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Publications and Data

For information on how to order the World Bank publications reviewed in this issue, see page 16.

• Books
• Journal
• Discussion, Technical and Related Papers
• Policy Research Working Papers
• Electronic Information and Data

Books

Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics 1998

Boris Pleskovic and Joseph E. Stiglitz, editors
The tenth Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) dealt with four difficult topics in development: the role of geography in countries' success (with Paul Krugman, John Luke Gallup, and Jeffrey Sachs), the role and design of regulation and competition policy (Paul Joskow and Jean-Jacques Laffont), the causes of financial crises and ways to prevent them (Bruce Greenwald, Asl1 Demirgüç-Kunt, and Enrica Detragiache), and how ethnic conflict affects democracy and growth (Paul Collier and Donald L. Horowitz). This volume presents the participants' papers on these topics. It also includes insights from Stanley Fischer, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel prize winner James Tobin, and World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn.

Can the Poor Influence Policy? Participatory Poverty Assessments in the Developing World

Caroline M. Robb
Directions in Development Series
Poverty analysts have recently begun using a new tool—the participatory poverty assessment (PPA). PPAs use participatory research methods to understand poverty from the perspective of the poor. They have consistently shown that poor people emphasize different dimensions of poverty than those typically used in policy analysis—such as vulnerability, powerlessness, lack of dignity, physical and social isolation, and lack of security and self-respect.

PPAs are responding to the challenge of inclusion by directly presenting to policymakers the views of the poor as part of a national dialogue to influence policy. This book summarizes the World Bank's experience in using PPAs and discusses the lessons emerging from that experience.

Journal

The articles summarized below appear in the January issue of the World Bank Economic Review, vol. 13, no. 1. A Symposium Issue on Efficient Public Sector Downsizing

Public Sector Downsizing: An Introduction

Martín Rama
This article attempts to sketch a protocol for public sector downsizing that takes into account the costs and benefits for workers and the economy. After reviewing international experience, it addresses five questions: how to identify redundant workers, how to predict their losses from separation, how to design compensation and assistance packages, how to assess the financial and economic returns to downsizing, and how to deal with downsizing in one-company towns.

Cross-Country Evidence on Public Sector Retrenchment

John Haltiwanger and Manisha Singh
Using information on 41 retrenchment programs in 37 developing and transition economies, this article analyzes the relationships between the factors leading to retrenchment, the scope and nature of retrenchment, and the methods used for the retrenchment. Although quantitative information is limited, the article also attempts to evaluate the outcome of the programs in several areas.

The Efficient Mechanism for Downsizing the Public Sector

Doh-Shin Jeon and Jean-Jacques Laffont
This article analyzes the efficient mechanism for public sector downsizing, focusing on adverse selection in productive efficiency. Each worker is assumed to have two type-dependent reservation utilities: the status quo utility before downsizing and the utility the worker expects to obtain by entering the private sector. The efficient mechanism consists of a menu of probability (of remaining in the public sector) and transfer pairs that induces self-selection.

Earnings and Welfare after Downsizing: Central Bank Employees in Ecuador

Martín Rama and Donna MacIsaac
This article measures the earnings and welfare losses of displaced employees of the Central Bank of Ecuador. It links these losses to individual characteristics such as education and public sector salary. And it derives the implications of the findings for the design of assistance programs for displaced workers and the tailoring of compensation packages to their characteristics.

Matching Severance Payments with Worker Losses in the Egyptian Public Sector

Ragui Assaad
This article estimates the losses that public sector workers would incur if displaced from their jobs and simulates several voluntary severance schemes to determine how well the schemes match compensation payments to these expected losses. It shows that matching payments to expected losses can avoid significant overpayment and provides a method for estimating these losses from standard labor force surveys.

The Algerian Retrenchment System: A Financial and Economic Evaluation

Elizabeth Ruppert
The Algerian government has adopted a new retrenchment system to ease public sector labor shedding in an environment of already high unemployment. This article assesses the financial viability of the system and the inherent welfare costs and benefits associated with layoffs. It looks at the implications for the Unemployment Insurance Fund and for productivity.

