Suchergebnisse

In March 2016, elite groups of Natuna and the neighbouring oil-and-gas district Anambas aspired to separate from Kepri to create their own province. Their aim was to secure more fiscal transfers from Jakarta. Among these people was Natuna's former district-head Daeng Rusnadi, who was once imprisoned for corruption concerning oil-and-gas revenues. The plan was supported by Natuna's current district-head Hamid Rizal, whose deputy is Rusnadi's wife. In January 2017, the discourse was adopted by local parliamentarians, who subsequently tried to exploit Jakarta's security interest to push for a "special defence province". Unsurprisingly, Kepri's governor Nurdin Basirun did not support the separation as Kepri would then lose its only oil-and-gas districts. Eventually this spark of separation was doused by the recent gerbangdutas' pledge of funds and the moratorium on the creation of new provinces. On the surface, Jakarta's development funds for Natuna seem to be what the region needs. However, further dependency on the central government's resources may not be helpful in boosting the local economy in the long run. By focusing on the dependence of regions to central government transfers, this article aims to highlight the causes of Natuna's lack of income despite its natural wealth.

China's rising economic and political clout has created both opportunities and challenges for Southeast Asian countries. China's economic cooperation with Southeast Asian countries is multidimensional and multi-layered involving business collaboration, trade and investment, and financial assistance (grants and concessional loans), which are "fused indistinguishably".2 Although the Chinese have claimed that their financial assistance has no strings attached, there is a close link between economic ties and political influence. Some regional analysts argue that "China's rise exerts a profound and complex impact on the political, security and economic contexts of Southeast Asia".3 A Cambodia expert, Sophal Ear, puts it this way, "Taking the geopolitical interests of China in Southeast Asia into account, Chinese investment does not come free; political and economic strings tie those who benefit to the influence of China."

Last week, on October 4th, the budget of the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) for 2017 was changed.1 It should be noted that earlier on June 30th, state budget revenues increased by 511 million manat, and expenditures by 1 billion 41 million manat, as amended by the law "On the State Budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2017".2 Changes in the budget of the Oil Fund did not cause wide public debate. We suppose that the changes in the document reflect important symptoms for the analysis and forecasting of the government's current fiscal policy.

This report provides an assessment of the evidence for sugar taxes as a fiscal instrument to improve health. Forty-seven peer-reviewed studies and working papers published in the last five years were reviewed, summarised and assessed for key methodological issues. Experience with sugar taxes is complicated by inconsistencies in their design and context. Most sugar taxes apply to sugar-sweetened beverages, but some also include pure fruit juices or other foods with high sugar content. Some are valoric taxes while others are volumetric. Some taxes were implemented alongside other measures to improve diets or increase awareness of the danger of excess sugar consumption. Sugar taxes are also implemented in some jurisdictions as a means to raise additional tax revenue, with no particular expectation that any reduction in intake will translate into health benefits but sometimes with revenues being earmarked for health programmes.

Sustainable and inclusive growth in emerging Asian economies requires continued high levels of public sector investment in areas such as infrastructure, education, health, and social services. These responsibilities, especially with regard to infrastructure investment, need to be devolved increasingly to the regional government level. However, growth of sources of revenue and financing for local governments has not necessarily kept pace, forcing them, in some cases, to rely on unorthodox funding measures such as shadow banking, or else cutting spending below needed levels. Even if adequate funding is available, there need to be safeguards to ensure that debt levels are sustainable.

The Thailand Development Research Institute Foundation was established in 1984 to conduct policy research and disseminate results to the public and private sectors. TDRI was conceived, created and registered as a non-profit, non-governmental foundation, and is recognized as such by the Royal Thai Government. The Institute does technical and policy analyses to support the formulation of policies with long-term implications for sustaining social and economic development. This review contains to articles: Economic impact of high household debt in Thailand and Government Advertising and Media Intervention.

The Country Opinion Survey in Senegal assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Senegal perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Senegal on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Senegal; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Senegal; 3) overall impressions of the WBG's effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Senegal; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG's future role in Senegal.

For many developing countries, natural resource exports such as oil, diamonds and copper continue to be important drivers for economic growth and provide a unique opportunity for generating revenues for much-needed infrastructure and human development. Dependence on extractive resources, however, may also increase the likelihood of underdevelopment, fragility and conflict. The challenges for managing these resources efficiently are likely to expand, as a growing number of developing countries and fragile states emerge as oil and mineral producers. Thus, there is a need to gain a better understanding of the factors that may help prevent violent conflict in resource rich countries. This paper proposes that one way of gaining such understanding and insight is to "conflict-sensitize" the Extractive Industries Value Chain (EIVC), and use it as a framework for conflict prevention in resource-rich countries. In this context, the report's main objective is to examine the potential opportunities for conflict prevention along the extractive industries value chain. Such a body of knowledge can help the World Bank, the UN and EU, as well as client countries and other partners, in their planning and coordination of complementary activities when implementing their programmes and projects, particularly when working in the same resource-rich countries. This paper aims to demonstrate the feasibility and challenges faced by adopting a conflict-sensitive approach within the World Bank's EI Value Chain. The methodology used was a combined desk review and in-depth interviews with regional and country specialists, especially in governance/conflict prevention and extractive industries (Annex 1). The emphasis is on qualitative analysis. The four countries that were desk reviewed for the project, including Chile, Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Zambia, are all copper producers and were selected due to their heavy dependence on revenues from mining. This book is arranged as follows: (i) part one explains extractives, conflict prevention and the value chain; (ii) part two is about the EI value chain as framework for conflict prevention; (iii) part three talks about emerging themes and recommendation; and (iv) part four describes the four country examples and the emerging lessons.

