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This publication details 14 firms recognized for better corporate governance practices that had suffered less damage than average listed Latin American companies during the finanicial crisis. It offers an opportunity for business leaders in Latin America to learn from the experience of peers who have successfully implemented substantive improvements in governance standards and practices. Although the guide has been in the works for several years, the timing of its publication coincides with a global financial crisis that has catapulted corporate governance to a top spot on the global policy agenda. With gaps in governance from inadequate risk management to distorted incentives structures factoring in as contributing to the crisis, good corporate governance practices will be an important part of the response needed for Latin American economies, as well for others around the world. Within this context, there has been a remarkable growth in awareness and activity surrounding corporate governance during the last decade, as recognized by the Latin American roundtable on corporate governance. This is an ongoing initiative of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Finance Corporation/World Bank Group that has brought together policy-makers, regulators, stock exchanges, investors, companies and other stakeholders on an annual basis to promote improved policies and practices specific to the Latin American context. This practical guide is an outgrowth of these efforts, involving many steps along the way. When members of the Roundtable called for greater participation from private sector companies in the Roundtable's corporate governance improvement efforts, the companies circle was born. A first book of case studies was launched in 2005, with an expanded second edition issued in 2006. Members of the circle were keen to share experiences and believed a wider audience of Latin businesspeople will benefit from a practical guide exploring the ways and whys of their governance improvements.

Accountability --- Business Environment --- Capital Markets --- Civic Participation and Corporate Governance --- Corporate Data and Reporting --- Corporate Governance --- Corporate Governance and Corruption --- Corporate Law --- Corporations --- Data Collection --- Democracies --- Developing Countries --- Economic Development --- Equity Markets --- Financial Crisis --- Financial Institutions --- Globalization --- Good Governance --- Governance --- Interest Rates --- International Finance --- Joint Ventures --- Law and Development --- Low-Income Countries --- Managers --- Multinational & Corporate Governance --- Private Sector Development --- Privatization --- Public officials --- Public Policy --- Regulators --- Reputation --- Risk Management --- Securities --- Stock Exchanges --- Technical Assistance --- Transparency

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The purpose of this handbook is to provide policy makers with a framework to assess a tax system in its entirety, measure its various parameters and how it is administered, and defines best practices for tax policy and administration that will yield a tax system that is simple and predictable and does not create an undue burden on private enterprise. This handbook is primarily designed for policy makers and tax practitioners. The goal is to analyze the impact of income tax, the value added tax (VAT), and other local taxes that are imposed on business. This handbook does not analyze the effects of trade and labor taxes such as social security. The administration of the customs duty is unique and has been addressed extensively in the literature on customs modernization. Labor taxes primarily imposed on salaried individuals are not covered by this handbook, even though their incidence affects business. VAT has been included even though it is a tax on consumption because the administrative burden to comply with it is primarily on business.

Accounting --- Administrative & Regulatory Law --- Apartheid --- Bankruptcy --- Business Environment --- Capacity Building --- Capital Markets --- Civil War --- Collective Action --- Debt --- Democracies --- Developing Countries --- Ease of Doing Business --- Fiscal Policy --- Foreign Direct Investment --- Good Governance --- Gross Domestic Product --- Inflation --- Information Technology --- International Finance --- Investment Climate --- Job Creation --- Law and Development --- Legal System --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Political Economy --- Poll Taxes --- Private Sector Development --- Property Taxes --- Public Spending --- Rule of Law --- Savings --- Securities --- Small Businesses --- Social Capital --- Subnational Governments --- Tax Administration --- Tax Evasion --- Tax Exemptions --- Tax Law --- Tax Policy --- Taxation & Subsidies --- Technical Assistance --- Transparency --- Treaties

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This report seeks to inform the development of a framework for addressing governance reform in fragile and conflict affected environments through are view of international experiences. The report analyzes the experience both of countries that sustained a transition to peace and those that fell back into conflict. Pertinent lessons will be drawn selectively from a range of fragile and conflict affected countries, including Haiti, Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mozambique, Liberia, Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, and Angola. No specific typologies have been adopted or formed in order to assess these lessons, because typologies can be limiting and experiences can be better assessed based on the specificity of each country's context. The first section of the report sets out broadly accepted definitions of key terms such as governance, state building, and fragility. The second section reviews experiences with diverse governance dimensions and explores the objectives, opportunities, and constraints associated with each.

Access to Information --- Accountability --- Accounting --- Banking Sector --- Civil Society Organizations --- Civil War --- Colonialism --- Conflict and Development --- Consensus --- Corruption & anticorruption Law --- Crime --- Decentralization --- Decision Making --- Democracies --- Deregulation --- Discrimination --- Drinking Water --- Economic Development --- Expenditures --- Financial Management --- Financial Sector --- Fiscal Policy --- Good Governance --- Governance --- Governance Indicators --- Human Capital --- Human Rights --- Inequality --- Judiciary --- Law and Development --- Leadership --- Legal Framework --- Legal System --- Legislation --- Local Government --- Market Economy --- Nation Building --- National Governance --- Natural Resources --- Nongovernmental Organizations --- Patronage --- Policy Making --- Political Institutions --- Political Parties --- Public Investment --- Public officials --- Public Policy --- Public Sector --- Public Spending --- Rule of Law --- Sanctions --- Social Change --- Social Conflict and Violence --- Social Development --- Sovereignty --- Transparency --- Unemployment --- Vested Interests --- Violence --- Voting --- Wages --- Youth

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On August 25, 2009, the 13th Government of the Palestinian Authority (PA) presented a program entitled "Palestine: ending the occupation, establishing the state" (hereafter referred to as the program) outlining several national goals, including the achievement of 'economic independence and national prosperity'. The program accords high priority to the development of the public institutions of the PA in order to achieve the stated national goals. It acknowledges that maintaining an efficient and effective public sector that provides citizens with high quality services and value for money is a constant challenge. No amount of well-functioning institutions, will, however, lead to economic growth in the absence of access to markets, whether within the West Bank and Gaza, in Israel, or in the rest of the world. In this regard, the recent developments in easing of movement and access restrictions by the Government of Israel (GoI) represent a welcome first step. The GoI has taken steps to ease movement restrictions in the West Bank and to allow greater access to West Bank markets for Arab citizens of Israel. In the first half of 2009, the political stalemate in Gaza continued and the economy stagnated. The West Bank economy is showing signs of new growth, so that it is possible that for the first time in years, West Bank and Gaza (WB&G) may have positive per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2009.

Access to Finance --- Accountability --- Accounting --- Autonomy --- Bank Accounts --- Bidding --- Business Development --- Capital Expenditures --- Commercial Banks --- Corruption & anticorruption Law --- Credibility --- Crime --- Debt --- Economic Recovery --- Economics and Institutions --- Electricity --- Employment --- Equality --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Management --- Fiscal Policy --- Good Governance --- Gross Domestic Product --- Housing --- Human Resources --- Inflation --- Investment Climate --- Judiciary --- Land Management --- Law and Development --- Leadership --- Legal Framework --- Legal System --- Living Standards --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Market Economy --- Municipalities --- National Security --- Natural Resources --- Operating Costs --- Pension Reform --- Ports --- Poverty Reduction --- Private Investment --- Private Sector --- Productivity --- Property Rights --- Public & Municipal Finance --- Public Finance --- Public Investment --- Public Procurement --- Public Sector --- Public Spending --- Refugees --- Roads --- Rule of Law --- Social Justice --- Technical Assistance --- Telecommunications --- Terrorism --- Transparency --- Transport --- Unemployment --- Violence --- Wages --- Water Supply