This paper presents a somewhat novel
approach to explore the economic contribution of ecosystems.
It develops linked models to capture connections between
resource stocks and flows and the resulting microeconomic
and macroeconomic impacts. A bioeconomic model is developed
that is imbedded into a computable general equilibrium (CGE)
model. Incorporating imperfect regulation, the bioeconomic
model characterizes optimal policies, while the CGE model

This paper reports on a randomized field
experiment that uses price incentives to address economic
and gender inequality in land tenure formalization. During
the 1990s and 2000s, nearly two dozen African countries
proposed de jure land reforms extending access to formal,
freehold land tenure to millions of poor households. Many of
these reforms stalled. Titled land remains the de facto
preserve of wealthy households and, within households, men.

In Lao People's Democratic Republic
(PDR), the value of trade has risen rapidly over the last
decade with both imports and exports increasing by average
annual rate of 24 percent. This report examines the trade
logistics of Lao PDR. A trade and transport facilitation
assessment was performed using a standardized toolkit and
methodology developed by the World Bank to evaluate the
quality of the logistics services. The assessment focused on

This report evaluates the requirements
for an assessment of climate change impacts on agriculture
to guide policy makers on investment priorities and phasing.
Because agriculture is vital for national food security and
is a strong contributor to Brazil's GDP growth, there
is growing concern that Brazilian agriculture is
increasingly vulnerable to climate variability and change.
To meet national development, food security, climate

Since 2004, Sri Lanka has pursued inward
looking policies that have encouraged import substitution,
especially with respect to agricultural commodities. This
report provides empirical evidence to inform the policy
dialogue over the impact of current trade and price policies
on the incentive framework for agriculture in Sri Lanka.
This analysis provides a quantitative assessments of: (1)
the level of support to farmers producing import-competing

Yet the current situation differs from
2007-2008 in critical respects. First, recent international
price increases are more widespread across agricultural
commodities than in 2008, when price spikes were led by few
grains such as wheat and rice. Second, natural resources are
affecting food production: land and water constraints are
more binding than in the past and weather induced production
shortfalls are more of a factor now than it was 2008.

Successive policies of the Government of
Vietnam for economic reform and modernization have helped
Vietnam to emerge as one of the world's fastest growing
economies. The report provides continued recommendations on
improving land policies to ensure efficiency of their
practical implementation and to target at both economic
development and social sustainability. Policies with regard
to voluntary benefits sharing, promoting the participation

The goal of this report is to take stock
of the existing evidence on the impact of the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) on poverty, to examine the
current challenges that an extension of CARP would face, and
to suggest directions toward achieving progress on land
reform given the financial and policy constraints faced by
the program. The report starts by examining the nature and
relevance of the challenges that an extension of the land

After a policy-engineered slowdown in
2012, which saw GDP growth decline to 4.8 percent, the
lowest since 2008, Bhutan's economy is expected to
rebound to 6.5 percent this year, supported by hydropower
construction and higher electricity and food production,
following favorable rains. The tight fiscal stance
introduced in 2012 has been maintained to bring spending in
line with lower non-hydro revenues and a slowdown in foreign

There are countries in Asia, Europe, the
Middle East and even a few such countries in Africa that are
using non-renewable resources to drive development and have
not experienced conflict. South Africa, Namibia, Botswana,
and Zambia are such typical cases in Africa. Instead, the
presence of significant minerals in Botswana is associated
with economic development and democracy as well as peace.
This paper applies the "resource curse", thesis to

This introductory section explains the
rationale for the guidance note, reflecting on the relevance
of food prices in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC),
their impact on the poor and the effect that logistics and
transport costs have on those prices. Based upon that
framework, the note provides an overview of the logistics
and transport hurdles faced by importers and consumers in
the region as food products move through the logistics

The study includes four sections: i)
brief production background; ii) description of the
Argentine soybean value chain; iii) evolution of the main
policies and institutional regimes in Argentina; iv) lessons
learned related to the political economy and the industrial
organization. The study describes the main policies
implemented in Argentina during the last two decades which
had impact on the structure of the soybean value chain and