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This report aims to deepen the understanding of barriers to and incentives for the acceptance and use of electronic payments, from the perspective of micro, small and medium retailers (merchants). Developing and accelerating acceptance of electronic payments by these merchants is essential to expanding financial access. A basic transaction account for payments and deposits is considered an entry point to the formal financial system, and can act as a gateway for individuals to adopt other relevant financial services they need to smooth their consumption and manage income shocks. However, equipping individuals with only basic transaction accounts is not sufficient. The use case for payment services becomes increasingly effective as individuals gradually move to a cashless economy, where electronic payments are widely accepted for regular and frequent purchases. The report highlights important dimensions to consider in the efforts to expand electronic payments for merchants.

The relationship between bank competition, firm access to finance, and economic growth is a much debated topic in the economic literature and in policy circles. This paper uses a panel of 23 manufacturing sectors over 2002-10 to investigate the impact of bank competition on industry growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council economies. The results show that greater competition allows financially dependent firms to grow faster. In addition, the results show that lower restrictions on banks’ permissible activities, better credit information, and greater institutional effectiveness mitigate the damaging impact of low competition. These results are robust to a variety of checks. The findings suggest that improving bank competition should be an important aspect of the financial sector development agenda in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

This paper investigates the effect of access to finance on job growth in 50,000 firms across 70 developing countries. Using the introduction of credit bureaus as an exogenous shock to the supply of credit, the paper finds that increased access to finance results in higher employment growth, especially among micro, small, and medium enterprises. The results are robust to using firm fixed effects, industry measures of external finance dependence, and propensity score matching in a complementary panel data set of more than four million firms in 29 developing countries. The findings have implications for policy interventions targeted to produce job growth in micro, small, and medium enterprises.

In 2015, Indonesia stands as an increasingly divided country, unequal in many ways. There is a growing income divide between the richest 10 percent and the rest of the population, and this gap is driven by many other types of inequality in Indonesia.People are divided into haves and have-nots from before birth. Some children are born healthy and grow up well in their early years; many do not. Some children go to school and receive a quality education; many do not. In today’s modern and dynamic economy; most do not and are trapped in low-productivity and low-wage jobs. Some families have access to formal safety nets that can protect them from the many shocks that occur in life; many do not. And a fortunate few Indonesians have access to financial and physical assets (such as land and property) that increase their wealth over time. This wealth is passed down from generation to generation, both in the form of money and physical assets, and through greater access to better health and education. As a result, inequalities are being compounded and deepened over time. This report asks why inequality is increasing, why it matters, and what can be done. The first section examines the trend in inequality, which is already relatively high in Indonesia and rising more rapidly than in many neighboring countries. The second section seeks to understand what is driving rising inequality in Indonesia. The final section looks at what can be done to prevent the country from becoming even more divided. This section suggests ways to avoid an Indonesia in which relatively few people are healthy, happy and prosperous, and many more can only aspire to a better life but are unable to attain it.

Studies on the link between financial development and poverty have been inconclusive. Some claim that deeper financial sectors should improve the allocation of capital by allowing entrepreneurs greater access to finance, which should particularly favor the poor. Others argue that improvements in the financial system primarily benefit the rich and politically connected. The literature has also been ambiguous about the channels through which finance may be associated with lower poverty (deposits versus credit). Looking at a sample of 37 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1992 through 2006, the paper suggests that financial deepening is associated with lower poverty through different channels depending on the strength of property rights. In the absence of well-defined and enforced property rights, wider access to saving and risk-sharing instruments is accompanied by a reduction in poverty. Only once property rights grow stronger is credit associated with lower poverty.

Mali is a vast, land-locked country in West Africa with a population of approximately 14.9 million, and a GDP per capita of USD480. The economy is largely rural, with over two-thirds of the population living off agriculture, notably cotton. Gold is the country’s largest export, though production has been declining and the industry faces an uncertain future as proven reserves are limited. The service sector, which represents 40 percent of GDP, is dominated by trade and commerce. Mali’s dependence on crops and gold makes it vulnerable to terms of trade shocks. Industry, which employs just 3 percent of the active population, consists largely of small-scale food processing and textile plants. The overwhelming majority of the population (over 90 percent) works in the informal sector. The FSAP Development Module focused on: i) the banking sector and legal framework (credit to the economy); ii) microfinance; iii) agricultural finance; iv) insurance; and v) housing finance2. The mission carried out in-depth assessments on each topic and provided recommendations aiming at mitigating financial vulnerabilities and supporting the development of the financial sector (i.e. development the credit to the economy while insuring financial stability).

