This paper reviews the evidence about the effects of urbanization and cities on productivity and economic growth in developing countries using a consistent theoretical framework. Just like in developed economies, there is strong evidence that cities in developing countries bolster productive efficiency. Regarding whether cities promote self-sustained growth, the evidence is suggestive but ultimately inconclusive. These findings imply that the traditional agenda of aiming to raise within-city efficiency should be continued.

The paper focuses its analysis on the last three decades of the twentieth century. The basic assumption is that Egypt's economic performance during this period was less than satisfactory compared with the most successful examples in the far East and elsewhere. The paper also assumes that Egypt's initial conditions at midcentury compared favorably with the winners in the development race at the end of the century. Egypt has achieved positive progress, no doubt, yet compared with the higher performers in Asia, and given its favorable good initial conditions, the record seems quite mediocre.

This paper analyzes the role of the leadership in the economic growth in Rwanda, a country that was seriously affected by civil war and the 1994 genocide. It appears that the will and the clear vision of the leadership in Rwanda were one of the central pillars of the very good economic and social performances in Rwanda. This is particularly important because the country has almost no natural resources and the economy and its fundamentals were completely destroyed by the 1994 genocide.

The Cambodia environment monitor 2008 is one of a series of environmental reports prepared for East Asian countries under an initiative sponsored by the World Bank. The objective of this series is to present a snapshot of environmental trends across a range of issues. The purpose of the monitor is to engage and inform interested stakeholders about key environmental changes in an easy to understand format accessible to a wide audience. This report identifies seven strategic priorities for the Royal government of Cambodia and its conservation partners.

The world faces unprecedented opportunities to reduce global poverty and improve human welfare. Strong global growth and better economic policies in recent years have substantially reduced poverty in many developing countries. However, with the recent financial turmoil in the United States and rising prices for food, oil, and other commodities, the world economy faces heightened risks and volatility. Policymakers around the world face the challenge of maintaining momentum in growth, as well as of improving the quality of growth.

The operations policy on Development Policy Lending (DPL), approved by the Board in August 2004, requires that the Bank systematically analyze whether specific country policies supported by an operation are likely to have "significant effects" on the country's environment, forests, and other natural resources. The implicit objective behind this requirement is to ensure that there is adequate capacity in the country to deal with adverse effects on the environment, forests, and other natural resources that the policies could trigger, even at the program design stage.

This strategic framework serves to guide and support the operational response of the World Bank Group (WBG) to new development challenges posed by global climate change. Unabated, climate change threatens to reverse hard-earned development gains. The poorest countries and communities will suffer the earliest and the most. Yet they depend on actions by other nations, developed and developing. While climate change is an added cost and risk to development, a well-designed and implemented global climate policy can also bring new economic opportunities to developing countries.

This strategic framework serves to guide and support the operational response of the World Bank Group (WBG) to new development challenges posed by global climate change. Unabated, climate change threatens to reverse hard-earned development gains. The poorest countries and communities will suffer the earliest and the most. Yet they depend on actions by other nations, developed and developing. While climate change is an added cost and risk to development, a well-designed and implemented global climate policy can also bring new economic opportunities to developing countries.

As carbon becomes a valuable commodity traded in markets for greenhouse-gas emissions, there will be incentives to adopt land uses that capture carbon payments as well as produce other marketable outputs, including biofuels. These production systems may be more sustainable than many of those in current use, but there is also the risk that the growing demand for biofuels will cause land degradation, deforestation and food scarcity.

Klimaatverandering is ruimtelijk relevant. Daarom heeft de overheid een politieke ambitie vastgelegd in de nationale adaptatiestrategie ‘Maak ruimte voor klimaat’ (2007) om Nederland klimaatbestendig te maken en ook in de toekomst bij ruimtelijke inrichtingsvraagstukken rekening te houden met klimaatverandering. Een hernieuwde visie op de inrichting van Nederland is derhalve noodzakelijk. Die visie moet gebaseerd zijn op de actuele stand van de wetenschappelijke kennis. Bij het opstellen van die visie moeten verschillende belangen en waarden in onze maatschappij.

La urbanización acelerada está trayendo consigo grandes retos en materia de empleo, infraestructuras y seguridad alimentaria y nutricional. Al mismo tiempo, muchas ciudades en rápido crecimiento se enfrentan a un aumento de la escasez de agua, a menudo agravada por los efectos del cambio climático, y a servicios de saneamiento insuficientes, aumentando así la exposición a los agentes contaminantes.

Document de travail sur les régimes fonciers 2. Ce document propose une analyse des impacts du changement climatique sur les régimes et les politiques fonciers. Il évalue les effets des changements climatique anthropogéniques en cours sur les régimes fonciers – s’agissant notamment de ceux qui sont liés aux émissions de gaz à effet de serre – et il précise le rôle que les politiques foncières pourraient jouer en matière d’adaptation et de planification au changement climatique dans le monde en développement.