This article evaluates the effect of the
overdraft facility (or line of credit) policy by comparing a
large sample of overdraft facilitated firms and matched
non-overdraft facilitated firms from Eastern Europe at the
sector level. The sample firms are compared with respect to
rates of different performance indicators including:
technical efficiency (a Data Envelopment Analysis approach
is applied to estimate the technical efficiency level for

This paper reviews empirical findings
from economic analyses of the role of gender equality and
women's empowerment in reducing poverty and stimulating
growth. Going beyond the large literature documenting the
impact of female education on a range of development
outcomes, the paper presents evidence on the impact of
women's access to markets (labor, land, and credit) and
women's decision-making power within households on

This study examines the constraints on
the housing sector in Afghanistan. It evaluates government
policy on housing, looks at the state of housing finance,
and examines legal and regulatory barriers with a bearing on
the housing market. The report provides policy
recommendations aimed at helping to develop a private-sector
led housing market. To assist in formulating policies and
implementing actions, the study recommends forming a housing

The World Bank Group recognizes the
critical importance of women's contribution to shared
economic growth, especially in Africa. Women's
important contribution to economic activity in Tanzania is
well recognized: In the 2006 World Economic Forum Global
Gender Gap report Tanzania was ranked number 1 globally, out
of 115 countries, in terms of women's economic
participation. This paper includes the following headings:

The objective of this paper is to
determine the ability of farmers in Africa to detect climate
change, and to ascertain how they have adapted to whatever
climate change they believe has occurred. The paper also
asks farmers whether they perceive any barriers to
adaptation and attempts to determine the characteristics of
those farmers who, despite claiming to have witnessed
climate change, have not yet responded to it. The study is

This paper provides evidence from one of
the poorest countries of the world that the property rights
matter for efficiency, investment, and growth. With all land
state-owned, the threat of land redistribution never appears
far off the agenda. Land rental and leasing have been made
legal, but transfer rights remain restricted and the
perception of continuing tenure insecurity remains quite
strong. Using a unique panel data set, this study

This document builds upon several recent
studies and reports carried out in the 2006-2007 period. The
first note, entitled analysis of housing supply mechanisms
(World Bank), analyzes the situation of housing supply in
urban areas in Egypt, including the study of existing formal
and informal mechanisms for the delivery of urban housing,
the institutions responsible for supply and regulation, the
characteristics of the formal and informal stock, and the

This study on Bangladesh Dhaka-improving
living conditions for the urban poor reflects a
comprehensive look at poverty in Dhaka with an aim to
provide the basis for an urban poverty reduction strategy
for the Government of Bangladesh, local authorities, donors,
and NGOs. While the needs in Dhaka are enormous, this study
focuses on analyzing those critical for the poor -
understanding the characteristics and dynamics of poverty,

There are many causes, consequences, and
connections of deforestation and forest poverty in the
tropical world. This report specifically addresses the
potential dilemma of trade-offs between poverty reduction
and environmental protection. It seeks to improve the
diagnosis of forest problems and facilitate the prescription
and application of solutions by focusing on both the causes
and consequences of forest conversion to agriculture and on

The need for land-related investment to
ensure sustainable land management and increase productivity
of land use is widely recognized. However, there is little
rigorous evidence on the effects of property rights for
increasing agricultural productivity and contributing toward
poverty reduction in Africa. Whether and by how much
overlapping property rights reduce investment incentives,
and the scope for policies to counter such disincentives,

Liberia is a rich country, badly
managed. This is a favorite comment of President Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf and an accurate one. The bad management is
well-known, though perhaps not its duration and depth.
Created in 1847, the country is far older than almost all
others in sub- Saharan Africa. But for most of this time, it
was ruled by an elite descended from African-American
settlers who ignored or exploited the indigenous people. The

Bangladesh has recorded impressive
economic and social gains since the 1990s. Recent growth has
been at levels close to six percent. The country has doubled
per capita growth and taken large strides toward reaching
many Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), ahead of many
comparable countries. Attaining the MDGs calls for
accelerating economic growth to six-seven percent a year.
Accordingly, Bangladesh's Poverty Reduction Strategy