Using a new and representative data set of Chinese household finance, this paper documents household access to and costs of finance, along with their correlates. As in most developing countries, informal finance is a crucial element of household finance, and wealth tends to be associated with better access to formal and informal finance. Better financial knowledge shifts loan portfolios toward formal sources relative to informal ones. Connections to the Communist Party are associated with significantly better access to finance in rural areas but not in urban areas. A larger social network is positively associated with access to informal finance. Controlling for household characteristics, rural residents pay interest rates on loans similar to urban residents. Younger residents pay higher rates, while households on firmer economic footing face lower rates. Taking financial classes and college education is associated with higher interest rates for urban residents, suggesting perhaps that financial knowledge coincides with greater demand for credit in areas with more economic opportunity. Overall, the findings suggest that Chinese residents face dual credit markets, with the poor, young, those with poor financial knowledge, and those with larger family sizes relying much more on informal finance, while others are better able to access formal finance.

Growing research and policy interest focuses on the misallocation of output and factors of production in developing economies. This paper considers the possible misallocation of financial loans. Using plant-level data on the organized and unorganized sectors, the paper describes the temporal, geographic, and industry distributions of financial loans. The focus of the analysis is the hypothesis that land misallocation might be an important determinant of financial misallocation (for example, because of the role of land as collateral against loans). Using district-industry variations, the analysis finds evidence to support this hypothesis, although it does not find a total reduction in the intensity of financial loans or those being given to new entrants. The analysis also considers differences by gender of business owners and workers in firms. Although potential early gaps for businesses with substantial female employment have disappeared in the organized sector, a sizeable and persistent gap remains in the unorganized sector.

Five years into Haiti’s reconstruction following the devastating earthquake of 2010, the country is experiencing an economic and a political transition. Although many challenges brought by the earthquake remain to be fully addressed, Haiti’s focus has shifted from reconstruction to longer term development and to securing a more prosperous future for its people. This World Bank Group (WBG) Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for FY2016-2019 proposes to support Haiti’s efforts to reduce poverty and boost shared prosperity, in line with the priorities of the Government of Haiti. This CPF follows two Interim Strategy Notes (ISNs), which framed the WBG’s significant post-earthquake response over the FY2012-2015 period, financed by an exceptional allocation from the IDA 16 Crisis Response Window (US$500M equivalent). Over this period a substantially expanded WBG program supported reconstruction. However, the program was also designed to continue to help the country address its long term development challenges and capitalize on new opportunities as Haiti gradually transitioned out of the reconstruction phase. Today, a CPF aimed at long-term objectives is appropriate.

Several studies explore the differences in men’s and women’s labor market participation rates and wages. Some of these differences have been linked to gender disparities in education attainment and access. The present paper contributes to this literature by analyzing the relationship between the proclivity of a firm to have a female top manager and access to education among women relative to men in the country. The paper combines the literature on women’s careers in management, which has mostly focused on developed countries, with the development literature that has emphasized the importance of access to education. Using firm-level data for 73 developing countries, the analysis finds strong evidence that countries with a higher proportion of female top managers also have higher enrollment rates for women relative to men in primary, secondary, and tertiary education.

This report is a synthesis of fieldwork findings and recommendations developed since October 2012 under this Technical Assistance (TA) carried out by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP). The recommendations have been developed through on-going consultations and meetings with the Directorate of Environmental Sanitation and Directorate General of Human Settlements, Ministry of Health, and Government of Indonesia. This report describes and assesses the performance of technical assistance TA-P143167, ‘rural sanitation market expansion of domestic private sector in Indonesia,’ provided by the World Bank through the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) carried out from October 2, 2012 to March 31, 2015 to support the development of a rural sanitation market in Indonesia. This technical assistance (TA) was implemented as parts of a larger effort to assist the Government of Indonesia achieve at-scale results in rural sanitation through its National Strategy for Community-Based Total Sanitation (Sanitasi Total Berbasis Masyarakat - STBM).

