[PDF] Investment Climate Reforms And Job Creation In Developing Countries eBook

Author : Aminur U. Rahman
Publisher :
Page : 41 pages
File Size : 28,98 MB
Release : 2014
Category : Business enterprises
ISBN :

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This paper reviews the literature on the role of the investment climate reforms in job creation. It finds that the current landscape of employment and private sector activity in developing countries indicates a number of potential channels through which investment climate reforms can positively affect job creation. However, rigorous empirical evidence is scarce and most of the relevant studies focus on business entry reforms with a few focusing on business taxation and investment promotion activities. Overall, there is evidence of job creation through business entry, tax reforms, and investment promotion activity in developing countries. Almost all of these evidences are from quasi-experimental studies that are significant improvements over conventional cross-country or cross-section panel data analysis. Still, various endogeneity concerns in these studies cannot be ruled out completely. In assessing job effects, future research should provide deeper insights on the gross versus net and short-run versus long-run job effects and general equilibrium effects of various investment climate reforms related to jobs, productivity, competition, and other developmental outcomes. Another critical agenda for future research is to shed light on which investment climate reforms matter most for spurring the employment and productivity growth of firms in developing countries. The World Bank Group, in partnership with development partners and client government countries, can play a significant role in bridging the current knowledge gap by integrating rigorous evaluation as an integral part of project design and implementation, and improving data quality, particularly through its information and communication technologies-led private sector development reform initiatives.

Author : Aminur Rahman
Publisher :
Page : 41 pages
File Size : 31,21 MB
Release : 2017
Category :
ISBN :

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This paper reviews the literature on the role of the investment climate reforms in job creation. It finds that the current landscape of employment and private sector activity in developing countries indicates a number of potential channels through which investment climate reforms can positively affect job creation. However, rigorous empirical evidence is scarce and most of the relevant studies focus on business entry reforms with a few focusing on business taxation and investment promotion activities. Overall, there is evidence of job creation through business entry, tax reforms, and investment promotion activity in developing countries. Almost all of these evidences are from quasi-experimental studies that are significant improvements over conventional cross-country or cross-section panel data analysis. Still, various endogeneity concerns in these studies cannot be ruled out completely. In assessing job effects, future research should provide deeper insights on the gross versus net and short-run versus long-run job effects and general equilibrium effects of various investment climate reforms related to jobs, productivity, competition, and other developmental outcomes. Another critical agenda for future research is to shed light on which investment climate reforms matter most for spurring the employment and productivity growth of firms in developing countries. The World Bank Group, in partnership with development partners and client government countries, can play a significant role in bridging the current knowledge gap by integrating rigorous evaluation as an integral part of project design and implementation, and improving data quality, particularly through its information and communication technologies-led private sector development reform initiatives.

Author : Sunita Kikeri
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 125 pages
File Size : 21,65 MB
Release : 2006-01-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0821368389

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This paper analyzes the administrative, political and technical challenges involved in passing and implementing investment climate reforms in developing countries. Drawing on more than 25 case studies, the authors emphasize the role of international bench-marking in triggering reform, the importance of pilot projects for policy learning and experimentation and the need to treat implementation and monitoring as an integral part of the reform process and not merely as an afterthought

Author : World Bank
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 293 pages
File Size : 17,15 MB
Release : 2004
Category : Economic development
ISBN : 0821356828

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Firms and entrepreneurs of all types-from microenterprises to multinationals-play a central role in growth and poverty reduction. Their investment decisions drive job creation, the availability and affordability of goods and services for consumers, and the tax revenues governments can draw on to fund health, education, and other services. Their contribution depends largely on the way governments shape the investment climate in each location-through the protection of property rights, regulation and taxation, strategies for providing infrastructure, interventions in finance and labor markets, and broader governance features such as corruption. The World Development Report 2005 argues that improving the investment climates of their societies should be a top priority for governments. Drawing on surveys of nearly 30,000 firms in 53 developing countries, country case studies, and other new research, the Report explores questions such as: What are the key features of a good investment climate, and how do they influence growth and poverty? What can governments do to improve their investment climates, and how can they go about tackling such a broad agenda? What has been learned about good practice in each of the main areas of the investment climate? What role might selective interventions and international arrangements play in improving the investment climate? What can the international community do to help developing countries improve the investment climates of their societies? In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Bank's new program of Investment Climate Surveys, the Bank's Doing Business Project, and World Development Indicators 2004-an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.

Author : Gabi G. Afram
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 27,96 MB
Release : 2012-04-04
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0821394665

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This book assesses dimensions of the investment climate in Nepal that shape opportunities for investments, employment, and growth of private firms. It includes data and analysis from five surveys on challenges to the investment climate, and provides policy recommendations to address these challenges.

Author : World Bank World Bank
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 253 pages
File Size : 25,16 MB
Release : 2015-11-02
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1464806292

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Private firms are at the forefront of the development process, providing more than 90 percent of jobs, supplying goods and services, and representing a significant source of tax revenues. Their ability to grow, create jobs, and reduce poverty depends critically on a well-functioning investment climate--defined as the policy, legal, and institutional arrangements underpinning the functioning of markets and the level of transaction costs and risks associated with starting, operating, and closing a business. The World Bank Group has provided extensive support to investment climate reforms. This evaluation by the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) assesses the relevance, effectiveness, and social value of World Bank Group support to investment climate reforms as it relates to concerns for inclusion and shared prosperity. IEG finds that the World Bank Group has supported a comprehensive menu of investment climate reforms and has improved investment climate in countries, as measured by number of laws enacted, streamlining of processes and time, or simple cost savings for private firms. However, the impact on investment, jobs, business formation, and growth is not straightforward. Regulatory reforms need to be designed and implemented with both economic and social costs and benefits in mind; IEG found that, in practice, World Bank Group support focuses predominantly on reducing costs to businesses. In supporting investment climate reforms, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation use two distinct but complementary business models. Despite the fact that investment climate is the most integrated business unit in the World Bank Group, coordination is mostly informal, relying mainly on personal contacts. IEG recommends that the World Bank Group expand its range of diagnostic tools and integrate them in the areas of the business environment not yet covered by existing tools; develop an approach to identify the social effects of regulatory reforms on all groups expected to be affected by them beyond the business community; and exploit synergies by ensuring that World Bank and IFC staff improve their understanding of each other's work and business models.

