Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of | World Bank

Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of - Real Estate Cadastre & Registration Project : P083126 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 22

2013-06-06T04:00:00.000Z

Main report

2013-05-22T04:00:00.000Z

The development objective of the Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) Project for Macesonia is to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the Government of Macedonia's (GoM) social safety net through: (a) the introduction of conditional cash transfers; and (b) improvements in the administration, oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of social assistance transfers. The project would contribute to the GoM ultimate objectives of alleviating current poverty and enhancing human capital, thereby reducing the inter-generational transmission of poverty over the long run. The changes for this second restructuring include: a) an extension of the original project closing date by twenty two months; b) revision of the results framework; c) reallocation of the funds; (d) addition of a new expenditure category to the disbursement table; (e) expansion of component 1.2 to cover implementation of the new CCT program on youth employment beyond the pilot and testing phase; and (f) introduction of a new activity as a sub component, for refurbishment of existing social welfare centers through minor civil works under component 2; this entails various changes to the loan agreement as described below.

Data sheet

2013-05-22T04:00:00.000Z

Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of - ECSEE APL 3 - FYR Macedonia : P082337 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 10

2013-05-16T04:00:00.000Z

The project Public Accounting Certification Training is now in the pipeline.

2013-05-10T04:00:00.000Z

The project Public Accounting Certification Training is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

Health equity and financial protection datasheet : FYR of Macedonia

2013-05-08T04:00:00.000Z

The health equity and financial protection datasheets provide a picture of equity and financial protection in the health sectors of low-and middle-income countries. Topics covered include: inequalities in health outcomes, health behavior and health care utilization; benefit incidence analysis; financial protection; and the progressivity of health care financing. The tables in this report show how health outcomes, risky behaviors and health care utilization vary across asset (wealth) quintiles and periods. The quintiles are based on an asset index constructed using principal components analysis. Benefit-Incidence Analysis (BIA) shows whether, and by how much, government health expenditure disproportionately benefits the poor. The distribution of subsidies depends on the assumptions made to allocate subsidies to households. Under the constant unit cost assumption, each unit of utilization is assumed to cost the same and is equal to total costs incurred in delivering this type of service divided by the number of units of utilization.

Macedonia - Legal and Judicial Implementation and Institutional Support Project

2013-04-15T04:00:00.000Z

Ratings for the Legal and Judicial Implementation and Institutional Support Project for Macedonia were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory; risk to development outcome was substantial; bank performance was bank performance; and borrower performance was moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned include: infrastructure activity took the lion's share of the Bank financing as well as supervision efforts. If infrastructure is seen as a precursor or the first sequence in reforming the judiciary, then a secondary or equally important reform would be to building the capacity technical, human and planning capacities of the judiciary to maintain and consolidate the achievements made to date. The national judicial training academy has made important advances in improving the overall capacity of the judges, prosecutors and supporting staff at a time of rapid change in the country's legal framework. Nevertheless, it must be said with the rapidly evolving legal framework, consolidation of this learning and the reforms will take more time than the timeframe, and is subject to reversals. Finally, measuring this project's success is extremely difficult given the Macedonian justice sector's rapid transformation during project design and implementation. It will take considerable time and resources to consolidate all of the reforms set in place during Project design and implementation. The project made positive contributions to the implementation of new court case management and bankruptcy procedures, and streamlining administrative cases, and as such, the Project's success should ultimately be measured with this in mind.

PPIAF assistance in Macedonia

2013-04-02T04:00:00.000Z

In 1991, when Macedonia peacefully attained independence from Yugoslavia, it was the least developed of Yugoslav states, producing barely 5 percent of total federal output. At the start of the 21st century, economic reforms were enacted to attract foreign investment and promote domestic businesses. Results started becoming evident: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth reached 3.1 percent by 2005, and inflation was down to 2 percent in 2007. Within this context, Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) provided technical assistance to the Government of Macedonia between 2006 and 2009 to build capacity in the infrastructure regulatory sector; facilitate private investments in mini-hydropower plants; improve the investment climate in the electricity sector; draft a public-private partnership (PPP) framework for hydropower privatization; and draft a strategy and action plan for reform in communal services. Today Macedonia has managed to maintain macroeconomic stability (partially attributed to pegging the currency to the Euro) with low inflation, yet foreign direct investment and job creation rates remain low. PPIAF assistance was thus requested in August 2005 to support the creation of a PPP framework; a review of a legal and institutional framework for water resource management, and the development of recommendations on draft concession agreements.

The project Sustainable Energy GEF Project has changed to Closed

2013-04-01T04:00:00.000Z

The project Sustainable Energy GEF Project has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The development objective of the Sustainable Energy (GEF) Project of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is to develop a sustainable market for energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) by supporting the development of an enabling framework, institutional capacity, and necessary financing mechanisms. The reallocation is necessary in order to address the current fiscal and payment challenges. The changes for this second restructuring include: (a) reallocation of US$328,000 from other budget categories in order to ensure a total of 1.0 million US dollars for the implementation of energy efficiency retrofits in the Project's phase two, and (b) increase of the Authorized Allocation from US$ 200,000 to US$ 800,000.

Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of policy-based guarantee : supporting the development agenda and strengthening access to capital markets

2013-03-25T04:00:00.000Z

The ongoing global economic turmoil is seriously impeding client countries access to capital markets, with relatively little regard for the fundamentals of the countries involved. Growing risk aversion among investors has triggered a flight-to-quality that is affecting all but the safest assets (AAA-rated). Small, open, and developing economies in Europe and Central Asia, including FYR Macedonia, are being exceptionally hurt. Despite its history of prudent macroeconomic policies and progress on structural reforms, FYR Macedonias access to capital markets has been virtually closed or available only on very unfavorable terms. Policy-Based Guarantees (PBG) help well-performing clients with a track record of macro stability and structural reforms mitigate market access risks while advancing a countrys development policy dialogue. PBGs also have the added benefit of catalyzing private capital flows by alleviating critical risks. The PBG extended by the World Bank to FYR Macedonia ensured the countrys access to markets in a virtually closed market environment and at highly competitive terms.

