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World Bank Discussion Paper No. 354. Promoting a high savings rate is high on the World Bank's agenda for promoting national income growth. This study surveys broad saving trends worldwide, summarizes current knowledge about savings and consumption, identifies main unresolved issues, and outlines the major policy questions to be researched. The paper include case studies from Sub-Saharan Africa, China, Colombia, India, Mexico, and Pakistan.
After the collapse of the Soviet system, the immense problems of environmental pollution in Central and Eastern Europe were widely publicized. Less well known were its effects on health in the region, which have led to a serious health crisis. This report examines the degree to which the pollution adversely affected human health, putting it in the context of other health determinants such as socioeconomic factors, health care standards and availability, and lifestyle factors. Among the numerous pollutants, the report points to lead, dust, toxic gases, and nitrates in rural water supplies as having a significant impact on health in Central and Eastern Europe. The author suggests possible avenues for international action. However, an analysis of the determinants of health reveals that addressing the pollution problems alone will not solve the health crisis. Improving health in this region will depend on the changing economic fortunes of individual countries and the ability of each to create a supportive social environment for its citizens.
French edition. World Bank Technical Paper No. 298F (Les filles et lécole en Afrique subsaharienne: De lanalyse á laction). Summarizes the factors that constrain girls schooling in Sub-Saharan Africa and outlines practical ways of designing programs that will accelerate female participation in education in the region. Also available in English: (ISBN 0-8213-3373-9) Stock No. 13373.
In November 1997 the World Bank and Singapore's Institute of Policy Studies sponsored a conference, "Financing Health Care and Old Age Security", to assess and identify potential solutions to these concerns. It addressed a topic of concern to nearly every country, developing and industrial, that is, how to deal with the implications of financing medical care and income security for rapidly aging populations. The issues identified and the solutions proposed can provide insight and guidance for policymakers, researchers, and others interested in addressing these challenges now. Of special interest are the contributors' analyses of Singapore's unique, integrated approach to managing social risk, which is based on mandatory individual savings accounts.
IFC Lessons of Experience No. 1F. This report reviews the experience of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in its role as advisor and investor in privatization transactions during the past decade. In pursuit of its mandate to further economic development by encouraging the growth of productive private enterprise in developing countries, the IFC has naturally and increasingly been involved in supporting this movement. The premise of the report is that privatization will always be partly based on political considerations, including expected redistribution of wealth and the resulting winners and losers. It discusses the IFC's experience from two perspectives: as an advisor involved bef...
This paper traces the evolution of World Bank support to agricultural services, particularly agricultural extension and research in Sub-Saharan Africa. It describes the Bank's experience with the implementation of national programs in agricultural extension and research and how these are evolving to face the problems of the future. The paper concludes that participation of the beneficiaries in the design and implementation of programs is critical and will ensure the programs' convergence towards rural development.