The Global Financial Inclusion (Global Findex) database, launched by the World Bank in 2011, provides comparable indicators showing how people around the world save, borrow, make payments, and manage risk. The 2014 edition of the database reveals that 62 percent of adults worldwide have an account at a bank or another type of financial institution or with a mobile money provider. Between 2011 and 2014, 700 million adults became account holders while the number of those without an account—the unbanked—dropped by 20 percent to 2 billion. What drove this increase in account ownership? A growth in account penetration of 13 percentage points in developing economies and innovations in technology—particularly mobile money, which is helping to rapidly expand access to financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa. Along with these gains, the data also show that big opportunities remain to increase financial inclusion, especially among women and poor people. Governments and the private sector can play a pivotal role by shifting the payment of wages and government transfers from cash into accounts. There are also large opportunities to spur greater use of accounts, allowing those who already have one to benefit more fully from financial inclusion. In developing economies 1.3 billion adults with an account pay utility bills in cash, and more than half a billion pay school fees in cash. Digitizing payments like these would enable account holders to make the payments in a way that is easier, more affordable, and more secure.

Financial infrastructure is the underlying foundation of a country’s financial system. It is comprised of all institutions, information, technologies, rules, and standards which enable financial intermediation. The quality of a country’s financial infrastructure determines the efficiency of intermediation, the ability of lenders to evaluate risk and of borrowers to obtain credit, insurance, and other financial products at competitive terms. This report covers two dimensions of Jamaica’s financial infrastructure: 1) payments, remittances, and securities settlement systems, and; 2) credit reporting systems. This technical note does not provide a detailed assessment of individual payments system in the form of a Report on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC), but uses the framework of international standards for carrying out a detailed analysis of the existing systems in Jamaica, including the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) and International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Principles for Financial Markets Infrastructure (PFMIs), the CPSS General Guidance for National Payment System Development, the CPSS-World Bank General Principles on International Remittance Services (GPs), the World Bank General Principles for credit reporting and related methodologies. The information used in the assessment includes relevant national laws, regulations, rules and procedures governing the systems and other available material.

The Country Opinion Survey in Guinea-Bissau assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Guinea-Bissau 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 Guinea-Bissau on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Guinea-Bissau; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Guinea-Bissau; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Guinea-Bissau; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Guinea-Bissau.

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

The Country Opinion Survey in Bosnia and Herzegovina assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Bosnia and Herzegovina 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 Bosnia and Herzegovina on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Bosnia and Herzegovina; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Country Opinion Survey in Zimbabwe assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Zimbabwe 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 Zimbabwe on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Zimbabwe; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Zimbabwe; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Zimbabwe; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Zimbabwe.

The Country Opinion Survey in Mozambique assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Mozambique 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 Mozambique on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Mozambique; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Mozambique; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Mozambique; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Mozambique.

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

The Country Opinion Survey in Myanmar assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Myanmar 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 Myanmar on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Myanmar; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Myanmar; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Myanmar; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Myanmar.

The Country Opinion Survey in Uruguay assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Uruguay 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 Uruguay on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Uruguay; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Uruguay; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Uruguay; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Uruguay.

The Country Opinion Survey in Russia assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Russia 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 Russia on: 1) their views regarding the general environment in Russia; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Russia; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Russia; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Russia.

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

The Country Opinion Survey in Timor-Leste assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Timor-Leste 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 Timor-Leste on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Timor-Leste; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Timor-Leste; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Timor-Leste; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Timor-Leste.

The Country Opinion Survey in Mongolia assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Mongolia 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 Mongolia on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Mongolia; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Mongolia; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Mongolia; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Mongolia.

The Country Opinion Survey in Mexico assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Mexico 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 Mexico on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Mexico; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Mexico; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Mexico; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Mexico.

The Country Opinion Survey in Albania assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Albania 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 Albania on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Albania; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Albania; 3) overall impressions of the WBGs effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Albania; and 4) their perceptions of the WBGs future role in Albania.

The Country Opinion Survey in Swaziland assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Swaziland 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 Swaziland on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Swaziland; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Swaziland; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Swaziland; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Swaziland.

The Country Opinion Survey in Haiti assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Haiti 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 Haiti on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Haiti; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Haiti; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Haiti; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Haiti.

The Country Opinion Survey in Tanzania assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Tanzania 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 Tanzania on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Tanzania; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Tanzania; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Tanzania; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Tanzania.