The country profile for Sudan is based on data from the enterprise surveys conducted by the World Bank in 2014. The Enterprise Surveys focus on the many factors that shape the business environment. These factors can be accommodating or constraining for firms and play an important role in whether a country will prosper or not. An accommodating business environment is one that encourages firms to operate efficiently. Such conditions strengthen incentives for firms to innovate and to increase productivity, key factors for sustainable development. A more productive private sector, in turn, expands employment and contributes taxes necessary for public investment in health, education, and other services. In contrast, a poor business environment increases the obstacles to conducting business activities and decreases a country's prospects for reaching its potential in terms of employment, production, and welfare. The Enterprise Surveys are conducted by the World Bank and its partners across all geographic regions and cover small, medium, and large companies. The surveys are administered to a representative sample of firms in the non-agricultural formal private economy. The sample is consistently defined in all countries and includes the entire manufacturing sector, the services sector, and the transportation and construction sectors. Public utilities, government services, health care, and financial services sectors are not included in the sample. The Enterprise Surveys collect a wide array of qualitative and quantitative information through face to face interviews with firm managers and owners regarding the business environment in their countries and the productivity of their firms. The topics covered in Enterprise Surveys include infrastructure, trade, finance, regulations, taxes and business licensing, corruption, crime and informality, finance, innovation, labor, and perceptions about obstacles to doing business. The qualitative and quantitative data collected through the surveys connect a country's business environment characteristics with firm productivity and performance. The Enterprise Survey is useful for both policymakers and researchers. The surveys are repeated over time to track changes and benchmark the effects of reforms on firms' performance.

The country profile for Mauritania is based on data from the enterprise surveys conducted by the World Bank in 2014. The Enterprise Surveys focus on the many factors that shape the business environment. These factors can be accommodating or constraining for firms and play an important role in whether a country will prosper or not. An accommodating business environment is one that encourages firms to operate efficiently. Such conditions strengthen incentives for firms to innovate and to increase productivity, key factors for sustainable development. A more productive private sector, in turn, expands employment and contributes taxes necessary for public investment in health, education, and other services. In contrast, a poor business environment increases the obstacles to conducting business activities and decreases a country's prospects for reaching its potential in terms of employment, production, and welfare. The Enterprise Surveys are conducted by the World Bank and its partners across all geographic regions and cover small, medium, and large companies. The surveys are administered to a representative sample of firms in the non-agricultural formal private economy. The sample is consistently defined in all countries and includes the entire manufacturing sector, the services sector, and the transportation and construction sectors. Public utilities, government services, health care, and financial services sectors are not included in the sample. The Enterprise Surveys collect a wide array of qualitative and quantitative information through face to face interviews with firm managers and owners regarding the business environment in their countries and the productivity of their firms. The topics covered in Enterprise Surveys include infrastructure, trade, finance, regulations, taxes and business licensing, corruption, crime and informality, finance, innovation, labor, and perceptions about obstacles to doing business. The qualitative and quantitative data collected through the surveys connect a country's business environment characteristics with firm productivity and performance. The Enterprise Survey is useful for both policymakers and researchers. The surveys are repeated over time to track changes and benchmark the effects of reforms on firms' performance.

The country profile for Burundi is based on data from the enterprise surveys conducted by the World Bank in 2014. The Enterprise Surveys focus on the many factors that shape the business environment. These factors can be accommodating or constraining for firms and play an important role in whether a country will prosper or not. An accommodating business environment is one that encourages firms to operate efficiently. Such conditions strengthen incentives for firms to innovate and to increase productivity, key factors for sustainable development. A more productive private sector, in turn, expands employment and contributes taxes necessary for public investment in health, education, and other services. In contrast, a poor business environment increases the obstacles to conducting business activities and decreases a country's prospects for reaching its potential in terms of employment, production, and welfare. The Enterprise Surveys are conducted by the World Bank and its partners across all geographic regions and cover small, medium, and large companies. The surveys are administered to a representative sample of firms in the non-agricultural formal private economy. The sample is consistently defined in all countries and includes the entire manufacturing sector, the services sector, and the transportation and construction sectors. Public utilities, government services, health care, and financial services sectors are not included in the sample. The Enterprise Surveys collect a wide array of qualitative and quantitative information through face to face interviews with firm managers and owners regarding the business environment in their countries and the productivity of their firms. The topics covered in Enterprise Surveys include infrastructure, trade, finance, regulations, taxes and business licensing, corruption, crime and informality, finance, innovation, labor, and perceptions about obstacles to doing business. The qualitative and quantitative data collected through the surveys connect a country's business environment characteristics with firm productivity and performance. The Enterprise Survey is useful for both policymakers and researchers. The surveys are repeated over time to track changes and benchmark the effects of reforms on firms' performance.