Labor Earnings in One-Company Towns: Theory and Evidence from Kazakhstan

Martín Rama and Kinnon Scott
This article looks at how downsizing state enterprises affects one-company towns, a frequent legacy of state-led development strategies. It develops a simple model combining monopsony power in the labor market with a Keynesian closure of the product market and uses it to interpret the findings of previous studies. The article evaluates the impact of the company's employment level on the town's labor earnings in Kazakhstan.

Discussion, Technical, and Related Papers

Institutional Frameworks in Successful Water Markets: Brazil, Spain, and Colorado, USA

Manuel Mariño and Karin E. Kemper, editors
Technical Paper 427
This paper explores institutional frameworks in three case studies of long-standing and successful water markets. These cases demonstrate the common features and essential elements of water markets and show how to design markets that take into account the local institutional, social, and political conditions.

Latin American Insolvency Systems: A Comparative Assessment

Malcolm Rowat and José Astigarraga
Technical Paper 433
Drawing on case studies of Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela, this paper reviews the key legal and institutional issues in bankruptcy reform in Latin America. It notes that effective bankruptcy policy balances several requirements for a stable, successful economy. For example, in some cases allowing a company to restructure and to use the scarce resources it still holds might be in the greatest interests of all concerned. But inefficient firms may need to fail in order to free space in the market for better-managed companies. Also critical are enforcing loan contracts and providing an equitable system of debt collection.

Policy research Working papers

Working Papers disseminate the findings of work in progress and encourage the exchange of ideas among Bank staff and all others interested in development issues.

Working Papers can be downloaded from the Website www.worldbank.org/html/dec/Publications/Workpapers/home.html or requested from the contact person indicated at the Bank's main address.

Water Challenge and Institutional Response (A Cross-Country Perspective)
R. Maria Saleth and Ariel Dinar
WPS 2045 * Contact Fulvia Toppin, room S3-052, fax 202-522-3066.

Restructuring of Insider-Dominated Firms
Simeon Djankov
WPS 2046 * Contact Rose Vo, room MC9-624, fax 202-522-2031.

Ownership Structure and Enterprise Restructuring in Six Newly Independent States
Simeon Djankov
WPS 2047 * Contact Rose Vo, room MC9-624, fax 202-522-2031.

Corruption in Economic Development: Beneficial Grease, Minor Annoyance, or Major Obstacle?
Shang-Jin Wei
WPS 2048 * Contact Hedy Sladovich, room MC2-609, fax 202-522-1154.

Household Labor Supply, Unemployment, and Minimum Wage Legislation
Kaushik Basu, Garance Genicot, and Joseph E. Stiglitz
WPS 2049 * Contact Michelle Mason, room MC4-338, fax 202-522-1158.

Measuring Aid Flows: A New Approach
Charles C. Chang, Eduardo Fernández-Arias, and Luis Servén
WPS 2050 * Contact Emily Khine, room MC3-341, fax 202-522-3518.

How Stronger Protection of Intellectual Property Rights Affects International Trade Flows
Carsten Fink and Carlos Primo Braga
WPS 2051 * Contact Liesbet Willems, room F3K-266, fax 202-522-3186.

The Macro Wage Curve and Labor Market Flexibility in Zimbabwe
Dorte Verner
WPS 2052 * Contact Hazel Vargas, room I8-138, fax 202-522-2119.

Managing Foreign Labor in Singapore and Malaysia: Are There Lessons for GCC Countries?
Elizabeth Ruppert
WPS 2053 * Contact Alexandra Sperling, room H4-065, fax 202-477-0432.

Who Controls East Asian Corporations?
Stijn Claessens, Simeon Djankov, and Larry H. P. Lang
WPS 2054 * Contact Rose Vo, room MC9-624, fax 202-522-2031.

