of funds. A new system of competitive
grants for infrastructure investment has been introduced.

This report on Albania urban sector
review focuses on trends and issues that have come to the
fore with rapid urbanization and with the recent
decentralization of major responsibilities to local
governments. Continuing the achievements and addressing the
problems will require actions by local governments and, just
as importantly, by the central government, which sets the
legal and regulatory conditions for local governance and the

Lao PDR economic performance has
continued to improve during 2006. Real GDP grew at 7.0
percent in 2005 and is now expected to be slightly higher at
7.3 percent in 2006. This growth is in large part due to
foreign investment inflows in mining and hydro-power and
growing mineral exports, but the share of non-mining
contributions has increased this year, reaching 4.9 out of
7.3 percent. Agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors

There is a general consensus that most
of the poor in developing countries are net food buyers and
food price increases are bad for the poor. This could be
expected of urban poor, but it is also often attributed to
the rural poor. Recent food price increases have increased
the importance of this issue, and the possible policy
responses to these price increases. This paper examines the
characteristics of net food sellers and buyers in nine

The benefits of good health to
individuals and to society are strongly positive and
improving the health of the poor is a key Millennium
Development Goal. A typical health strategy advocated by
some is increased public spending on health targeted to
favor the poor and backed by foreign assistance, as well as
by an international effort to perfect drugs and vaccines to
ameliorate infectious diseases bedeviling the developing

This paper analyzes poverty in Haiti
based on the first Living Conditions Survey of 7,186
households covering the whole country and representative at
the regional level. Using a USD1 a day extreme poverty line,
the analysis reveals that 49 percent of Haitian households
live in absolute poverty. Twenty, 56, and 58 percent of
households in metropolitan, urban, and rural areas,
respectively, are poor. At the regional level, poverty is

China has been the most rapidly growing
economy in the world over the past 25 years. This growth has
fueled a remarkable increase in per capita income and a
decline in the poverty rate from 64 percent at the beginning
of reform to 10 percent in 2004. At the same time, however,
different kinds of disparities have increased. Income
inequality has risen, propelled by the rural-urban income
gap and by the growing disparity between highly educated

The 2008 edition of the little green
data book includes a focus section, four introductory pages
that focus on a specific issue related to development and
the environment. This year the focus is on the damage from
climate change and carbon dioxide emissions. As this focus
shows, global warming can have negative effects on
agriculture, health, infrastructure, and other economic
activities effects that are likely to hit developing

This report assesses the ongoing
transition in Orissa. It examines how and why the successes
were achieved. It attempts to outline the dimensions of the
challenge ahead, as Orissa marches forward into the second
phase of policy and institutional reforms, building on its
improved fiscal position to deliver rapid and inclusive
growth. It highlights key issues and binding or soon-to-be
binding constraints. The concluding section identifies

Nicaragua is a small, open economy that
is vulnerable to external and natural shocks. With an
estimated Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of US$1000
in 2006, and a total population of 5.2 million, it is one of
the poorest countries in Latin America. Forty six percent of
the population lived below the poverty line in 2005 (while
15 percent lived in extreme poverty), and the incidence of
poverty is more than twice as high in rural areas (68

This report, which has been prepared by
the World Bank in cooperation with the National Statistical
Committee, provides an assessment of poverty in the Kyrgyz
Republic using the most recent data available. The objective
of this report is to understand to what extent economic
growth has reduced poverty and led to improved living
conditions for the population during 2000-2005. The report
also attempts to answer three questions about the Kyrgyz

Poverty in Kosovo is widespread and has
remained persistent in the first half of this decade. The
evidence suggests that poverty is higher among those who
live in families that are large, have many unemployed
members, and have low education levels. The poor are also
geographically concentrated in rural areas and a few
regions. The main message of this report is that the slow
and volatile growth was doubly disadvantageous. The first