This study is part of the second phase of a long-term programmatic work on poverty in Mexico, in three phases being carried out by the Bank at the request of the Government of Mexico.

The chapters, or "policy
notes," of this report, creating the foundations for
equitable growth in Mexico 2006-2012, are dedicated to
trying to solve parts of the puzzle as to why Mexico's
level of economic development has failed to approach the
level of its NAFTA trading partners, or the level of a
typical OECD member state. Each chapter of this new report
uses the 2000 policy notes as a reference. In this report,

This history illustrates a number of
themes encountered in Swaziland that faces developing
countries and their external partners in Africa and beyond.
Firstly, the history relates the experience of a small and
comparatively insular country in addressing complex
challenges deriving from rapid urbanization and, as a
result, the growing need to adapt governance systems and
structures. A second key issue is the challenge that small

Indigenous peoples make up less than 5
percent of the world's population, yet comprise 15
percent of the world's poor. The indigenous population
of Latin America is estimated at 28 million. Despite
significant changes in poverty overall, the proportion of
indigenous peoples in the region living in poverty - at
almost 80 percent - did not change much from the early 1990s
to the early 2000s. Economic Opportunities for Indigenous

Four years have passed since the
Millennium Development Goals sharpened the focus on
measuring the results of development-not the number of
projects undertaken or the dollars spent, but the
improvements in people's lives. The emphasis on
quantitative targets and the requirement for monitoring
progress on country poverty reduction strategies have
increased the demand for statistics. And that showed us how

The Government of China has placed
strong emphasis on addressing problems related to
agriculture, farmers, and rural society, with the
development of a "new socialist countryside"
designated as a top priority for the Eleventh Five-Year Plan
(2006-2010). The financing of public services in rural
areas will be a key determinant of the Plan's success.
This report analyzes the performance of the

The migration of labor from rural to urban areas is an important part of the urbanization process in developing countries. Even though it has been the focus of abundant research over the past five decades, some key policy questions have not found clear answers yet. To what extent is internal migration a desirable phenomenon and under what circumstances? Should governments intervene and, if so, with what types of interventions? What should be their policy objectives?

This report examines the legal,
administrative, and regulatory barriers that are preventing
women in Kenya from contributing fully to the Kenyan
economy. Building on the 2004 Foreign Investment and
Advisory Service (FIAS) report, "Improving the
Commercial Legal Framework and Removing Administrative and
Regulatory Barriers to Investment," this study looks at
the bureaucratic barriers facing women in Kenya through a

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

This housing policy in developing
countries, conjectures and refutations article discusses
housing policy in developing economies. It examines recent
research findings in light of earlier arguments as to the
benefits of more market-oriented approaches. It also looks
at whether the recommendations of earlier work have been
refuted or developed in subsequent analyses and policy
measures. In particular, it reviews the empirical analysis

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

Poor urban populations in Southern
cities are already experiencing the negative impacts of
changing weather patterns associated with climate change and
climate variability and future projections suggest that
these impacts will get worse. Severe weather patterns,
experienced as prolonged droughts, intense rainfall or wind
speed cause substantial damage to the assets and well-being
of city-dwellers, causing localized flooding, housing