Social Security Reform, Income Distribution, Fiscal Policy, and Capital Accumulation
Carlos Serrano
WPS 2055 * Contact Marga de Loayza, room I3-128, fax 202-522-2106.

Does a Thin Foreign Exchange Market Lead to Destabilizing Capital-Market Speculation in the Asian Crisis Countries?
Hong G. Min and Judith A. McDonald
WPS 2056 * Contact Kari Labrie, room MC3-456, fax 202-522-1155.

Finance and the Sources of Growth
Thorsten Beck, Ross Levine, and Norman Loayza
WPS 2057 * Contact Kari Labrie, room MC3-456, fax 202-522-1155

Do Depositors Punish Banks for "Bad" Behavior? Market Discipline in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico
Maria Soledad Martinez Peria and Sergio L. Schmukler
WPS 2058 * Contact Agnes Yaptenco, room MC3-446, fax 202-522-1155.

Financial Intermediation and Growth: Causality and Causes
Ross Levine, Norman Loayza, and Thorsten Beck
WPS 2059 * Contact Kari Labrie, room MC3-456, fax 202-522-1155.

The Macroeconomics of Delayed Exchange-Rate Unification: Theory and Evidence from Tanzania
Daniel Kaufmann and Stephen A. O'Connell
WPS 2060 * Contact Diane Bouvet, room G2-136, fax 202-334-8350.

A Framework for Regulating Microfinance Institutions
Hennie van Greuning, Joselito Gallardo, and Bikki Randhawa
WPS 2061 * Contact Ann Thornton, room MC9-765, fax 202-522-3198.

Does Financial Reform Increase or Reduce Savings?
Oriana Bandiera, Gerard Caprio Jr., Patrick Honohan, and Fabio Schiantarelli
WPS 2062 * Contact Agnes Yaptenco, room MC3-446, fax 202-522-1155.

The Practice of Access Pricing: Telecommunications in the United Kingdom
Tommasso M. Valletti
WPS 2063 * Contact Gabriela Chenet-Smith, room G2-148, fax 202-334-8350.

Regulating Privatized Rail Transport
Javier Campos and Pedro Cantos
WPS 2064 * Contact Gabriela Chenet-Smith, room G2-148, fax 202-334-8350.

Exporting, Externalities, and Technology Transfer
Howard Pack and Kamal Saggi
WPS 2065 * Contact Hedy Sladovich, room MC2-609, fax 202-522-1154.

Flight Capital as a Portfolio Choice
Paul Collier, Anke Hoeffler, and Catherine Pattillo
WPS 2066 * Contact Audrey Kitson-Walters, room MC3-527, fax 202-522-1150.

Multinational Firms and Technology Transfer
Amy Jocelyn Glass and Kamal Saggi
WPS 2067 * Contact Lili Tabada, room MC3-333, fax 202-522-1159.

Quitting and Labor Turnover: Microeconomic Evidence and Macroeconomic Consequences
Tom Krebs and William F. Maloney
WPS 2068 * Contact Tania Gomez, room I8-102, fax 202-522-2119.

Logit Analysis in a Rotating Panel Context and an Application to Self-Employment Decisions
Patricio Aroca González and William F. Maloney
WPS 2069 * Contact Tania Gomez, room I8-102, fax 202-522-2119.

The Search for the Key: Aid, Investment, and Policies in Africa
David Dollar and William Easterly
WPS 2070 * Contact Emily Khine, room MC3-347, fax 202-522-3518.

The World Bank's Unified Survey Projections: How Accurate Are They? An Ex-Post Evaluation of US91­US97
Jos Verbeek
WPS 2071 * Contact Mismake Galatis, room O4-086, fax 202-522-2753.

Growth, Poverty, and Inequality: A Regional Panel for Bangladesh
Quentin T. Wodon
WPS 2072 * Contact Jillian Badami, room MC10-336, fax 202-522-2428.

Politics, Transaction Costs, and the Design of Regulatory Institutions
Antonio Estache and David Martimort
WPS 2073 * Contact Gabriela Chenet-Smith, room G2-148, fax 202-334-8350.

