Colombia

This tenth edition of Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when comply... Show More + ing with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting eleven areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 185 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Colombia. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2012 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January - December 2011). Show Less -

The development objective of the Second Programmatic Fiscal Sustainability and Growth Resilience Development Policy Loan (DPL) Program for Colombia is to enhanced f... Show More + iscal sustainability and strengthened resilience of economic growth. The Government of Colombia has requested a DPL for US$200 million. The First DPL for US$300 million, approved by the Board in July 2011, supported the legislative approval of several important fiscal reforms. Building on the progress achieved under DPL I, this program document is the second DPL supporting the sustained implementation of these reforms. The request underscores the Government's continued interest in engaging with the World Bank to support its efforts in improving fiscal management. The fiscal reform program supported by the loan series seeks to enhance fiscal sustainability and strengthen growth resilience. The program includes a series of measures that can be grouped along three main policy reform areas: (a) budget predictability and stability, (b) social security liability management, and (c) disaster risk financing. The first area includes the implementation of a fiscal rule and a tax reform. The second area covers important legal and regulatory changes to the health insurance system, including the update of the mandatory benefit package and the creation of a contingency fund. The final area includes the development of a national disaster financing strategy and measures to enhance agricultural insurance coverage within a holistic agricultural risk management strategy. The Government of Colombia has made substantial progress in implementing its ambitious fiscal reform program. During the first half of the Presidential term, Congress approved a series of major fiscal reforms, including: a fiscal rule, a reform of the royalties system, a fiscal sustainability constitutional change, tax reforms, and a health law. As detailed in this document, the Government has made good progress in implementing this legislative agenda. The Bank is committed to a long-term engagement in support of the Government's fiscal reform program. The operation is fully consistent with the Bank's business model in Colombia, which emphasizes a strategic and integrated client engagement in support of selected development outcomes through three main lines of business, including financial, knowledge and convening services. Show Less -

The main objective of the Third Phase of the Protection of Land and Patrimony of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Project is to diminish the risk of impoverishme... Show More + nt of displaced persons and contribute to the peace-building process in Colombia by promoting the application of measures to protect their patrimonial assets, provision of land titles for those IDPs whose rights have been protected but do not have legal titles, and proposing public policy initiatives for restitution of properties to IDPs. The extension of three months to January 31, 2013 is intended to provide sufficient time for the processing of this request for additional financing. It is important to mention that the proposed changes would not alter the objective, components, activities, or deliverables of the project; neither will they imply a change to the project's safeguards. The extension is necessary to complete the processing of the Governments' request for additional financing of US$1.0 million from the State and Peace Building Fund. Show Less -

The Republic of Colombia is an upper middle-income country, with a population of approximately 46 million people and a gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of $7... Show More + ,131 in 2011. Colombia has a stable economy and a large endowment of natural resources. Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) has supported 17 activities in Colombia worth $2.9 million since 2000. Four of these activities are ongoing. This activity's objective was to develop a strategy that would allow the Government to concession the road network in a programmatic manner and increase the sustainability of the concessions. The existing structure of Colombia's road concessions was analyzed, and lessons were drawn from this experience and several international case studies. The PPIAF-funded final report noted that while the existing concession framework allowed for concessions on particular projects, it lacked clear definitions on strategic aspects that would permit the Government to create a long-term, sustainable program for concessions. Show Less -

The objective of the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) Grant Access to Opportunities for Young People Project is to enhance the access of young men and women, be... Show More + tween the ages of 14 to 26 years old, to opportunities for education, work and political participation. The changes intend to transfer resources from category (5) sub-grants for subprojects to categories: (1) consultants' services, (2) training or workshops and (4) operating costs. It is important to mention that the proposed changes will not alter the objective, components, activities, or deliverables of the project; neither will they imply a change to the project's safeguards. Show Less -

The efficiency and productivity of Colombia's urban system will be a key determinant in the ability of the country to transition from a middle income to a higher-in... Show More + come economy. Colombia, as with most Latin American countries, has experienced positive growth rates in the past few years, mitigating the potential adverse impacts of the global financial crisis. High commodity prices as well as improvements in macroeconomic and financial management, diversification of trading partners (particularly through stronger links with China), and the safe integration into international financial markets are the main drivers for recent success in Colombia and the Latin American region (World Bank 2011). This book is organized as follows: chapter two concentrates on establishing patterns and trends of the spatial and urban transformation in Colombia. Key policy issues for Colombia's urbanization process are highlighted and policy alternatives considered. It also attempts to identify areas where further in-depth analysis would be valuable. Three of these areas are further developed in chapters three through five. The remainder of this chapter will highlight key messages from each of the three crosscutting themes of connectivity, coordination, and finance. The chapter will conclude with a discussion on the World Bank's strategic engagement strategy for sustainable cities. Show Less -