The Country Opinion Survey in Costa Rica assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Costa Rica 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 Costa Rica on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Costa Rica; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Costa Rica; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Costa Rica; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Costa Rica.

The Country Opinion Survey in El Salvador assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in El Salvador 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 El Salvador on 1) their views regarding the general environment in El Salvador; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in El Salvador; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in El Salvador; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in El Salvador.

The Country Opinion Survey in Papua New Guinea assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Papua New Guinea 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 Papua New Guinea on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Papua New Guinea; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Papua New Guinea; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Papua New Guinea; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Papua New Guinea.

The Country Opinion Survey in Turkey assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Turkey 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 Turkey on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Turkey; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Turkey; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Turkey; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Turkey.

The Country Opinion Survey in Uganda assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Uganda 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 Uganda on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Uganda; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Uganda; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Uganda; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Uganda.

The Country Opinion Survey in Yemen assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Yemen 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 Yemen on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Yemen; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Yemen; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Yemen; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Yemen.

The Country Opinion Survey in Kazakhstan assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Kazakhstan 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 Kazakhstan on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Kazakhstan; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Kazakhstan; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Kazakhstan; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Kazakhstan.

The Country Opinion Survey in Peru assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Peru 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 Peru on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Peru; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Peru; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Peru; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Peru.

The Country Opinion Survey in Togo assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Togo 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 Togo on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Togo; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Togo; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Togo; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Togo.

The Country Opinion Survey in Côte d’Ivoire assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Côte d’Ivoire 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 Côte d’Ivoire on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Côte d’Ivoire; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Côte d’Ivoire; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Côte d’Ivoire; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Côte d’Ivoire.

The Country Opinion Survey in Gabon assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Gabon 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 Gabon on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Gabon; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Gabon; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Gabon; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Gabon.

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

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

The Country Opinion Survey in Ukraine assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Ukraine 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 Ukraine on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Ukraine; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Ukraine; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Ukraine; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Ukraine.

The Country Opinion Survey in OECS assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in OECS 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 OECS on 1) their views regarding the general environment in OECS; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in OECS; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in OECS; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in OECS.

The lord’s resistance army (LRA) has inflicted enormous suffering on millions of civilians in several countries of the Great Lakes and Central African regions since it began operating in the 1990s in Northern Uganda. In March 2008, after months of intensive efforts by regional and international stakeholders to bring the conflict to an end, representatives of the Government of Uganda and the LRA finalized the final peace agreement. The military operations have significantly reduced the strength and operational capacity of the LRA over the past three years. Despite the relative success of the joint military operations, the group continues to pose a serious security threat to civilians due to the limited capacity of the national security forces in the affected countries. The LRA’s indiscriminate attacks on civilians constitute serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws and have caused a serious humanitarian crisis in the affected countries. The main purpose of this paper is to outline the context and rationale for interventions in LRA affected areas, to briefly describe the pilot with its regional dimension, and to present lessons learned as well as recommendations for strengthening design and implementation of support to socio-economic associations in LRA affected areas.

Until recently rigorous impact evaluations have been rare in the area of finance and private sector development. One reason for this is the perception that many policies and projects in this area lend themselves less to formal evaluations. However, a vanguard of new impact evaluations on areas as diverse as fostering microenterprise growth, microfinance, rainfall insurance, and regulatory reform demonstrates that in many circumstances serious evaluation is possible. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize and distill the policy and implementation lessons emerging from these studies, use them to demonstrate the feasibility of impact evaluations in a broader array of topics, and thereby help prompt new impact evaluations for projects going forward. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.

This article reviews the evidence on the importance of finance for economic well-being. It provides data on the use of basic financial services by households and firms across a sample of countries, assesses the desirability of universal access, and provides an overview of the macroeconomic, legal, and regulatory obstacles to access. Despite the benefits of finance, the data show that use of financial services is far from universal in many countries, especially developing countries. Universal access to financial services has not been a public policy objective in most countries and would likely be difficult to achieve. Countries can, however, facilitate access to financial services by strengthening institutional infrastructure, liberalizing markets and facilitating greater competition, and encouraging innovative use of know-how and technology. Government interventions to directly broaden access to finance, however, are costly and fraught with risks, among others the risk of missing the targeted groups. The article concludes with recommendations for global actions aimed at improving data on access and use and suggestions on areas of further analysis to identify constraints to broadening access.