Light and Lightning at the End of the Public Tunnel: Reform of the Electricity Sector in the Southern Cone
Antonio Estache and Martin Rodriguez-Pardina
WPS 2074 * Contact Gabriela Chenet-Smith, room G2-148, fax 202-334-8350.

Between Group Inequality and Targeted Transfers
Quentin T. Wodon
WPS 2075 * Contact Jillian Badami, room MC10-336, fax 202-522-2428.

Microdeterminants of Consumption, Poverty, Growth, and Inequality in Bangladesh
Quentin T. Wodon
WPS 2076 * Contact Jillian Badami, room MC10-336, fax 202-522-2428.

Change in the Perception of the Poverty Line during Times of Depression: Russia 1993­96
Branko Milanovic and Branko Jovanovic
WPS 2077 * Contact Criselda Argayoso, room MC3-568, fax 202-522-1153.

Valuing Mortality Reductions in India: A Study of Compensating-Wage Differentials
Nathalie B. Simon, Maureen L. Cropper, Anna Alberini, and Seema Arora
WPS 2078 * Contact Tourya Tourougui, room MC2-521, fax 202-522-3230.

s More Targeting Consistent with Less Spending?
Martin Ravallion
WPS 2079 * Contact Patricia Sader, room MC3-632, fax 202-522-1153.

Monitoring Targeting Performance When Decentralized Allocations to the Poor Are Unobserved
Martin Ravallion
WPS 2080 * Contact Patricia Sader, room MC3-632, fax 202-522-1153.

Reforming Côte d'Ivoire's Cocoa Marketing and Pricing System
John McIntire and Panos Varangis
WPS 2081 * Contact Pauline Kokila, room MC3-547, fax 202-522-1151.

Gross Worker and Job Flows in a Transition Economy: An Analysis of Estonia
John C. Haltiwanger and Milan Vodopivec
WPS 2082 * Contact Sheila Fallon, room MC3-638, fax 202-522-1153.

INFRISK: A Computer Simulation Approach to Risk Management in Infrastructure Project Finance Transactions
Mansoor Dailami, Ilya Lipkovich, and John Van Dyck
WPS 2083 * Contact Bill Nedrow, room G2-072, fax 202-334-8350.

Future Inequality in Carbon Dioxide Emissions and the Projected Impact of Abatement Proposals
Mark T. Heil and Quentin T. Wodon
WPS 2084 * Contact Carlos Anguizola, room I8-104, fax 202-522-0054.

Monitoring Banking Sector Fragility: A Multivariate Logit Approach with an Application to the 1996­97 Banking Crises
Asl1 Demirgüç-Kunt and Enrica Detragiache
WPS 2085 * Contact Kari Labrie, room MC3-456, fax 202-522-1155.

Deregulating Technology Transfer in Agriculture: Reform's Impact on Turkey in the 1980s
David Gisselquist and Carl Pray
WPS 2086 * Contact Lili Tabada, room MC3-333, fax 202-522-1159.

Male-Female Differences in Labor Market Outcomes during the Early Transition to Market: The Case of Estonia and Slovenia
Peter F. Orazem and Milan Vodopivec
WPS 2087 * Contact Sheila Fallon, room MC3-638, fax 202-522-1153.

Expropriation of Minority Shareholders: Evidence from East Asia
Stijn Claessens, Simeon Djankov, Joseph P. H. Fan, and Larry H. P. Lang
WPS 2088 * Contact Rose Vo, room MC9-624, fax 202-522-2031.

Corporate Diversification in East Asia: The Role of Ultimate Ownership and Group Affiliation
Stijn Claessens, Simeon Djankov, Joseph P. H. Fan, and Larry H. P. Lang
WPS 2089 * Contact Rose Vo, room MC9-624, fax 202-522-2031.

Risks, Lessons Learned, and Secondary Markets for Greenhouse Gas Reductions
Donald F. Larson and Paul Parks
WPS 2090 * Contact Pauline Kokila, room MC3-544, fax 202-522-1150.