Macedonia - Sustainable energy financing facility : case study

2013-03-19T04:00:00.000Z

The sustainable energy project, started in 2007 in Macedonia was aimed to develop a sustainable market for energy efficiency and renewable energy by supporting the development of an enabling framework, institutional capacity, and necessary financing mechanisms. However, the project was proposed to be restructured in 2010 following an evaluation process. The proposed changes include: 1) institutional support and technical assistance; 2) financial support for energy efficiency in public buildings; and 3) sustainable energy funding facility.

Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of - Sustainable Energy GEF Project : P089656 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 08

2013-02-13T05:00:00.000Z

The project Skills Development and Innovation is now in the pipeline.

2013-01-30T05:00:00.000Z

The project Skills Development and Innovation is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

Main report

2013-01-29T05:00:00.000Z

The development objective of the Sustainable Energy Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Project for Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is to develop a sustainable market for Energy Efficiency (EE) and Renewable Energy (RE) by supporting the development of an enabling framework, institutional capacity, and necessary financing mechanisms. The closing date of the project will be extended from January 31, 2013 until March 30, 2013. The extension is necessary to complete phase two of the above-mentioned retrofit program, which is planned to finance energy efficiency retrofits for more than 20 schools and kindergartens in seven municipalities. This will be the third extension of the project.

Data sheet

2013-01-29T05:00:00.000Z

Project Information Document (Concept Stage) - Skills Development and Innovation - P128378

2013-01-29T05:00:00.000Z

The project Competitiveness DPL has changed to Closed

2013-01-26T05:00:00.000Z

The project Competitiveness DPL has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

This program document describes the programmatic Development Policy Loan (DPL) to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia) to support the government's program for improving competitiveness of the economy. The DPL will support the government's program aimed at strengthening competitiveness, which is prioritizing the development of a stronger export-oriented enterprise sector. The program will support reforms that incentivize productive investment and technology upgrading in the manufacturing, agribusiness and trade logistics sectors; and put in place enabling conditions that can progressively increase labor market flexibility and skills development. The medium-long term objective is to create better job opportunities and increase the economic growth potential. The DPL will support reforms that incentivize investment and technology upgrading in manufacturing, agribusiness and trade logistics. In parallel, the DPL policy actions will lay the groundwork to increase labor market flexibility and the development of job-relevant skills. This operation is an important element of the 2010 country partnership strategy, directly advancing the outcomes under the Competitiveness pillar. The DPL will also contribute to the inclusive growth pillar in regards to improving employability by reducing impediments to hiring and to the green growth pillar in regards to aligning the agriculture sector with European Union (EU) requirements. The operation will contribute to deepening reforms for improved competitiveness, one of the main strategic priorities in the 2012 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) regional strategy, particularly by establishing good governance for improved business climate, and making education and training systems more accountable for relevant skills.

Doing business 2013 : Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of - smarter regulations for small and medium-size enterprises : comparing business regulations for domestic firms in 185 economies

2013-01-22T05:00:00.000Z

This tenth edition of Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting eleven areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 185 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. This economy profile presents the Doing Business indicators for Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of. To allow useful comparison, it also provides data for other selected economies (comparator economies) for each indicator. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2012 (except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January - December 2011).

Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet (Concept Stage) - Skills Development and Innovation - P128378

2013-01-10T05:00:00.000Z

The project FYR Macedonia Public Expenditure PBG has changed to Active

2013-01-10T05:00:00.000Z

The project FYR Macedonia Public Expenditure PBG has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The development objective of the Public Expenditure Policy Based Guarantee (PEPBG) Program for The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia) is to improve the efficiency of public expenditures by strengthening public financial management practices; improving the efficiency of service provision in the health sector; and strengthening social protection and inclusion. This PEPBG states a guarantee in the amount of EUR155 million (US$201.5 million equivalent) in support of a commercial loan to the FYR Macedonia. The single tranche operation supports reforms to improve the efficiency of public expenditures and public financial management, to strengthen health systems, and to improve the targeting of social assistance and social inclusion. The PEPBG will help the FYR Macedonia access international financial markets to address an expected financing gap in 2013. In the current difficult financial environment, a partially-secured financing structure would facilitate FYR Macedonia's access to market funding at a longer tenor and under more favorable terms than would otherwise be possible. Beyond the current turmoil, the PEPBG will help FYR Macedonia preserve continued market access at reasonable terms, expand over the medium-term its name in the international financial market and help the domestic financial market to develop. The operation is part of the World Bank's additional crisis-related assistance to FYR Macedonia aimed at mitigating the impact of the renewed Euro zone turmoil.

Official Documents- Loan Agreement, L8214-MK (Closing Package)

2013-01-09T05:00:00.000Z

Official Documents- Supplemental Letter ref. Financial Data L8214-MK (Closing Package)

2013-01-09T05:00:00.000Z

The project Agriculture Strengthening and Accession Project has changed to Closed

2013-01-04T05:00:00.000Z

The project Agriculture Strengthening and Accession Project has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Agriculture Strengthening and Accession Project for Macedonia is to improve the delivery of the Borrower's assistance to the agriculture sector in a manner consistent with the European Union's (EU) pre-accession requirements. This restructuring paper seeks approval to drop one activity, namely the investment of equipment for the safe disposal of animal by-products under component three, and reallocate these funds (EUR 408,516) to the refurbishment of the Agency for Financial Support of Agricultural and Rural Development (AFSARD) building under component two. This restructuring paper also seeks approval to remove discrepancies between the outcome indicator and the related intermediate outcome indicator under component four, and revise a target value to a more realistic target. The latter changes are reflected in the revised results framework and a revised supplemental letter. The project is nine months from its closing date of September 30, 2011. It is foreseen that the full loan amount will be disbursed by the closing of the project. The changes concern mainly component two, three and four, and follow a request from the Ministry of Finance received by the bank on December 24, 2010. These changes will not affect the Project Development Objective (PDO).