Author : Sunita Kikeri
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 47,4 MB
Release : 2012
Category :
ISBN :

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Most people agree that a good investment climate is essential for growth and poverty reduction. Less clear is how to achieve it. Many reforms are complex, involving more than technical design and content. They are both political, facing opposition from organized and powerful groups-and institutionally demanding, cutting across different departments and levels of government. Reform thus requires paying as much attention to understanding the politics and institutional dimensions as to policy substance, which is the goal of this paper. Drawing from more than 25 case studies, it shows that there is no single recipe or "manual" for reform, given diverse contexts and serendipity in any reform effort. But three broad lessons emerge. The first is to recognize and seize opportunities for reform. Crisis and new governments are important catalysts, but so is the competition generated by trade integration and new benchmarking information. The second is to invest early in the politics of reform. Central to this process is using education and persuasion strategies to gain wider acceptance and neutralize opponents. Pilot programs can be valuable for demonstrating the benefits and feasibility of change. And the third is to pay greater attention to implementation and monitoring. This does not require full scale public management reforms. Reformers can draw on private sector change management techniques to revitalize public institutions responsible for implementation. Given the cross-cutting nature of reform, new oversight mechanisms may be needed to monitor and sustain reform. The paper concludes with an emerging checklist for reformers and identifies areas for future work.

Author : Anabel Gonzalez
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 77 pages
File Size : 42,66 MB
Release :
Category :
ISBN :

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"For the past three decades, economic growth, with strong contributions from the private sector, has been the main driver of poverty reduction around the world. The experience of China, Vietnam, and other high-growth countries dramatically demonstrates how integration with global markets and enhanced competitiveness can develop dynamic and resilient economies. These economies improve the earnings of the less well-off by creating more, better-paying jobs. They also converge with advanced economies by achieving productivity gains. Achieving the World Bank Group’s Twin Goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity requires unprecedented efforts by developing countries to unleash private sector-led growth and job creation. Governments and the private sector around the world are actively seeking more effective ways of boosting the volume and value of trade, enhancing the investment climate, improving competitiveness in sectors, and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship—all elements of successful growth strategies. The establishment of the Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice signals the World Bank Group’s commitment to systematically strengthen its engagement on these issues. "

Author : Mr.Benedicte Baduel
Publisher : International Monetary Fund
Page : 37 pages
File Size : 29,86 MB
Release : 2019-09-27
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1513515799

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This paper examines the extent to which firms in selected MENA countries reported being constrained by the business environment around the time of the Arab Spring and the extent to which these constraints affected their employment performance. The results suggest that small firms in MENA faced more structural constraints than similar firms in other regions. We also find that MENA firms’ weaker job creation can be explained in great part by the macroeconomic environment and structural constraints. Low GDP growth, falling external competitiveness, corruption, lack of access to finance and poor access to electricity are found to explain a significant part of the lack of employment growth in MENA firms compared to their peers.

Author : World Bank
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 423 pages
File Size : 36,93 MB
Release : 2012-10-15
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0821395769

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Jobs provide higher earnings and better benefits as countries grow, but they are also a driver of development. Poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empowering women lead to greater investments in children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do, as more productive jobs appear, and less productive ones disappear. Societies flourish as jobs bring together people from different ethnic and social backgrounds and provide alternatives to conflict. Jobs are thus more than a byproduct of economic growth. They are transformational —they are what we earn, what we do, and even who we are. High unemployment and unmet job expectations among youth are the most immediate concerns. But in many developing countries, where farming and self-employment are prevalent and safety nets are modest are best, unemployment rates can be low. In these countries, growth is seldom jobless. Most of their poor work long hours but simply cannot make ends meet. And the violation of basic rights is not uncommon. Therefore, the number of jobs is not all that matters: jobs with high development payoffs are needed. Confronted with these challenges, policy makers ask difficult questions. Should countries build their development strategies around growth, or should they focus on jobs? Can entrepreneurship be fostered, especially among the many microenterprises in developing countries, or are entrepreneurs born? Are greater investments in education and training a prerequisite for employability, or can skills be built through jobs? In times of major crises and structural shifts, should jobs, not just workers, be protected? And is there a risk that policies supporting job creation in one country will come at the expense of jobs in other countries? The World Development Report 2013: Jobs offers answers to these and other difficult questions by looking at jobs as drivers of development—not as derived labor demand—and by considering all types of jobs—not just formal wage employment. The Report provides a framework that cuts across sectors and shows that the best policy responses vary across countries, depending on their levels of development, endowments, demography, and institutions. Policy fundamentals matter in all cases, as they enable a vibrant private sector, the source of most jobs in the world. Labor policies can help as well, even if they are less critical than is often assumed. Development policies, from making smallholder farming viable to fostering functional cities to engaging in global markets, hold the key to success.