Beyond Unequal Development: An Overview
Andrés Solimano
WPS 2091 * Contact Andrés Solimano, room I4-051, fax 202-676-0720.

What Does Aid to Africa Finance?
Shantayanan Devarajan, Andrew Sunil Rajkumar, and Vinaya Swaroop
WPS 2092 * Contact Hedy Sladovich, room MC2-609, fax 202-522-1154.

Free Entry in Infrastructure
David Ehrhardt and Rebecca Burdon
WPS 2093 * Contact Rosario Bartolome, room Q7-176, fax 202-522-3481.

What Triggers Market Jitters? A Chronicle of the Asian Crisis
Graciela L. Kaminsky and Sergio L. Schmukler
WPS 2094 * Contact Sandra Holt, room I8-122, fax 202-522-2119.

Ten Years of Post-Socialist Transition Lessons for Policy Reform
Grzegorz W. Kolodko
WPS 2095 * Contact Jennifer Prochnow-Walker, room MC3-378, fax 202-522-1152.

Reforming the Urban Transport Sector in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region: A Case Study in Concessions
Jorge M. Rebelo
WPS 2096 * Contact Allison Turner, room I5-005, fax 202-676-9594.

The Theory of Access Pricing: An Overview for Infrastructure Regulators
Tommaso M. Valletti and Antonio Estache
WPS 2097 * Contact Grace Chenet-Smith, room G2-148, fax 202-334-8350.

Reconsidering the Evidence on Returns to T&V Extension in Kenya
Madhur Gautam and Jock R. Anderson
WPS 2098 * Contact Madhur Gautam, room G7-026, fax 202-522-3123.

Mutual Funds and Institutional Investments: What Is the Most Efficient Way to Set Up Individual Accounts in a Social Security System?
Estelle James, Gary Ferrier, James Smalhout, and Dimitri Vittas
WPS 2099 * Contact Marianne Leenaerts, room G2-030, fax 202-676-0961.

Decentralization in Regional Fiscal Systems in Russia: Trends and Links to Economic Performance
Lev Freinkman and Plamen Yossifov
WPS 2100 * Contact Zakia Nekaien-Nowrouz, room O4-150, fax 202-522-3607.

Are Wages and Productivity in Zimbabwe Affected by Human Capital Investment and International Trade?
Dorte Verner
WPS 2101 * Contact Hazel Vargas, room I8-138, fax 202-522-2119.

Self-Employment and Labor Turnover: Cross-Country Evidence
William F. Maloney
WPS 2102 * Contact Tania Gomez, room I8-102, fax 202-522-0054.

Was the Credit Channel a Key Monetary Transmission Mechanism following the Recent Financial Crisis in the Republic of Korea?
Hyun E. Kim
WPS 2103 * Contact Debbie Peterson, room MC3-844, fax 202-522-3454.

The Relative Effects of Skill Formation and Job Matching on Wage Growth in Ethiopia
Taye Mengistae
WPS 2104 * Contact Anna Regina Bonfield, room MC3-354, fax 202-522-3518.

Wage Rates and Job Queues: Does the Public Sector Overpay in Ethiopia?
Taye Mengistae
WPS 2105 * Contact Anna Regina Bonfield, room MC3-354, fax 202-522-3518.

Subjective Economic Welfare
Martin Ravallion and Michael Lokshin
WPS 2106 * Contact Patricia Sader, room MC3-632, fax 202-522-1153.

Approaches to Liberalizing Services
Sherry M. Stephenson
WPS 2107 * Contact Lili Tabada, room MC3-333, fax 202-522-1159.

Public Goods and Ethnic Divisions
Alberto Alesina, Reza Baquir, and William Easterly
WPS 2108 * Contact Kari Labrie, room MC3-456, fax 202-522-1155.

When Is Fiscal Adjustment an Illusion?
William Easterly
WPS 2109 * Contact Kari Labrie, room MC3-456, fax 202-522-1155.