The project Competitiveness DPL has changed to Active

2013-01-04T05:00:00.000Z

The project Competitiveness DPL has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

Macedonia - Second Trade and Transport Facilitation Project

2012-12-30T05:00:00.000Z

Ratings for the Second Trade and Transport Facilitation Project for Macedonia were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was low or negligible, the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: the Bank's due diligence on all project aspects is essential even when there is time pressure for project delivery. Reliance on representation is not an excuse. The land acquisition issue at Blace resulted in time delay but in the end did not impact the Project's outcome. However, a similar situation on a large scale project which had not been resolved and remedied very soon could have a much more negative outcome including reputational risk to the Bank. In trade facilitation, some essential investments are not costly. The impact of these investments on institutional reform, however, could be immense. The various software and IT activities are minor investments compared to the civil works. These investments, however, require disproportionate efforts from the Bank in technical and procurement support. Although it is not the case in Macedonia, the failure rate of IT investments in transport projects tends to be high. One reason for success of this Project is that Macedonian Railways (MZ) and Macedonia Customs Administration (MCA) both have a high level of IT literacy. For instance, they both have technical departments which designed the software specifications. These were client-driven processes. Consultations on road design are not always undertaken to produce a better design. In this Project, community inputs have resulted in a better designed investment for the road upgrade. The revision in the motorway design after consultation added social development features for the Project and wider stakeholders' support. Lastly, the Project's implementation arrangement has some duplication of efforts. However, the utilization of public sector staff in project implementation instead of a PIU structure resulted in much better capacity strengthening and project ownership. Under such arrangement, training for implementation staff is crucial. In the future, the Bank should agree with the Government on a package of training at the start of the Project and at Mid Term Review.

Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of - Agriculture Strengthening and Accession Project : P101216 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 10

2012-12-30T05:00:00.000Z

Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of - Municipal Services Improvement : P096481 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 10

2012-12-26T05:00:00.000Z

Економијата на југоисточна Европа се намалува во 2012 година, и се соочува со ризици во 2013 година

2012-12-18T20:31:42.000Z

Приштина, 18 декември – Комбинираниот бруто домашен производ на шесте економии од југоисточна Европа ќе се намали за 0,6 проценти во 2012 година и влегувајќи во 2013 година ќе се соочат со сериозни ризици и со очекуван раст од 1,6 проценти, се вели во новиот Редовен економски извештај на Светска банка за Југоисточна Европа објавен денес.

Редовниот економски извештај на Светска банка за југоисточна Европа (РЕИ ЈИЕ) покрива шест земји (ЈИЕ6)– Албанија, Босна и Херцеговина, Косово, Македонија, Црна Гора и Србија – и предвидува дека патот до одржливо заздравување ќе биде напорен со, во најдобар случај, слаб раст во 2013 година и со огромни ризици. Состојбата во 2013 година се влошува и од несигурното заздравување во Еврозоната, како и од високите цени на стоките – ризици од кои сите земји во ЈИЕ6 се многу ранливи. Исто така, се подвлекува ризикот од новиот шок на цените на храната што би можело да предизвика раст на сиромаштијата и да изврши притисок врз средната класа.

Во оваа несигурност, особено Србија, Албанија и Црна Гора ќе треба да опстојат во намалувањето на фискалниот дефицит и на јавниот долг, како и подобрувањето на инвестициската клима и реформирањето на пазарот на труд и јавниот сектор. Во сите земји на ЈИЕ6, долговите на јавниот сектор претставуваат особен предизвик за фискалното управување и за приватниот сектор, а тука се и незавршените агенди за структурните реформи.

Раст на БДП за ЈИЕ6 за 2012 и 2013

	*2011*	*2012 (проектиран***)	*2013 (проектиран***)
*ЈИЕ6*	*2.2*	*-0.6*	*1.6*
Албанија	3.0	0.8	1.6
Босна и Херцеговина	1.3	0.0	0.5
Косово	5.0	3.6	3.3
Македонија	2.8	0.0	1.0
Црна Гора	3.2	0.2	0.8
Србија	1.6	-2.0	2.0

ЕУ11	3.1	0.9	1.3

„Во ова ранливо опкружување, властите во Западен Балкан треба да продолжат со реформите кои ќе придонесат за долгорочен раст и нови работни места“, вели Жељко Богетиќ, главен економист и координатор за економска политика за Западен Балкан, во Светска банка и главен автор на Редовниот економски извештај за југоисточна Европа бр. 3 (РЕИ ЈИЕ), трет во серијата редовни полугодишни извештаи.„Она што е прво и најважно се интензивните реформи на политиките за да се намали јавниот долг и да се забрзаат структурните реформи, особено во управувањето со јавниот сектор, инвестициската клима и пазарот на труд“.

Во 2012 година, влошените надворешни услови, влијанието на тешката зима врз економската активност и континуираниот раст на невработеноста влијаеа на потрошувачката, инвестициите и извозот, се објаснува во Извештајот. Тој исто така нотира дека кредитното заздравување и фискалната консолидација се под закана, додека нефункционалните кредити се повторно во раст. Како резултат на тоа, во регионот и надвор од него, условите се отежнаа и предизвиците во политиките потребни за стабилизација на економиите и поттикување на растот се сѐ потешки.

Во извештајот се нагласува дека, под притисок на надворешното опкружување, поконкурентната светска економија и несоодветните приходи, властите на ЈИЕ6 бараат начини за подобрување на ефикасноста, зајакнување на инфраструктурата, реформа на пазарот на труд, привлекување странски директни инвестиции, обновување на извозната база и обезбедување финансирање. Неколку земји ја подобрија инвестициската клима и напредуваа во рангирањето на Дуинг Бизнис извештајот за 2013 година. Но, без понатамошни реформи на пазарот на труд и значителни инвестиции во инфраструктурата, особено во енергетиката, ќе биде тешко да се намали невработеноста, да се подобри конкурентноста и да се постигне робустен раст.

