What is the relationship between
employment and conflict in fragile states? Although this
question cannot be definitively answered, a large body of
research suggests that in countries emerging from conflict,
peace is likelier to endure if growth can be rapidly
restored and translated into economic opportunities for
large segments of the population. With a focus on
Sub-Saharan Africa, this report attempts to address the

Despite extremely difficult security conditions, which deteriorated markedly after 2006, the World Bank Group has commendably established and sustained a large program of support to the country. While World Bank Group strategy has been highly relevant to Afghanistan's situation, beginning in 2006 the strategies can have gone further in adapting ongoing programs to evolving opportunities and needs and in programming activities sufficient to achieve the objectives of the pillars in those strategies.

The paper provides an up-to date and
selective review of the literature on how social safety nets
contribute to growth. The evidence is carefully chosen to
show how safety nets have the potential to overcome
constraints on growth linked to market failures, and is
organized into 4 distinct pathways: i) encouraging asset
accumulation by changing incentives and by addressing
imperfections in financial markets caused by constraints in

There are two common problems in flood
hydrology: 1) estimate the return period for a given flood;
and 2) estimate the flood for a given return period. A
commonly used procedure to solve these problems is to fit a
probability density function such as the Gumbel, Pearson
type three or the generalized extreme value distributions to
the historical data. The Pearson probability distribution
was named after the statistician Pearson, it is also called

This first World Bank for Results report
provides the Bank's shareholders, partners, and
external stakeholders with an integrated view of results and
performance in recent years. It serves as a companion to the
World Bank Corporate Scorecard. Aggregating results that
countries have achieved with Bank support against the
backdrop of global development results, the report also
assesses operational and organizational performance at the

Prospects for economic growth depend
upon the success of two overarching factors (1) mitigating
risks related to political uncertainty and the maintenance
of peace and security in the region; and (2) implementation
of a policy program that promotes private sector- led
growth, including completion of the reconstruction effort.
Such a package of reforms might include the following
measures: Within a sound fiscal position proceed with

This report discusses the affects of
rapid economic growth and increased urbanization on the
environmental quality of the Dominican Republic's
natural resource base (e.g., water resources
management--water quality, quantity and watershed management
and solid waste collection and disposal have become major
environmental concerns). It notes that the lack of
systematic data limits an accurate and detailed assessment

The study examines Bangladesh's
extreme vulnerability to climate change, whose low-lying
topography, and funnel-shaped coast, further exposes the
land to cyclones, and tidal surges, resulting in seasonal
floods. These factors, and the large population base,
widespread poverty, aggravated by the lack of strong
institutional development, makes the country particularly
vulnerable to climate variability. Various climatic factors,

China has very serious water problems
despite substantial economic development achievements,
strong technical expertise, and political stability. But in
terms of its potential and the critical pressing needs for
water resources management, China could do much better in
managing its water resources. The World Bank's
assistance to China in water resources development and
management in the past has tended to be reactive and

The document is structured in three
parts covering the key thematic areas of water supply
service delivery, sanitation service delivery, and overall
policy. Each part describes a series of different actions
that can be taken to improve service delivery to low-income
communities, outlines key lessons and challenges and
identifies the principles of good practice. This project is
aimed at developing a better understanding of the conditions

The report looks at Lesotho, a
predominantly mountainous, land-locked, poor country with a
small population, limited natural resources, and a very
fragile ecology. It has low gross national income, and a
significant poverty level. To ameliorate this condition, the
government has embarked on a pro-poor, growth strategy that
includes public, and private investment in infrastructure.
It explores the level of private participation at this phase

This poverty assessment report has three
main objectives: 1) to conduct an in-depth, multi-
dimensional analysis of poverty building on the framework of
the World Bank's World Development Report (WDR) for
2000/2001 using both quantitative and qualitative data; 2)
to examine the impact of government policies and spending on
the poor in key sectors; and 3) to use the empirical
findings to identify options and priorities for poverty