This book provides an overview of the
World Bank's Eco2 cities : ecological cities as
economic cities initiative. The objective of the Eco2 cities
initiative is to help cities in developing countries achieve
a greater degree of ecological and economic sustainability.
The book is divided into three parts. Part one describes the
Eco2 cities initiative framework. It describes the approach,
beginning with the background and rationale. Key challenges

This paper aims to develop a vision
statement for the agricultural sector that may then guide
the future investments in Chile's agricultural
innovation system, A joint and shared perspective on how the
sector might look and what role agricultural innovation
should play in getting there is a prerequisite for any
effective strategy. But developing such a vision is not only
a function of what the country wants: it also depends on the

This paper analyzes the trends and
evolution of public spending in the agriculture sector in
Indonesia, as well as the impact of public spending on
agricultural growth. It finds that, in line with empirical
work undertaken in other countries, public spending on
agriculture and irrigation during the period 1976-2006 had a
positive impact on agricultural growth, while public
spending on fertilizer subsidies had the opposite effect.

International river basins will likely
face higher hydrologic variability due to climate change.
Increased floods and droughts would have economic and
political consequences. Riparians of transboundary basins
governed by water treaties could experience non-compliance
and inter-state tensions if flow falls below levels presumed
in a treaty. Flow information is essential to cope with
these challenges through water storage, allocation, and use.

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

Institutional features of the African
setting -- large extended families and imperfect credit and
land markets -- matter to the equity and efficiency roles
played by intergenerational linkages. Using original survey
data on Senegal that include an individualized measure of
consumption, this paper studies the role played by land
inheritance, other bequests and parental background as
influences on an adult's economic welfare and economic

When deciding who should receive welfare
benefits with the aim to increase household well-being, it
is necessary to understand the effects of the distribution
of power within the households at which the aid is directed.
Two primary household models have been used to study
intra-household bargaining and decision making: the unitary
model and the collective model. The unitary model seems to
fit Pakistan's context because the prevailing

International migration has increased
rapidly in recent decades and this has been accompanied by a
remarkable increase in transfers made by migrants to their
home countries. This paper investigates the effect of the
rural economic growth brought about by migration and
remittances on Nepal's Himalayan forests. The authors
assemble a unique village-panel dataset combining remote
sensing data on land use and forest cover change with data

The World Bank Group has a unique
opportunity to match the increases in financing for
agriculture with a sharper focus on improving agricultural
growth and productivity in agriculture-based economies,
notably in Sub-Saharan Africa. Greater effort will be needed
to connect sectoral interventions and achieve synergies from
public and private sector interventions; to build capacity
and knowledge exchange; to take stock of experience in

World development indicators 2011, the
15th edition in its current format, aims to provide
relevant, high-quality, internationally comparable
statistics about development and the quality of
people's lives around the globe. Fifteen years ago,
World development indicators was overhauled and redesigned,
organizing the data to present an integrated view of
development, with the goal of putting these data in the

The five countries of Central Asia
expanded their trade significantly since beginning their
transition with exports quadrupling to almost USD70 billion
between 2003 and 2008 but without substantial
diversification. These countries achieved this by promoting
private investment, property rights, trade liberalization,
and transport infrastructure in varying degrees. This study
focuses on three countries of Central Asia-Kazakhstan, the

Services are failing poor urban and
rural people in the developing world, and poverty remains
concentrated in rural areas and urban slums. This state of
affairs prevails despite prolonged efforts by many
governments to improve rural and urban services and
development programs. This book focuses on how communities
and local governments can be empowered to contribute to
their own development and, in the process, improve