Една опција која ја разгледуваат владите е интензивирање на процесот на приватизација (користејќи ги искуствата од минатото, добри и лоши), како дел од „вториот бран на приватизација“ – генерален напор за олеснување на финансиските ограничувања и за подобрување на конкурентноста. Поради тоа, власите во ЈИЕ6 бараат извори на капитал не само во земјите на ОЕЦД, туку и во земјите богати со ресурси и растечки земји со средни приходи како Турција, Русија, Кина и Азербејџан. За да бидат успешни, новите приватизации треба да се потрпат на лекциите од минатото, вклучувајќи ја и фундаменталната важност на транспарентноста.

Во овој извештај се потенцира дека ако се материјализираат забрзаните реформи, надворешната поддршка од ЕУ и од светските финансиски институции, добро координирана и насочена кон регионот во целина, би можела да помогне да се олесни транзицијата кон поодржлив раст на среден рок.

Извештајот е поделен на два дела. Во првиот дел- Последни настани, прогноза и предизвици на политиките, се разгледуваат повеќе прашања како што се надворешното опкружување кое се карактеризира со рецесија во Еврозоната и нови глобални ризици, последни настани и прашања на политиките во земјите на Западен Балкан: пазар на труд, трговија и надворешен долг, фискална политика, финансиски сектор, деловно опкружување, приватизации и енергетска инфраструктура. Во вториот дел- Управување ро ранливоста од шокови на цените на храната во ЈИЕ6, се разгледува влијанието од можното зголемување на цените на храната врз земјите од регионот. Се даваат и одредени конкретни препораки за секоја земја да може подобро да се подготви за можниот нов шок на цените на храната.

Редовните економски извештаи за Југоисточна Европа можат да се најдат на страницата: www.worldbank.org/eca/seerer.

Контакти:

Вашингтон: Кристин Шредер-Кинг, +1 (202) 458-2736, kschrader@worldbank.org

Приштина: Лундрим Алиу, +381 38 224 454, laliu1@worldbank.org

Скопје: Денис Бошковки, +389 2 3117 159, dboskovski@worldbank.org

Белград: Весна Костиќ, +381 11 3023 747, vkostic@worldbank.org

Сараево: Јасмина Хаџиќ, +387 33 251 502 jhadzic@worldbank.org

Подгорица: Драгана Варезиќ, + 382 20 665 353, dvarezic@worldbank.org

Тирана: Ана Ѓокутај, + 355 4 2 280 655, agjokutaj@worldbank.org

За барања за емитување: Наталија Чишлик, (202) 458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

Statement from the World Bank related to the recent coverage regarding the World Bank budget support to FYR Macedonia

2012-12-17T08:12:38.000Z

Related to the recent press coverage regarding the World Bank budget support to FYR Macedonia, we would like to clarify the following.

Since 1993, the World Bank has worked with successive Macedonian governments inimproving the lives of people by actively supporting the country’s competitiveness reforms and other reform efforts. A big part of that support has been 14 budget support loans during the period 1995-2012, which helped the country advance its development agenda during both prosperous and crisis times.
The World Bank’s active support to country’s reform agenda over the past years contributed to important achievements reflected in its leading position in the doing business ranking (23rd in the world), its solid macroeconomic performance, and proactive FDI attraction policies, which have allowed the country to attract manufacturing FDI even during the difficult crisis times. FYR Macedonia should also be complimented for its recent proactiveness on strengthening public finance management, including proceeding with the clearance of public sector arrears, a problem that has emerged in most countries in the region due to the severe fiscal pressures brought about by the crisis in Europe. The country is getting this problem resolved and is putting in place mechanisms to prevent the arrears from occurring in the future.

The upcoming World Bank budget operations support FYR Macedonia’s continuing reforms needed to strengthen the competitiveness of its economy (including to develop high value-added manufacturing, incentivize investment and technological upgrading, as well as remove bottlenecks that hinder firm entry and firm growth in major export-oriented sectors of the economy), strengthen the robustness of public financial management and help mitigate the social impact of the renewed Eurozone turmoil. It will make a significant contribution towards securing short-term budget financing on favorable terms during the difficult period in the Eurozone markets, as well as support improved delivery of services and resumption of growth over the medium-term. Steady, recovering growth will in turn help Government in its revenue mobilization efforts and ease fiscal pressures.

Many countries in the Euro zone face difficult fiscal pressures at this time and FYR Macedonia is no exception. The country has a good track record of fiscal management and Government exhibited fiscal prudence by keeping the budget deficit in recent years at a strict target of 2.5%. This was a considerable achievement, given that Government responded with measures to minimize the 2008-09 downturn with a fiscal stimulus and a reallocation of spending toward growth-supporting capital expenditures. The current year has proven to be another very difficult one for FYR Macedonia. A 3.5% of GDP deficit is acceptable for Macedonia, especially because the country has managed its public finances well in the past years. FYR Macedonia’s public debt stands at 30.4% of GDP and total external debt (public and private) is 63% of GDP which is within acceptable limits. Compared to other Western Balkan countries, FYR Macedonia is the least indebted country, except Kosovo.

Despite relatively sound fundamentals, financing conditions for Macedonia (and other countries in the region) remain tight and have deteriorated recently. Borrowing costs have increased significantly in recent months. The Bank's current support is critical for helping Macedonia to access financing at reasonable costs, providing a significant advantage over direct borrowing from the capital market, thus helping to ease the pressure on the debt.

The World Bank remains dedicated partner of the country in its development, through joint work and dialogue with all country stakeholders.

Новиот Заем за развојни политики ја зголемува конкурентноста и ги компензира негативните ефекти од кризата во Еврозоната

2012-11-29T14:37:27.000Z

ИЗВЕСТУВАЊЕ ЗА МЕДИУМИТЕ

English

ВАШИНГТОН, 29 ноември 2012 година – Денес извршните директори на Светска банка го одобрија Првиот Програмски Заем за Конкурентни развојни политики за Македонија во износ од 50 милиони долари. Проектот ја поддржува програмата на Владата, насочена кон зајакнување на конкурентноста на стопанството преку мотивирање на продуктивните инвестиции и технолошка надградба на производството, агробизнисот и секторот за трговска логистика, како и креирање на услови за прогресивно зголемување на флексибилноста на пазарот на труд и развојот на вештини.

