Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This report is an output of the Better Regulation for Growth Program between the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and IC, the Investment Climate Advisory Services of the World Bank Group. The reports identifies a set of minimum requirements for a well-functioning Ria light system that is tailored to the requirements of developing countries. Embracing the overall objectives and relevance of RIA, the paper explores the fundamental set of building blocks and activities required to establish and maintain a RIA light system, taking into account what it is considered as good practice. The paper argues that the following five basic criteria have to be in place for a functioning RIA system, which is referred to as "RIA light": 1) political commitment to establish and operate an effective and self sustaining RIA process; 2) a unit or group of regulatory reformers - preferably based in a central area of government - which oversees, comments and reports on the quality of regulatory proposals before decisions are made about regulation; 3) clear and consistently applied criteria and rules employed to screen regulatory proposals; 4) a transparent regulatory policy development process, which includes consultation with stakeholders; and 5) a capacity building program, involving preparation of guidelines; training of officials preparing RIA and facilitating the required cultural changes, and establishing monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems.

Administrative & Regulatory Law --- Administrative Procedures --- Advisory Services --- Corruption & anticorruption Law --- Cost-Effectiveness --- Economic Development --- Education --- Governance --- Knowledge for Development --- Law and Development --- Legislation --- National Governance --- Private Sector Development --- Public Hearings --- Public Policy --- Regulations --- Regulators --- Regulatory Agencies --- Technical Assistance

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This paper looks at the evidence on the magnitude and impacts of forest illegal acts, examines the vulnerabilities of the forest sector, and proposes a strategy for combating forest crime. Forest crime prominently includes illegal logging but acts against the law also affect other sector operations such as forest products transport, industrial processing, and trade. Almost universally, criminal exploitation of forest products and commerce prevail as large amounts are unlawfully harvested, traded against regulations in domestic markets or smuggled across borders, often with the willing participation of corrupt forest service officials and border police. Illegal activities do not stop at the forest. They travel down the line to operations related to transportation, national and international trade of forest products. A particular form of illegal forest activity, corruption, has come to the forefront of the international debate on forests and is now being openly discussed in various fora because of the increasing awareness of the immense costs associated with it. In this paper, corrupt deeds are illegal actions that:(i) engage public officials; (ii) involve public property and power; (iii) are perpetrated for private gain; (iv) are intentional acts; and (v) are surreptitious. Illegal activities are main threat to global resources. A wide variety of illegal acts, including, among others, illegal logging, illegal trade, arson and unauthorized occupation of forestlands, take place in all kinds of forests, in developing and industrialized economies. Often illegal activities are associated with corruption, involving the willing participation of government officers, usually in complicity with parties of the private sector, in schemes to abuse public property. Illegal acts generate a number of undesirable economic impacts, harm the environment and the most vulnerable sectors of society. To conclude, the improvement of the policy and legislative framework and the proper enforcement of the law may be the most important issue in the future management of forest resources worldwide.

Administrative Procedures --- Agriculture --- Audits --- Biodiversity --- Cartels --- Competition --- Credit --- Debt --- Decision Making --- Deforestation --- Degradation --- Economic Development --- Economics --- Environment --- Environmental Economics & Policies --- Environmental Impact Assessments --- Equity --- Forestry Management --- Forests --- Incentives --- Land --- Land Reform --- Law and Development --- Logging --- Natural Resources --- Political Economy --- Property Rights --- Public Hearings --- Public Sector Development --- Taxes --- Timber Industry --- Trade --- Trees --- Water Pollution --- Wildlife Resources

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This paper looks at the existing tools and approaches most commonly used in developed and developing countries to review the stock of regulations. The tools reviewed can generate benefits in the short term, but they are most effective as part of a longer-term sustained initiative. This paper has a particular focus on the challenges that arise from their use in emerging and developing countries. The objectives of this paper include: 1) explaining the rationale for the use of these tools and approaches; 2) discussing each one of them in a succinct way; 3) considering the extent to which these tools can support more systemic regulatory reforms in the medium and long terms; and 4) considering the particular challenges and opportunities regarding their use in developing and emerging economies. Section one is a brief description of the rationale and context for applying tools and approaches to review the stock of regulation. It includes a reference to benefits and preconditions to make use of these tools. It also presents a categorization of the most commonly used tools and a comparative table on the way these tools can be applied. Section two presents a description of each of the different tools and approaches available, and discusses the way they are used and their main components. It includes references to international experiences in which these tools have been integrated into the regulatory reform process. Section three presents preliminary commentary about some of the potential advantages, disadvantages, and impacts of using these tools and approaches in developing countries. Some particular cases are presented to illustrate these trends. The section also includes a short description of the sequence observed in the use of some of these tools. Moreover, this section illustrates how these tools can (or cannot) generate gains in the short term and also provide a basis for further and broader regulatory reform programs.

