In many countries, place specific
investments in infrastructure are viewed as integral
components of territorial development policies. But are
these policies fighting market forces of concentration? Or
are they adding net value to the national economy by tapping
underexploited resources? This paper contributes to the
debate on the spatial allocation of infrastructure
investments by examining where these investments will

One of every two people in Sub-Saharan
Africa survives on less than $1.25 a day. That proportion
has changed little over the past three decades, unlike in
Asia and elsewhere, so the region's share of global
poverty has risen from one-tenth to almost one-third since
1980. About 70 percent of today's 400 million poor
Africans live in rural areas and depend directly or
indirectly on farming for their livelihoods. While that

This study is part of a global research
project seeking to understand the changing scope and impact
of the policy bias against agriculture and the reasons
behind agricultural policy reforms in Africa, Europe's
transition economies, Latin America and the Caribbean, and
Asia. One purpose of the project is to obtain quantitative
indicators of the effects of recent policy interventions. A
second objective is to gain a deeper understanding of the

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,

This report is the primary output from
the climate change impact and adaptation study for the
Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR) produced for the Bangkok
Metropolitan Administration (BMA) with financial support
provided by the World Bank. The report concerns climate
change, and provides an analysis of climate change impacts
and adaptation options for the BMR. In addition to the more
general matters on the physical setting and socioeconomics

Many countries succeed in generating
high economic growth at some point in their history. But
only a very few manage to sustain rapid growth for an
extended period. Only such a prolonged period of rapid
growth can have a significant impact on income per capita,
and such an impact often brings with it many other important
changes to people's lives. Cambodia has more than
doubled its income per capita over the past decade, from

The price of oil could play a
significant role in influencing the expansion of biofuels.
However, this issue has not been fully investigated yet in
the literature. Using a global computable general
equilibrium model, this study analyzes the impact of oil
price on biofuel expansion, and subsequently, on food
supply. The study shows that a 65 percent increase in oil
price in 2020 from the 2009 level would increase the global

The spike in food prices between 2005
and the first half of 2008 has highlighted the
vulnerabilities of poor consumers to higher prices of
agricultural goods and generated calls for massive policy
action. This paper provides a formal assessment of the
direct and indirect impacts of higher prices on global
poverty using a representative sample of 63 to 93 percent of
the population of the developing world. To assess the direct

Seasonal poverty in Bangladesh, locally
known as monga, refers to seasonal deprivation of food
during the pre-harvest season of Aman rice. An analysis of
household income and expenditure survey data shows that
average household income and consumption are much lower
during monga season than in other seasons, and that seasonal
income greatly influences seasonal consumption. However,
lack of income and consumption smoothing is more acute in

This paper evaluates the impact of the
Thailand Village and Urban Revolving Fund on household
expenditure, income, and assets. The revolving fund was
launched in 2001 when the Government of Thailand promised to
provide a million baht (about $22,500) to every village and
urban community in Thailand as working capital for
locally-run rotating credit associations. The money about
$2 billion in total was quickly disbursed to locally-run

Many cities across Europe and Central
Asia are experiencing the impacts of climate change, but
most have not integrated climate adaptation into their
agendas. This paper examines the threats faced and measures
that can be taken by cities in the region to protect
buildings, heritage sites, municipal functions, and
vulnerable urban populations. In general, local governments
must be proactive in ensuring that existing buildings are

The World Bank's mission is to
alleviate poverty and support sustainable development.
Climate change is a serious environmental challenge that
could undermine these goals. Since the industrial
revolution, the mean surface temperature of earth has
increased an average 2 degree Celsius due to the
accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Most of
this change has occurred in the past 30 to 40 years, and the