Меѓународната економска криза во 2009 година и тековната должничка криза во Еврозоната ја прекина зголемената економска активност во Македонија. Земјата успеа да одржи стабилна макроекономска состојба и имплементираше реформска програма со која постигна фискална консолидација и подобрувања во пазарот на труд. Досегашните реформи, исто така, доведоа до значителни подобрувања во деловното опкружување, што ја донесе земјата до 23-то место во Извештајот на Doing Business 2013. Но, лошата економска состојба во Еврозоната влијаеше негативно врз економската активност и буџетските приходи. Покрај скорешните достигнувања во политиките, економскиот раст не беше доволен за да ја намали долгорочната невработеност и сиромаштија. БДП се зголеми во периодот од 2004-2008 година, но генерално, неговиот раст беше поспор во одност на другите земји од Западен Балкан и земјите членки на Европската унија (ЕУ). Предизвикиот со кој се соочува Македонија е да ја пренесе својата економија во линија на повисок раст, преку развивање на поконкуретен и претприемнички сектор ориентиран кон извоз.

Заемот беше поткрепен со многубројни анализи преку Модуларната оценка за конкурентност, која идентификуваше нови мерки за зајакнување на трговскиот перфоманс и раст на земјата. Оценката се состои од Оценка за трговската конкурентност и Оценка за секторска конкурентност, кои обезбедија детален преглед на потенцијалот за перформанс и конкурентност во три главни извозно ориентирани сектори – производството (фокусирано на автомобилскиот и текстилниот сектор), агробизнисот и логистичките услуги.

“Заемот за конкурентни развојни политики е првиот од две програмски активности кои ќе ги поддржат рефомрите за зајакнување на конкуретноста на македонската економија“ – рече Џон Габриел Годар, лидер на тимот на Светска банка – “Поддржаните активности имаат за цел развој на производството со висока вредност, олеснување на реструктуирањето на агробизнисот и подобра ефикасност на трговско-логистичките услуги. Тоа ќе биде постигнато преку приоритетни активности кои ги поттикнуваат инвестициите и технолошката надградба, како и остранување на пречките кои ги попречуваат влезот и развојот на компаниите во главните извозно ориентирани сектори во економијата. Заемот, исто така, ќе поддржи активности кои овозможуваат подобри услови за поттикнување на флексибилноста на пазарот на труд и развојот на релевантни работни вештини. Во комбинација со подобрувањата кои Македонија ги оствари генерално во деловното опкружување, оваа реформска програма има потенцијал да го зголеми економскиот раст на среден рок.“.

Проектот, исто така, работи на подобрување на ефективноста на јавните програми кои го поддржуваат развојот на приватниот сектор, и со тоа, за зголемува ефикасноста на јавната потрошувачка. Во обид да се отопчне со високо вреднуваното производство и извозните способности, владата имплементира фискални активности во инфраструктурата и поттикнува програми кои вклучуваат даночни олеснувања и тренинг грантови за странските инвеститори, како и кредитни намалувања и директна поддршка до земјоделците. Со подобрување ан институционалната основа и буџет за овие поддржани програми, Заемот ќе ја зголеми ефикасноста на јавната потрошувачка и ќе ја зајакне одговорноста.

“Овие активности, поддржани од Заемот за развојни политики ќе придонесе за постигнување на развојните цели во рамките на столбот за Конкурентност од Стратегијата за партнерство со земјата 2011-14“ – рече Лилија Бурунчук, директор на Канцеларијата на Светска банка. – “Заемот е интегрален дел од поширока агенда за конкурентност преземена од Владата и други чинители, и потпомогната од Светската банка преку бројни тековни активности. Светската банка ќе остане партнер на Владата во оваа област и во иднина.“

Контакти:
Во Скопје: Денис Бошковски(+389) 2 3117 159, dboskovski@worldbank.org
Во Вашингтон: Kristyn Schrader-King, (202) 458-2736, kschrader@worldbank.org

За повеќе информации, посетете не на:
www.worldbank.org.mk

За повеќе информации околу работата на Светска банка во Европа и централна Азија, ве молиме посетете ја странта:
www.worldbank.org/eca

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World Bank helps increase competitiveness and offset the negative effects of the Eurozone crisis in FYR Macedonia

2012-11-29T14:29:25.000Z

NEWS RELEASE

македонски

WASHINGTON, November 29, 2012 – The World Bank Executive Directors today approved the First Programmatic Competitiveness Development Policy Loan (DPL) in the amount of US$50 million for FYR Macedonia. The project supports the Government’s program aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of the economy by providing incentives for productive investment and technological upgrading in the manufacturing, agribusiness, and trade logistics sector, and establishing enabling conditions to progressively increase labor market flexibility and skills development.

The international economic crisis of 2009 and the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone have interrupted the acceleration of economic activity in FYR Macedonia. The country managed to preserve a stable macroeconomic situation and implemented a reform program that achieved fiscal consolidation and improvements in the labor market. Recent reforms have also led to significant improvements in the business environment, taking the country to 23rd place in the 2013 Doing Business report. However, weak economic conditions in the Eurozone have adversely impacted economic activity and budgetary revenues. Despite the recent policy achievements, economic growth has not been sufficient to reduce long-term unemployment and poverty. GDP accelerated in the period 2004–08, but overall, it has grown more slowly than in many countries of the Western Balkans or among the new European Union (EU) member states. The challenge facing FYR Macedonia is to transition the economy to a higher growth trajectory by developing a more competitive and export-oriented enterprise sector.