Administrative & Regulatory Law --- Administrative Costs --- Administrative Procedures --- Advisory Services --- Burden of Proof --- Bureaucracy --- Business Environment --- Civil Liberties --- Corruption --- E-Business --- E-Government --- Economic Development --- Information Technology --- Innovation --- Insurance --- Law and Development --- Legislation --- Legislative Process --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Market Economy --- Political Will --- Private Sector --- Private Sector Development --- Public officials --- Regulators --- Rule of Law

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This paper looks at the role and design of regulatory reform institutions in developing countries. These institutions are classified into four broad types: 1) regulatory reform units, commonly known in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries as oversight bodies for regulatory reform; 2) high-level committees for regulatory reform, established in some countries to leverage support and take decisions at a high political level; 3) advisory and/or advocacy bodies in charge of proposing improvements to the regulatory system by strengthening coordination and consultation mechanisms and by promoting the regulatory reform agenda; and 4) Ad hoc institutions for regulatory reform, established to launch regulatory reform efforts and to work on a single defined task or activity. This paper is divided into the following sections: section one briefly reviews the theoretical debate and literature about the role of institutions in facilitating higher economic growth, focusing in particular on regulatory institutions and their relevance in developing countries; section two discusses the main features of regulatory reform institutions at the center of government, namely regulatory oversight bodies, high level committees, advocacy and/ or advisory bodies and ad-hoc institutions for regulatory reform; and section three identifies the features of these institutions that are considered to be best practice. Section three also identifies and discusses lessons learned and the implications for establishing and operating such institutions in developing country contexts.

Accountability --- Administrative Procedures --- Administrative Reform --- Advisory Services --- Bureaucracy --- Business Environment --- Business Regulation --- Children and Youth --- Consensus --- Corruption --- Decision Making --- Economic Development --- Good Governance --- Governance --- Governance Indicators --- Human Resources --- Investment Climate --- Judiciary --- Local Government --- National Governance --- Political Economy --- Political Instability --- Political Will --- Private Sector Development --- Public Sector --- Regulators --- Regulatory Agencies --- Social Development --- Transparency --- Vested Interests --- Violence

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Twenty years after the end of the war, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has yet to achieve shared prosperity for its citizens and approach European living standards. The country has been at peace since the end of 1995, but its development model needs adjustment if it is to join the ranks of prosperous European economies. BiH has a disproportionately large public sector that dates back to Yugoslav times and has only been partly reformed since, and the constitutional arrangements under the Dayton and Washington Agreements had as their aim the cessation of war rather than the explicit goal of building a viable and efficient state. Financial inflows, particularly aid and remittances, have been fueling consumption-based economic growth. These inflows were important in post-war recovery, and propelled the country back to middle-income status. However, reaching high levels of income, creating prosperity and eliminating poverty will only happen if BiH shifts toward an economic model that builds on international integration, especially with the EU, BiH's most important trading partner and anchor of institutional reform. BiH needs to rebalance its development model in two fundamental ways in order to succeed. First, it needs to unleash the potential of the private sector while reducing the footprint of the very large public sector. Second, the economy needs to shift from an inward focus driven by local consumption and imports to the potential of international integration through investments and exports. To achieve this country needs more (and larger) companies, vibrant small and medium sized enterprises and a business environment that allows them to grow and expand output, employment, and exports.

Administrative Procedures --- Air Pollution --- Air Quality --- Audits --- Capital Markets --- Carbon Dioxide --- Climate Change --- Coal --- Credit --- Debt --- Debt Markets --- Decision Making --- Deforestation --- Demographics --- Developed Countries --- Drinking Water --- Economic Development --- Economic Growth --- Emissions --- Energy Consumption --- Energy Efficiency --- Environment --- Environmental Economics & Policies --- Equity --- Expenditures --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Fossil Fuels --- Health Monitoring & Evaluation --- Health, Nutrition and Population --- Incentives --- Labor Costs --- Land --- Logging --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Natural Resources --- Political Economy --- Population Growth --- Property Rights --- Purchasing Power --- Risk Management --- Securities --- Tariffs --- Taxes --- Trade --- Unemployment --- Wages