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Participatory development is an end and a means. It is an end because participation builds skills and enhances people's capacity for action and for enriching their lives. It is a means because participation contributes to better development policies and projects. As a development agency, the World Bank is primarily concerned with exploring how individuals, communities and public and private institutions can contribute to making development prospects better and more lasting. This report reflects the outcome of a workshop intended to explore some difficult issues, such as whether the Bank is approaching the idea of participation in the right way; how and to what extent external agencies can encourage participatory development. This book is a guide to the learning process. The main messages of the introductory chapter reflect further thinking of the learning groups since the workshop.
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This paper explains why tough public sector reform and a sound macroeconomy are essential to sustained growth. It provides a strategy to help countries evaluate how well their governments' policies work. Decisionmakers will learn ways to build an evaluations program that can make governments more accountable and improve their performance. Some options could include making central banks independent, eliminating earmarked funds, and balancing the national budget. The author suggests which government offices should oversee and develop evaluation policies to get the best results, and explains why evaluation results must be linked with all budget decisions. He describes the political and economic environment that allows the evaluation process to develop freely. Also discussed is the role that the World Bank and other insti- tutions should play in supporting evaluation programs. The study examines how sound evaluation can lead to more consistent international policies and better international governance.
Indonesia has been remarkably successful in achieving its development objectives over the past 25 years. Although it is still a low-income country, its tradition of sound economic management has laid the foundations for continued progress in the decades ahead. As the Indonesian government formulates its second long-term development plan, issues of environmental quality and sustainability raise new concerns. This report examines environmental issues, assesses their implications for the achievement of development goals, and suggests an action plan that would help to ensure that those goals will be met. The analysis of current environmental conditions and trends and of the likely impact of futu...
China has done much to reform its price system, achieve macroeconomic stability, and restore growth. Nevertheless, price distortions remain in three key areas. This study suggests further price reforms for the energy, grain, and transport sectors. It explains why energy price adjustments should have only a modest effect on consumer prices, but a highly positive effect on the economy. It discusses why China may have to reduce consumer subsidies to achieve the necessary reforms for grain prices. The study describes what the government must do to strengthen commodity markets, generate competition, and make allowances for seasonal price variations. China's transport sector has been a critical development bottleneck. The paper reviews tariff adjustments and other reforms that would modernize the transport system and help it meet growing demand. These reforms also would encourage energy conservation and help integrate the national economy.