The DPL was underpinned by significant analysis through the Modular Competitiveness Assessment, which identified new measures to strengthen the country’s exporting and growth performance. The assessment consisted of a Trade Competitiveness Assessment and a Sectoral Competitiveness Assessment which provided a detailed review of the performance and competitiveness potential in three major export-oriented sectors – Manufacturing (focusing on automotive and apparel), Agribusiness and Logistic Services.

“The Competitiveness Development Policy Loan is the first in a series of two programmatic operations that will support reforms to strengthen the competitiveness of FYR Macedonia’s economy,” said John Gabriel Goddard, leader of the World Bank’s project team. “The supported actions aim to develop high value-added manufacturing, facilitate the restructuring of agribusiness, and improve the efficiency of trade logistic services. This will be achieved by prioritizing actions that incentivize investment and technological upgrading, as well as removing bottlenecks that hinder firm entry and firm growth in major export-oriented sectors of the economy. The DPL will also support actions that put in place enabling conditions that can foster labor market flexibility and develop job-relevant skills. Combined with the improvements achieved by FYR Macedonia in its general business environment, this reform program has the potential to raise economic growth over the medium- to long-term.”

The project also works on improving the effectiveness of the public programs supporting private sector development, thereby increasing the efficiency of public expenditures. In an effort to jumpstart high value-added production and exporting capabilities, the Government is deploying fiscal resources into infrastructure and incentive programs that include tax breaks and training grants for foreign investors, as well as discounted credit and direct support to farmers. By improving the institutional basis and budget for these support programs, the DPL will raise the efficiency of public expenditures and strengthen accountability.

“The actions supported by the Development Policy Loan will contribute to achieving the development goals under the Competitiveness pillar of the Country Partnership Strategy 2011-14,” said Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Country Manager for FYR Macedonia. “The loan is an integral part of a wider competitiveness agenda undertaken by the Government and other stakeholders, and assisted by the World Bank through a number of ongoing operations. The World Bank will remain a partner of the Government in this area in the future.”

Contacts:

In Skopje: Denis Boskovski (+389) 2 3117 159, dboskovski@worldbank.org
In Washington: Kristyn Schrader-King, (202) 458-2736, kschrader@worldbank.org

For more information, please visit:
www.worldbank.org.mk

For more information on the World Bank’s work in Emerging Europe and Central Asia, please visit:
www.worldbank.org/eca

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Be updated via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/worldbank
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Извештајот за напредокот на Стратегијата за партнерство со земјата помага во време на криза во Еврозоната

2012-11-29T13:19:19.000Z

ИЗВЕСТУВАЊЕ ЗА МЕДИУМИТЕ

English

ВАШИНГТОН, 29 ноември 2012 – Денес Извршните директори на Светска банка расправаа за Извештајот за напредокот на стратегијата за партнерство со земјата (CPSPR) за Македонија.

Овој извештај за напредок врши проценка на заедничката Стратегијата за партнерство со земјата (СПЗ) на Банката-ИФЦ за Република Македонија за ФГ11-ФГ14. СПЗ се фокусира на три столба: (i) побрз раст преку подобрување на конкурентноста; (ii) посеопфатен раст преку зајакнување на можностите за вработување и социјалната заштита, и понатамошно подобрување на социјалните програми; и (iii) поодржливо искористување на ресурсите и анализа на можностите за „позелен“ економски раст.

СПЗ беше подготвена во екот на глобалната економска криза и на почетокот на сè подлабоката нестабилност на Еврозоната. Стратегијата беше развиена да биде флексибилна, а оваа агилност се одразува во последователната поддршка. Во текот на 2011 и 2012 година, Светска банка го подготви првиот Заем за развојни политики (ДПЛ) во износ од 140 милиони УСД, што овозможи да се позајмат вкупно 182 милиони УСД од комерцијалните банки. Ова финансирање беше од критично значење во насока на покривање на потребите од финансирање во текот на тешките времиња. Освен тоа, Светска банка, кон крајот на 2011 година ги зголеми расположливите средства за Република Македонија изрично како одговор на кризата, вклучувајќи 50 милиони УСД во 2012 година за надградба на успешниот проект за развој на општините во рамките на кој беше предвидена поддршка за мали инфраструктурни проекти и зачувување на работните места, обезбеди ГБП за јавни расходи во износ од 200 милиони УСД, и го удвои износот на планираниот втор ДПЛ за конкурентност на 50 милиони УСД.

“Владата направи значителен напредок во остварување на целите од Стратегијата за партнерство“ – рече Лилија Бурунчук, директор на Канцеларијата на Светска банка - “Тековните инвестициски проекти даваат резултати: Досега се рехабилитирани повеќе од 560 км регионални и локални патишта во рамките на тековниот Проект за регионални и локални патишта; Покриеноста со катастар на недвижности достигна ниво од 99 проценти од целата земја со помош на проектот за катастар што придонесе за зголемување на запишаните хипотеки за три пати. Заостатокот на судските предмети е намален во 22 од вкупно 27 судови со помош на проектот за судството. Стапката на преминување од основно во средно училиште се зголеми од 85 проценти на 95 проценти, а стапките на осипување се намалија од 2,1 проценти на 1,9 проценти благодарејќи на интервенциите во образованието поддржани од страна на Светска банка. Се надеваме дека напредокот ќе продолжи.“

Гледајќи напред, Банката ќе продолжи да биде флексибилна и да се прилагоди кон променливата економска и политичка реалност, со цел да се зајакне конкурентноста на земјата. Селектираната програма за кредитирање во секторски инвестиции ќе се фокусира на сектори со максимално можно влијание – енергетска инфраструктра, вештини и иновации – и ќе продолжи во однос на потребите за земјата за образование и за градење на вештините. Светската банка ќе продолжи во помошта при процесот за пристап до ЕУ и виртуално, сите активности финансирани од Светската банка се дизјанирани за помош за членство во ЕУ.