Life during Growth: International Evidence on Quality of Life and Per Capita Income
William Easterly
WPS 2110 * Contact Kari Labrie, room MC3-456, fax 202-522-1155.

Agricultural Land Reform in Postwar Japan: Experiences and Issues
Toshihiko Kawagoe
WPS 2111 * Contact Pauline Kokila, room MC3-544, fax 202-522-1151.

Industrial Policy after the East Asian Crisis: From "Outward Orientation" to New Internal Capabilitie?
Ashoka Mody
WPS 2112 * Contact Sydnella Kpundeh, room MC6-762, fax 202-522-2578.

Wage Determination and Gender Discrimination in a Transition Economy: The Case of Romania
Stefano Paternostro and David E. Sahn
WPS 2113 * Contact Nadege Nouviale, room J7-269, fax 202-473-4514.

Economic Reforms and Total Factor Productivity Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean (1950­95): An Empirical Note
Pablo Fajnzylber and Daniel Lederman
WPS 2114 * Contact Sandra Holt, room I8-122, fax 202-614-0235.

Foreign Investment and Productivity Growth in Czech Enterprises
Simeon Djankov and Bernard Hoekman
WPS 2115 * Contact Rose Vo, room MC9-624, fax 202-522-2031.

Does Child Labor Displace Schooling? Evidence on Behavioral Responses to an Enrollment Subsidy
Martin Ravallion and Quentin Wodon
WPS 2116 * Contact Patricia Sader, room MC3-632, fax 202-522-1153.

On the Size and Number of Regional Integration Arrangements: A Political Economy Model
Soamiely Andriamananjara
WPS 2117 * Contact Lili Tabada, room MC3-333, fax 202-522-1159.

Developing Countries and the Next Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations
Anne O. Krueger
WPS 2118 * Contact Lili Tabada, room MC3-333, fax 202-522-1159.

Tax Deductions, Environmental Policy, and the "Double Dividend" Hypothesis
Ian Parry and Antonio Bento
WPS 2119 * Contact Roula Yazigi, room MC2-533, fax 202-522-3230.

Can Africa Export Manufactures? The Role of Endowment, Exchange Rates, and Transaction Costs
Ibrahim A. Elbadawi
WPS 2120 * Contact Hedy Sladovich, room MC2-609, fax 202-522-1154.

Fiscal Management in Federal Democracies: Argentina and Brazil
William Dillinger and Steven B. Webb
WPS 2121 * Contact Steven Webb, room I8-137, fax 202-522-2119.

Decentralization and Fiscal Management in Colombia
William Dillinger and Steven B. Webb
WPS 2122 * Contact Steven Webb, room I8-137, fax 202-522-2119.

Access to Land in Rural India
Robin Mearns
WPS 2123 * Contact Geraldine Burnett, room MC10-156, fax 202-522-2420.

Electronic Information and Data

Agricultural productivity, access to rural credit, and thus investment, efficiency, equity, and poverty—all are strongly influenced by a country's policies on land use, tenure, and titling. To support efforts to improve land policy and its implementation, the World Bank has created a Website to provide tools and information and encourage collaboration among policymakers, researchers, and practitioners.

The Land Policy Network, at www.worldbank.org/landpolicy, provides information about land policy in developing countries and a bibliography of papers on the topic, many of which can be downloaded. As the Website develops, it will disseminate materials from conferences and workshops and provide practical tools, including data sets and training curricula. Early on most of this material will come from the World Bank, but as the network develops, much will come from other participants. The network will support the collaborative development of databases containing, for example, sample land title laws.

Among the tools already on the site is a set of questionnaires used to collect information on land use in China. The household questionnaire (administered in 1988 and 1993) includes questions on household characteristics, farm inputs and assets, and crop output, consumption, and marketing. Two village questionnaires (one administered in 1993 and a supplementary one used in 1997) cover such areas as basic economic and demographic statistics, and land distribution, tenure, and management. The site explains how to obtain the data collected with these surveys.