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Showing items 1 through 9 of 48.

Library Resource

A Handbook for Tax Simplification

Reports & Research
Training Resources & Tools
December, 2009
capacity development
expropriation
The purpose of this handbook is to provide policy makers with a framework to assess a tax system in its entirety, measure its various parameters and how it is administered, and defines best practices for tax policy and administration that will yield a tax system that is simple and predictable and does not create an undue burden on private enterprise. This handbook is primarily designed for policy makers and tax practitioners. The goal is to analyze the impact of income tax, the value added tax (VAT), and other local taxes that are imposed on business.
Library Resource

A Palestinian State in Two Years

Institutions for Economic Revival

Reports & Research
Training Resources & Tools
September, 2009
Palestine, Western Asia, Northern Africa
Land Conflicts
adjudication
expropriation
land administration
land management
land registration
land titling
property rights
On August 25, 2009, the 13th Government of the Palestinian Authority (PA) presented a program entitled "Palestine: ending the occupation, establishing the state" (hereafter referred to as the program) outlining several national goals, including the achievement of 'economic independence and national prosperity'. The program accords high priority to the development of the public institutions of the PA in order to achieve the stated national goals.
Library Resource

Agricultural Activities, Water, and Gender in Tajikistan's Rural Sector

A Social Assessment of Konibodom, Bobojon Ghafurov, and Yovon

Reports & Research
Training Resources & Tools
August, 2009
Tajikistan, Europe, Central Asia
agriculture
farmers
land reform
land tenure
rural development
water management
This social assessment (SA) was conducted under the Fergana Valley Water Resources Management Project (FVWRMP), which is providing assistance to the Government of Tajikistan to address irrigation and drainage deficiencies in Eastern Sughd. The main SA objectives were to understand how prevailing structures of water provision, land reforms, and gender relations impact rural livelihoods; to analyze experiences in establishing inclusive Water Users Associations (WUAs); and to provide recommendations to FVWRMP with the aim of enhancing its programs.
Library Resource

Agricultural Development under a Changing Climate

Opportunities and Challenges for Adaptation

Reports & Research
Policy Papers & Briefs
August, 2009
Land, Climate Change & Environment
Forest Tenure
Rangelands, Drylands & Pastoralism
agriculture
capacity development
climate change
deforestation
desertification
forestry
land degradation
land use
property rights
rangelands
rural development
sustainable development
Climate change presents a profound challenge to food security and development. Negative impacts from climate change are likely to be greatest in regions that are currently food insecure and may even be significant in those regions that have made large gains in reducing food insecurity over the past half-century. Adaptation in the agricultural sector is being given a high priority within this effort because of the inherent sensitivity of food production to climate and the strong inter-linkages that exist between climate, agriculture, and economic growth and development.
Library Resource

Agricultural Distortions, Poverty, and Inequality in South Africa

Reports & Research
Policy Papers & Briefs
June, 2009
South Africa, Southern Africa, Africa
agriculture
rural areas
rural development
South Africa has rapidly reduced trade barriers since the end of Apartheid, yet agricultural production and exports have remained sluggish. Also, poverty and unemployment have risen and become increasingly concentrated in rural areas. This paper examines the extent to which remaining price distortions, both domestic and foreign, are contributing to the underperformance of the agricultural sector vis-a-vis the rest of the economy. The author draws on a computable general equilibrium (CGE) and micro-simulation model of South Africa that is linked to the results of a global trade model.
Library Resource

Agricultural Price Distortion and Stabilization

Stylized Facts and Hypothesis Tests

Reports & Research
Policy Papers & Briefs
May, 2009
agriculture
transaction costs
This paper describes agricultural policy choices and tests some predictions of political economy theories. It begins with three broad stylized facts: governments tend to tax agriculture in poorer countries, and subsidize it in richer ones, tax both imports and exports more than nontradables and tax more and subsidize less where there is more land per capita.
Library Resource

Agricultural Price Distortions, Inequality, and Poverty

Introduction and Summary

Reports & Research
Policy Papers & Briefs
August, 2009
Urban Tenure
agriculture
farmers
rural areas
urbanization
Reforms in recent decades have sharply reduced the distortions affecting agriculture in developing countries, particularly by cuts to agricultural export taxes and by some reductions in government assistance to agriculture in high-income countries, but international trade in farm products continues to be far more distorted than trade in nonfarm goods. This paper summarizes a series of empirical studies that focus on the effects of the remaining distortions to world merchandise trade for poverty and inequality, especially in developing countries.
Library Resource

Agricultural Protection and Poverty in Indonesia

A General Equilibrium Analysis

Reports & Research
Policy Papers & Briefs
June, 2009
Indonesia, Eastern Asia, Oceania
agriculture
farmers
rural areas
A general equilibrium modeling approach is used to estimate the effects within Indonesia of unilateral and global trade liberalization, including effects on poverty incidence. It is concluded that global reform of trade policy in all commodities is a significant potential source of poverty reduction for Indonesia. The poor rural and urban have a strong interest in global trade policy reform. If Indonesia were to liberalize unilaterally, poverty incidence also will decline but the effect is small.
Library Resource

Border Price and Export Demand Shocks for Developing Countries from Rest-of-World Trade Liberalization Using the Linkage Model

Reports & Research
Policy Papers & Briefs
June, 2009
agriculture
The volume on agricultural price distortions, inequality and poverty begins with a global study that uses the World Bank's linkage model to examine the economic impacts in various countries, regions and the world as a whole of agricultural and trade policies as of 2004. It does so by shocking that model with the removal of all agricultural price-distorting domestic and border policies with, and without, the removal of trade policies affecting all other goods.
Library Resource

China through 2020

A Macroeconomic Scenario

Reports & Research
Policy Papers & Briefs
June, 2009
China, Eastern Asia, Oceania
Urban Tenure
agriculture
land reform
urbanization
This paper sketches a macroeconomic scenario for China for 2010-20. Growth accounting exercise finds that, with both the working population and total factor productivity on course to decelerate, potential gross domestic product (GDP) growth is likely to moderate in the coming 10 years, despite still sizeable capital deepening. Actual GDP should grow broadly as fast as potential GDP, continuing the track record since the late 1990s.