Контакт:
Во Скопје: Денис Бошковски (+389) 2 3117 159, dboskovski@worldbank.org
Во Вашингтон: Kristyn Schrader-King, (202) 458-2736, kschrader@worldbank.org

За повеќе информации, посетете не на:

Извештај за напредокот на Стратегијата за партнерство со земјата

или

www.worldbank.org.mk

За повеќе информации околлу работата на Светска банка во Европа и централна Азија, посетете ја:

www.worldbank.org/eca

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FYR Macedonia Country Partnership Strategy Progress Report helps the country in the midst of Eurozone crisis

2012-11-29T12:30:33.000Z

NEWS RELEASE

македонски

WASHINGTON, November 29, 2012 – The World Bank’s Executive Directors today discussed the Country Partnership Strategy Progress Report (CPSPR) for FYR Macedonia.

This Progress Report assesses the implementation of the 2011-14 joint World Bank-International Finance Corporation (IFC) Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for FYR Macedonia, which focuses on three pillars: (i) faster growth by improving competitiveness; (ii) more inclusive growth by strengthening employability and social protection, and continued improvement of social programs; and (iii) more sustainable resource use and an analysis of options for “greener” economic growth.
The CPS was prepared in the wake of the global economic crisis and at the onset of deepening Eurozone instability. The strategy was developed to be flexible, and the subsequent support reflects this agility. Over the course of 2011 and 2012, the World Bank prepared the first Policy Based Guarantee (PBG) of US$ 140 million, which leveraged a total of US$182 million from commercial lenders. This financing was critical in helping cover financing needs during difficult times. Moreover, the Bank in late 2011 increased available financing to FYR Macedonia explicitly to respond to the crisis, including US$50 million to build on a successful municipal development project to support small infrastructure projects and preserve jobs, a Public Expenditure Policy Based Guarantee of US$200 million, and doubling the amount of the planned second competitiveness Development Policy Loan (DPL) to US$50 million.

“The Government has achieved significant progress toward achieving the outcomes of the Partnership Strategy,” said Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Country Manager for FYR Macedonia. “The ongoing investment projects are delivering results: more than 560 km of regional and local roads have been rehabilitated under the ongoing Regional and Local Roads project; the real estate cadastre coverage reached 99 percent of the country with the help of the cadastre project and has contributed to tripling the number of registered mortgages. The backlog of court cases has been reduced in 22 out of 27 courts with the help of the judiciary project. The transition rate from primary to secondary school increased from 85 percent to 95 percent, and dropout rates decreased to 1.9 percent from 2.1 percent thanks to the Bank-supported interventions in education. We are hoping to continue in the same way.”

Going forward, the Bank will continue to be flexible and adjust to changing economic and political realities, aiming at strengthening the country’s competitiveness. A selective program of investment lending will focus on those sectors with the maximum possible impact – energy, infrastructure, skills and innovation – and will continue addressing the country’s knowledge and capacity-building needs. The World Bank will continue to assist the EU accession process, and virtually all World Bank-financed operations have been designed to help with the EU membership.

Contacts:
In Skopje: Denis Boskovski (+389) 2 3117 159, dboskovski@worldbank.org
In Washington: Kristyn Schrader-King, (202) 458-2736, kschrader@worldbank.org

For more information, please visit:

Country Partnership Strategy Progress Report

or
www.worldbank.org.mk

For more information on the World Bank’s work in Emerging Europe and Central Asia, please visit:
www.worldbank.org/eca

Visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/worldbank
Be updated via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/worldbank
For our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/worldbank

The project FYR Macedonia Public Expenditure PBG is now in the pipeline.

2012-10-20T04:00:00.000Z

The project FYR Macedonia Public Expenditure PBG is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

Работните места се камен темелник на развојот, вели Извештајот за светски развој за 2013 година

2012-10-03T11:22:21.000Z

СООПШТЕНИЕ ЗА ПЕЧАТ

Соопштение за печат бр. 2013/080/DEC/ECA

English

Земјите во Европа и централна Азија се соочуваат како со намалување на бројот на млади работници така и со висока невработеност помеѓу младите

Вашингтон, 1 октомври, 2012 година – Во земјите во развој, работните места претставуваат камен темелник на развојот, со придобивки многу пошироки од самиот остварен приход. Тие се од критично значење на намалување на сиромаштијата, функционирање на градовите, и обезбедување на алтернативи за младите да не се чувствуваат принудени на насилство, се вели во извештајот на Светска банка.

Извештајот за светски развој 2013: Работни места ја нагласува улогата на силен раст предводен од страна на приватниот сектор во создавањето на работни места и наведува како работните места кои најмногу придонесуваат кон развојот, би можеле да поттикнат започнување на доблестен круг. Извештајот доаѓа до заклучок дека сиромаштијата опаѓа кога луѓето со работење излегуваат од тешкотиите и кога со работењето жените се чувствуваат помоќни да инвестираат повеќе во своите деца. Ефикасноста се зголемува со тоа што работниците стануваат подобри во тоа што го работат, со појавувањето на попродуктивни работни места, и исчезнувањето на помалку продуктивните. Општествата процветуваат со тоа што работните места поттикнуваат разнообразност и обезбедуваат алтернативи за луѓето да не се чувствуваат принудени да се впуштаат во конфликти.

„Добрата работа може да го промени животот на човекот, а вистинските работни места може да трансформираат цели општества. Владите треба да ги стават работните места на централно место за унапредување на просперитетот и борба против сиромаштијата,“ вели претседателот на Светска банка Џим Јонг Ким, „Од особена важност е владите добро да соработуваат со приватниот сектор, кој сочинува 90 проценти од сите работни места. Според тоа, треба да ги најдеме начините кои најдобро ќе им помогнат на малите фирми да растат. Работни места значат надеж. Работни места значат мир. Работните места можат кревките земји да ги направат стабилни“.

Авторите на извештајот истакнуваат како работните места со најголеми придобивки за развојот се оние кои ги зголемуваат приходите, ги прават градовите подобро да функционираат, ја поврзуваат економијата со глобалните пазари, ја штитат животната средина, и овозможуваат на луѓето да имаат влог во своето општество.

