This study responds to the need for
information and analysis on the urban sector in South Sudan,
to inform the Bank's policy dialogue with the
Government of the Republic of South Sudan (GoSS) on urban
and local government issues, and to inform the design of
future Bank assistance. The first phase of this analytical
exercise, which is the focus of this report, develops an
overview of the urban landscape. A second phase of this

This report examines poverty trends and
distribution of the poor in this larger context, paying
particular attention to the most recent past. The report
contributes to our understanding of the progress made in
combating poverty in three ways. First, it updates our
knowledge of poverty outcomes by examining the trends in
poverty and vulnerability, as well as the profile and
distribution of the poor and vulnerable across the country.

Agriculture sector growth has made a
powerful contribution to post-war economic recovery in
Tajikistan, accounting for approximately one third of
overall economic growth from 1998 to 2004. Sector output
increased by 65 percent in real terms during this period,
and has now returned to the level extant at independence in
1990. Total Factor Productivity (TFP) has also increased, by
3 percent per year. Despite this progress, there is

The report is divided into two volumes.
The first volume includes the fundamental content of the
report. It is organized as follows. Chapter one provides a
conceptual framework to analyze risk and vulnerability and
provides a definition of social protection. Chapter two
assesses the main risks faced by the Malagasy population as
well as its vulnerability profile. Chapter three reviews
Madagascar's social protection policies, the

The Small Area Estimation (SAE) of
poverty in Rural Bhutan was prepared with an objective to
provide a more disaggregated picture of poverty in Bhutan
down to the gewog level, based on the Bhutan living standard
survey 2007 and Population and Housing Census of Bhutan
(PHCB) 2005. The report records the estimation process in
detail and describes results of statistical tests for
quality checks. According to these tests, the poverty

A well-maintained road network that
provides the level of service required by road-users is an
important element of Azerbaijan's development strategy
to accelerate economic growth and reduce poverty. As part of
this strategy, the Government of Azerbaijan (Government) has
undertaken major capital improvements on the major arterial
road network. However, the secondary and local roads
continue to be underfunded, and a large rehabilitation

This report provided the Government of
Peru with a comprehensive strategic assessment of three key
infrastructure sectors: water/sanitation, transport and
electricity, and to propose selected recommendations on how
the Government could improve the performance of these
sectors. Peru's public expenditure framework shows some
rigidities, a number of which were introduced when fiscal
resources were scarce or, more recently, because of concerns

The Romanian government recognizes that
there are current and future problems related to the risk of
old-age poverty among elderly farmers, and has been working
on sustainable solutions to avert this risk. The main
objective of this report is to provide recommendations to
the policy makers in Romania in designing a non-contributory
program for poor elderly, including farmers. To this end,
the report (i) evaluates the current semi-subsistence

This report presents the outcomes of the
functional review of Romania's agricultural
administration. Given the sectoral and territorial relevance
of its regulatory domain, Romania s Agricultural and Rural
Development Administration is a key administrative body
undergoing this Functional Review. The review will examine
whether the policy goals and objectives of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) and its agencies

The government of Afghanistan has an
opportunity in the coming months to turn the country around.
It is now opportune to improve security, governance, and
development. Unprecedented international military support,
political attention and aid are available to Afghanistan.
The government is inheriting years of good economic
performance, notable progress on social outcomes, and
continuing strong support from the international community.

This report addresses the large flood
exposures of Central Europe and proposes efficient financial
and risk transfer mechanisms to mitigate fiscal losses from
natural catastrophes.. The report is primarily addressed to
the governments of the region which should build into their
fiscal planning, the necessary contingent funding
mechanisms, based on their exposures. While there exist
pan-European mechanisms such as the EU Solidarity Fund to

In 2008 the Government of Pakistan
agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to
increase the tax/Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio by 3.5
percentage points over the medium term. This commitment has
rekindled the debate regarding the agricultural income tax.
Advocates of an agricultural income tax argue that the
sector remains protected by political interests, while
opponents to such a tax maintain that agriculture is already