Lessons from six case studies illustrate
the complex relationships between international trade,
vulnerable ecologies and the poor. The studies, taken from
Africa, Asia and Latin America and conducted by local
researchers, are set in places where the poor live in close
proximity to ecologies that are important to global
conservation efforts, and focus on the cascading
consequences of trade policy for local livelihoods and

This paper estimates the relationship
between initial village inequality and subsequent household
income growth for a large sample of households in rural
China. Using a rich longitudinal survey spanning the years
1987-2002, and controlling for an array of household and
village characteristics, the paper finds that households
located in higher inequality villages experienced
significantly lower income growth through the 1990s.

This paper examines the effect of the
financial crisis on off-farm employment of China's
rural labor force. Using a national representative data set
collected from across China, the paper finds that there was
a substantial impact. By April 2009 the reduction in
off-farm employment as a result of the crises was 6.8
percent of the rural labor force. Monthly earnings also
declined. However, while it is estimated that 49 million

Deliberative decision-making processes
are becoming increasingly important around the world to make
important decisions about public and private goods
allocation, but there is very little empirical evidence
about how they actually work. In this paper the authors use
data from India extracted from 131 transcripts of village
meetings matched with data from household surveys conducted
in the same villages prior to the meetings, to study whose

The aim of this paper is to review the
state of the productive infrastructure of Uruguay and the
development policies that govern it and to propose policy
options for the long term contribution to achieving a higher
level of economic and sustainable development, based on the
premise that there is a link between the development of a
country's infrastructure and its economic growth. The
study analyzes the institutions and pertinent regulations.

This report is intended to support the
analysis and implementation of reforms aimed at a
strengthening of the intergovernmental system in Colombia.
In mid-2007 congress approved a legislative act as
constitutional amendment that increases the level of the
main transfer to sub-national governments, the General
System of Transfers (SGP). However an adjustment of the
regulations and institutional arrangements within the

This report describes and explains how,
in the period 1990-2008, China's railway sector has
contributed and responded to the incredibly challenging
transport demands generated by China's economic
development, and highlights the plans and possibilities that
lie ahead. In 1949, China had only 22,000 km of poorly
maintained and war-damaged railway line, less than 1,000 km
of which was double-tracked with none being electrified.

This book aims to help policy makers
take advantage of the opportunities presented by increased
cross-border trade in information technology (IT) services
and IT-enabled services (ITES). It begins by defining the
two industries and estimating the potential global market
opportunities for trade in each. Then it discusses economic
and other benefits for countries that succeed in these
areas, along with factors crucial to the competitiveness of

Urban Development Investment
Corporations (UDICs) have over the years become the central
pillar in the local government drive to build infrastructure
in China, where local governments are not allowed to engage
in direct market borrowing. UDICs were established during
the early 1990s when local governments were under great
pressure to both build municipal infrastructure and to
reform the role of the government in infrastructure

The air transport market in Sub-Saharan
Africa presents a strong dichotomy. In Southern and East
Africa the market is growing: three strong hubs and three
major African carriers dominate international and domestic
markets, which are becoming increasingly concentrated. In
contrast, in Central and West Africa the sector is
stagnating, with the vacuum created by the collapse of Cote
d'Ivoire and the demise of several regional airlines,

This paper documents the trends in
infrastructure in major Latin American economies over the
last quarter century. Drawing from an expanded and updated
data set, the paper sheds light on the region's
infrastructure performance along four major dimensions.
First, the paper documents the trends in the quantity of
Latin America's infrastructure assets, using a
comparative cross-regional perspective. Second, the paper

This report deals with medium and
long-term growth issues rather than the challenges posed by
the world financial crisis, the structural policy options
presented in the report become even more important in that
context, and can help to partially mitigate the impact of
the crisis on Macedonia. Section B looks at poverty and
inequality issues. Section C examines Macedonia's past
growth in terms of total factor productivity analysis,