Logistics are a critical element for country competitiveness and economic performance, including poverty reduction. Most emerging countries such as Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean are focusing on export-led growth strategies and poverty reduction strategies, and their performance is adversely affected by their high logistic costs that range from 10% to 50% of product value. This book illustrates the relevance and impact of logistics on these areas while also offering an effective logistics and infrastructure framework that addresses the full spectrum of the productive chain (upstream, midstream and downstream). It provides a structured agenda for designing and implementing holistic policy interventions (soft and hard components) to reduce logistic costs. Featuring case studies and examples of specific interventions and their impact in many countries, a number of them in Latin America, this book is useful to scholars, academics, practitioners and policy makers interested in the reduction of logistics costs and poverty reduction in the global economy.

Logistics are a critical element for country competitiveness and economic performance, including poverty reduction. Most emerging countries such as Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean are focusing on export-led growth strategies and poverty reduction strategies, and their performance is adversely affected by their high logistic costs that range from 10% to 50% of product value. This book illustrates the relevance and impact of logistics on these areas while also offering an effective logistics and infrastructure framework that addresses the full spectrum of the productive chain (upstream, midstream and downstream). It provides a structured agenda for designing and implementing holistic policy interventions (soft and hard components) to reduce logistic costs. Featuring case studies and examples of specific interventions and their impact in many countries, a number of them in Latin America, this book is useful to scholars, academics, practitioners and policy makers interested in the reduction of logistics costs and poverty reduction in the global economy.

The Aid for Trade Initiative has allowed for the active engagement of a large number of organisations and agencies in helping developing countries and especially the least developed build the infrastructure and supply-side capacity they need to connect to regional and global markets and improve ...

Aid for trade can support countries trying to further benefit from the expanding global market place by helping to address poorly performing infrastructure and institutions. Needless to say, good policies also matter: trade liberalization, improving incentives for private investment in trade, and reducing the costs and improving the quality of services. Market access also matters; accordingly, a successful conclusion to the Doha Round remains a top policy objective. The paper highlights three challenges and suggests some areas for further consideration/action: making competitiveness a pillar of country growth strategies; filling the remaining gaps in trade-related assistance; and expanding the overall aid envelope and making full use of opportunity to replenish the International Development Association.

This book identifies reforms that can help manage environmental priority problems associated with transport’s impacts on air quality, noise pollution, road safety, hazardous-materials transport, climate change, and urban sprawl. The policy options are contextualized in light of the Government of Pakistan’s 2011 Framework for Economic Growth and its strategic objectives. Appendixes A–D present additional background information, describe the economic and institutional analyses undergirding this report, and detail the report’s methodology. This analytical work by a team of World Bank specialists focuses on: • analyzing the policy and institutional adjustments required to address environmental, social, and poverty aspects of increased transportation efficiency in Pakistan; • identifying policy options for the Government of Pakistan to better serve the population, to enhance social cohesion, and to foster equitable benefit sharing with low-income or other vulnerable groups; • developing a broad participatory process to give a voice to stakeholders who could be affected by enhancements of freight transport productivity; and • making robust recommendations to strengthen governance and the institutional capacity of agencies to manage the environmental, social, and poverty consequences of freight transportation infrastructure.

As Vietnam pursues a path of sustainable growth, inland waterway transport and coastal shipping offer viable alternatives to the traditional road sector, particularly when environmental costs are taken into consideration. This report profiles Vietnam s waterborne transport sector and proposes interventions to improve its performance.

As part of its strategy to support global trade, the World Bank Group seeks to enhance trade finance in emerging markets. In 2005 the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the Bank Group, introduced the Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP) to support the extension of trade finance to underserved clients globally. This IEG evaluation found that overall, the GTFP was a relevant response to the demand to reduce risk in trade finance in emerging markets. The program significantly improved IFC’s engagement in trade finance by introducing an open network of banks and a quick, flexible response platform to support the supply of trade finance. IEG’s evaluation covers the program’s operations from its inception in 2005 through FY2012. The program grew from a $500 million annual commitment to $5 billion in FY12. It accounted for 39 percent of total IFC commitments and has low costs—it accounted for 2.4 percent of IFC’s capital use and 1.2 percent of its staff costs and has had no claims to date. It is profitable as well, although not to the extent originally expected, accounting for 0.6 percent of IFC’s net profit. IEG found that the GTFP has particular additionality among higher-risk countries. In its early years, it was concentrated in these countries, particularly in Africa. During the global crisis, the program risk-mitigation instrument became relevant in much broader markets. Client feedback on the program has been positive. In its evaluation IEG does offer several recommendations to enhance its effectiveness, including on issues of transparency and reporting methods, as well as expanding the share of the program in needier markets. For development professionals, the lessons in this evaluation can be applied to private sector development situations, particularly mitigation of financing risks in emerging markets.

"The objectives of the RETA [regional technical assistance project], a study based on a literature and project review and on field research in three Asian countries [People's Republic of China, Thailand and India], were to enhance current understanding of how transport and energy infrastructure contribute to poverty reduction, to fill knowledge gaps, and to identify lessons learned and good practices."--P. 1.

French edition. Human Development Network Series. As the new millennium approaches,... Education will determine who has the keys to the treasures the world can furnish. This is particularly important for the poor, who have to rely on their human capital as the main, if not the only, means of escaping poverty. In this way, new challenges and opportunities arise for education. Immense progress has been achieved in education in the last 50 years. However, immense challenges still remain. This report lays out the vision for education and the ambitious international goals to which the Bank subscribes. It notes the progress so far and the gaps that remain. It describes the rich group of partners associated with the educational endeavor and how the Bank's role has evolved. It conveys the Bank's global priorities and programs to help countries progress toward the international education goals and improve the quality of teaching and learning. It illustrates the processes and operating principles that will help Bank staff contribute more effectively to better educational outcomes in each client country and to monitor success in implementing this strategy. Also available in English (Stock no. 14560) and Spanish (Stock no. 14633).

There is growing consensus in the literature that trade and trade policy matter for a pro-poor growth and development strategy. Therefore, policies that are consistent with this strategy feature increasingly in many African countries where poverty is endemic and rapid and where sustainable economic growth is viewed as the major vehicle for poverty reduction. Key elements of these polices include measures that promote the expansion and diversification of production and trade in Africa. This book is aimed at articulating appropriate structural and policy measures for eliminating the constraints that African countries face and thus ensuring that they can derive maximum benefits from all available market access opportunities. There is evidence that most African countries face external market access barriers in their major export destinations which are generally less constraining than those confronting countries in other developing country regions. Yet, they have generally not been able to take full advantage of the special (preferential) market access opportunities available to them. This suggests that improved external market access, whether reciprocal or preferential, would not, by itself, be sufficient for strengthening African export performance. In this collection, export supply response capacity takes external (beyond-the-border) factors as given and concentrates primarily on the internal (behind-the-border) factors that influence production and distribution costs and, thus, competitiveness. The central working hypothesis of this book is that the inability of domestic producers and exporters in Africa to respond quickly, effectively and efficiently to external market access opportunities is caused by various limitations of their internal supply capacity and that this, in turn, is largely responsible for the lacklustre export performance of many African countries. This comprehensive study should be of interest to students and researchers of international trade and development economics as well as African studies.