This report addresses the most important challenges facing the Latin America and Caribbean region as it attempts to replace its traditional economic and social structures, including populist institutions, with a modern, efficient, administrative state. The analysis focuses on the political economy of pending reforms and their ramifications. The report discusses (1) recent economic and political developments; (2) systemic issues such as high real interest and unemployment rates and declining export growth; (3) social policies and the need to consolidate macroeconomic stability; and (4) how to define and build the new Latin American state. An appendix provides detailed information on selected country performance.

Why do women in most developing countries lag behind men in literacy? Why do women get less schooling than men? This anthology examines the educational decisions that deprive women of an equal education. It assembles the most up-to-date data, organized by region. Each paper links the data with other measures of economic and social development. This approach helps explain the effects different levels of education have on womens' fertility, mortality rates, life expectancy, and income. Also described are the effects of women's education on family welfare. The authors look at family size and women's labor status and earnings. They examine child and maternal health, as well as investments in children's education. Their investigation demonstrates that women with a better education enjoy greater economic growth and provide a more nurturing family life. It suggests that when a country denies women an equal education, the nation's welfare suffers. Current strategies used to improve schooling for girls and women are examined in detail. The authors suggest an ambitious agenda for educating women. It seeks to close the gender gap by the next century. Published for The World Bank by The Johns Hopkins University Press.

International Industrial Networks and Industrial Restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe analyses the role of international industrial networks in industrial restructuring and corporate growth in central Europe, Russia and Ukraine. It shows that two distinct patterns of international industrial integration - domestic vs. foreign led modernisations - have developed in these two regions which have significant effects on patterns of growth and integration of these economies. International Industrial Networks and Industrial Restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe is based on a number of industry and firm case studies which are analysed and interpreted within the current international business and political economy literature. The publication provides valuable insights to managers and policy-makers who are interested in understanding different strategic options for business activity in Central and East European countries. For the academic reader, it offers a new perspective on international, industrial networks in which theories on strategic management and on industry restructuring and corporate growth are merged into a new view of growth and transformation process.

World Bank Technical Paper No. 365.The World Bank has been supporting range livestock development since the 1960s, gaining experience that currently contributes to best practices in natural resource management (NRM) in pastoral areas. This report focuses on NRM in the arid rangelands used by pastoralists in Africa and the Middle East, offering guidelines for development. An introductory chapter on the nature of NRM is followed by advice on preparing for project intervention and by guidelines for specific project components. A concluding chapter considers the broader implications for international agencies, particularly the World Bank. Eight annexes provide additional background information and advice, as well as a user guide for practitioners.

Transition in Central and Eastern Europe has led to a U-shaped response of output: a sharp decline in output followed by recovery. Most of the countries of Central Europe seem now firmly on the upside; most of the countries of Eastern Europe are still close to the bottom of the U: an optimistic view is that they are now negotiating the turn. Olivier Blanchard, a distinguished economist who has worked on transition since its beginning, is one of the first to present a unified analysis of the process of transition. The U-shaped response of output, its causes and its implications, are the subject of this book. The text is split into four chapters. The first reviews the facts; the second focuses on the two basic mechanisms underlying transition: reallocation and restructuring; the third looks more closely at a number of issues, from the interactions between restructuring and privatization to the nature of the labour market in transition; the fourth chapter pulls the material together in an analytical model of transition. This model is then used to discuss policy issues, from the design of privatization to the role of fiscal policy in transition.

Joint Forest Management (JFM) has emerged as an important intervention in the management of India's forest resources. This report sets out an analytical method for examining the costs and benefits of JFM arrangements. Two pilot case studies in which the method was used demonstrate interesting outcomes regarding incentives for various groups to participate. The main objective of this study is to develop a better understanding of the incentives for communities to participate in JFM.

Despite its importance, labor is one of the least addressed issues in privatization. The lack of information on the employment impact of privatization has exacerbated the fears and concerns of governments and workers alike. This paper examines the effects of privatization on labor and analyzes the mechanisms that governments can use to minimize the political and social costs of labor restructuring in privatization, by drawing on the experience of mixed economies.

This paper highlights key urban groundwater issues and management needs. It also raises awareness and understanding of hydrogeological processes in urban areas and provides a framework for the proper and systematic consideration of groundwater dimensions in urban management. This paper suggests options for greater sustainable development and management of groundwater in urban areas.

This paper examines the increased role of the private sector in developing and maintaining critical infrastructure. It identifies governments' quest to shift part of the burden of new infrastructure investments to the private sector for the economic development of firms and industry and the improvement of quality of life and, given the constraints on public budgets, to finance growing infrastructure needs. Adequate infrastructure services include power, telecommunications, transport, water supply and sanitation. The paper also emphasizes the private sector involvement in bringing increased efficiency to investment and management and operation.