This paper revisits the identification
of the binding constraints to investment and growth in
Pakistan by rigorously applying the growth diagnostic
framework. It has a central finding: Pakistan's
economy faces two major groups of constraints emerging and
structural. The emerging constraints include infrastructure
(energy) deficit, high macro-fiscal risks, and inadequate
international financing (high country risks and low FDI

Pakistan's rebound from the global
financial crisis has been slow and fragile, and unless it
changes course swiftly, it could face the prospects of a
second balance of payments crisis in less than five years.
Its recovery from the 2008-09 global financial crisis has
been the weakest in South Asia, featuring a unique
double-dip growth pattern. With high fertility, Pakistan
will double the size of its already young population by

This paper reviews Pakistan's
agriculture performance and analyzes its agriculture and
water policies. It discusses the nature of rural poverty and
emphasizes the reasons why agricultural growth is a critical
component to any pro-poor growth strategy for Pakistan. It
supports these arguments by summarizing key results from
recent empirical analysis where the relative benefits of
agricultural versus non-agricultural led growth are

This policy paper focuses on the
incentive framework for Pakistani agriculture, with emphasis
on trade and price policies. It first presents a synthesis
of major trends in the performance of the sector and
analyzes Pakistan's extraordinarily complex, opaque and
discretionary, and continually-changing trade regime. It
presents a disaggregated analysis of the border measures for
the selected products (trade and price interventions vary by

Myanmar is an agricultural country. It
is estimated that the agriculture sector represents between
35 to 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and that up
to 70 percent of the labor force (of 32.5 million) is
directly or indirectly engaged in agricultural activities or
depend on agriculture for their income. Given
agriculture's important contribution to the economy,
the modernization of the agriculture sector is a top

This paper reviews the empirical
evidence on the existence of poverty traps, understood as
self-reinforcing mechanisms through which poor individuals
or countries remain poor. Poverty traps have captured the
interest of many development policy makers, because poverty
traps provide a theoretically coherent explanation for
persistent poverty. They also suggest that temporary policy
interventions may have long-term effects on poverty.

The paper estimates the effects on
presidential election returns in Mexico of a government
climatic contingency transfer that is allocated through
rainfall-indexed insurance. The analysis uses the
discontinuity in payments that slightly deviate from a
pre-established threshold, based on rainfall accumulation
measured at local weather stations. It turns out that
voters reward the incumbent presidential party for

The Sahel region has seen the forcible
displacement of more than million persons as a result of
conflict. Tackling displacement in the Sahel is critical for
both poverty alleviation and stabilization, and only a
development response will be adequate to the task. A
development response to forced displacement in the Sahel
requires a regional approach. Such an approach would have
the benefits of being able to overcome challenges relating

This report analyzes global prospects
for fisheries and aquaculture. The World Bank Group (WBG)
Agriculture Action Plan 2013-15 summarizes critical
challenges facing the global food and agriculture sector. An
ever-increasing global population necessitates adequate food
and nutrition for the growing population through increased
production and reduced waste. Production increase must occur
in a context where resources necessary for food production,

This report provides a short summary of
the recent history of the seed industry. Although the
informal seed system still accounts for an estimated 85
percent of planted seed, the formal sector has been
transformed in 20 years from control by a monopoly
parastatal to competition among 23 registered companies,
with at least 5 or 6 being serious players. Significantly,
the relief seed industry that dominated and distorted the

On 24th and 25th December, 2013 a
tropical trough system produced heavy rains in Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines (SVG). The ensuing rapid and intense
flash flooding resulted in severe damage and 9 confirmed
deaths with 3 persons still missing. Additionally, there was
widespread damage to road infrastructure, electricity and
water infrastructure, housing as well as public and private
buildings. This report serves as a reminder and proof of the

As the 21st century unfolds, the vast
nation of India faces an array of challenges, including how
to feed its burgeoning population in a situation where rural
poverty is widespread and land resources are under mounting
pressure. In such a situation it is vital that the resources
supporting agriculture (especially rain-fed arable farming)
- soil and water, physical infrastructure, and those
employed on the land operate efficiently and in harmony. Two