„Работните места се најдоброто осигурување од сиромаштија и ранливост“ вели Каушик Басу, главен економист на Светска банка и сениор потпретседател, „Владите имаат витална улога во овозможувањето на создавање на деловно опкружување кое ја зголемува побарувачката за работна сила.“

Глобалната економска криза и другите изминати настани ги донеле прашањата поврзани со вработување на централното место на развојниот дијалог. Авторите на ИСР, кои имаат обработено над 800 анкети и пописи пред да ги донесат своите заклучоци, проценуваат дека ширум светот, повеќе од 3 милијарди луѓе работат, меѓутоа скоро половината работат во земјоделството, мали домаќински претпријатија, или работат спорадично односно сезонски, каде социјалната заштитата е мала или воопшто не постои и приходите често пати се скудни.

„Само предизвикот за младите е неверојатен. Повеќе од 620 милиони млади луѓе ниту работат ниту учат. Само за да се одржат стапките на вработеност на исто ниво, бројот на работни места ширум светот ќе треба да се зголеми за околу 600 милиони за период од 15 години“, вели Мартин Рама, директор на ИСР.

Меѓутоа во многу земји во развој, каде земјоделството и самовработувањето доминираат и социјалните заштити се скромни во најдобар случај, сепак стапките на невработеност може да бидат ниски. Во тие места, најголемиот дел од сиромашните луѓе работат долго и напорно, меѓутоа сепак не можат да врзат крај со крај. И кршењето на основните човекови права не е невообичаено. Според тоа, квалитетот, а не само бројот на работни места е исто така од витално значење.

Извештајот предлага пристап во три фази за да им се помогне на владите да ги исполнат овие цели:

Прво, треба да постојат цврсти основи – вклучувајќи макроекономска стабилност, охрабрувачко деловно опкружување, човечки капитал, и владеењето на правото.
Второ, политиките на трудот не треба да бидат пречка за создавањето на работни места, туку тие треба исто така да обезбедат пристап и можност за изразување и социјална заштита на најранливите.
Трето, владите треба да утврдат какви работни места најмногу би придонеле за развојот со оглед на спецификите на земјата, и да ги тргнат односно поместат пречките со кои се соочува приватниот сектор при создавање на токму такви работни места.

Да се разберат конкретните предизвици поврзани со работните места во даден регион односно земја е од есенцијално значење. Разликите во структурата на вработувањето помеѓу региони, родови, и помеѓу возрасни групи се впечатиливи. На пример, 6 од 7 работници во источна Европа и централна Азија заработуваат плата, но 4 од 5 вработени во делот на Африка јужно од Сахара се земјоделци или самовработени. Многу повеќе жени од мажи работат неплатени работи во земји со ниски односно средни приходи. Во меѓувреме, во земјите со средни приходи веројатноста жените да работат за плата е поголема отколку кај мажите, иако често пати тие заработуваат помалку од мажите.

Приоритетите на политиките се различни во аграрни општества и урбанизирани земји. Да се направи расцепканото земјоделство попродуктивно е клучно во првиот случај, додека подобра инфраструктура, поврзаност, домување, и градско планирање се од витално значење во вториот случај. Демографијата е исто така значајна. Во делот на Африка јужно од Сахара, 10 милиони млади луѓе влегуваат во работната сила секоја година, меѓутоа во многу земји со среден приход населението старее и во некои земји работната сила се намалува. За справување со невработеноста на младите потребни се вештини и отстранување на привилегиите за пристап до пазарите и работните места. Меѓутоа, во општествата кои стареат потребен е подолг работен век и достапна социјална заштита.

Фокусирање на клучните карактеристики во различни земји може да придонесе за појасно утврдување на видовите на работни места кои најмногу би придонеле за развојот во секој од овие случаи. Ваквиот фокус овозможува анализа за потенцијалните предности и неповолности поврзани со различните животни стандарди, продуктивноста, и социјалната кохезија во конкретен контекст. На овој начин се добива претстава за пречките за создавањето на работни места и, на крајот, за приоритетите за изготвувачите на политиките додека ги утврдуваат најважните ограничувања поврзани со создавањето на работни места и како истите да се надминат.

В о земјите на Европа и централна Азија во пораст, периодот 2000 – 2007 година беше период на брз раст на приходите, зголемена продуктивност, и намалена сиромаштија. Земјите успешно се интегрираа во глобалната економија, ги преструктуираа своите претпријатија, ги подобрија условите за водење на бизнис, и ги модернизираа своите пазари на труд и системи на социјални придобивки. Меѓутоа ваквиот начин на работење не секогаш беше преточен во повисоко севкупно ниво на вработеност, бидејќи економското преструктуирање значеше и создавање и уништување на работни места. По финансиската криза од 2008 година, уништувањето на работни места се забрза во многу земји и состојбата со невработеноста остро се влоши, особено кај младите и постарите работници. Како резултат, агендите за политики на многу земји работните места го ставаат фокусот токму на работните места.

За надминување истрајната невработеност, регионот треба да започне доблестен циклус помеѓу растот на продуктивноста и создавањето на работни места, надоградувајќи се на својот трансформиран, поконкурентен приватен сектор. Поради тоа, политиките за работни места треба да се прилагодат на намалувањето и стареењето на работната сила, да обезбедат дека регулативите нема да ја задушат флексибилноста на пазарот на трудот, и да ги прилагодат системите на социјална заштита во насока на поттикнување на учеството на пазарот на трудот.

„За да се намали невработеноста потребни се промени во социјалниот договор помеѓу работниците, претпријатијата и владите. Агендата на политики треба да се фокусира на отстранување на пречките за претприемништвото, помагање на системите за образование и обука подобро да се прилагодат на пазарите на труд кои брзо се менуваат, олеснување на мобилноста на трудот, и прилагодување на пензиите, социјалните придобивки и регулативите на трудот на подолги и попродуктивни работни векови“ вели Филип Леру, потпретседател, Европа и централна Азија. „Исправната комбинација на политики е различна за различни земји, но посакуваниот резултат е ист: брзо создавање на продуктивни работни места.“

Светска банка поттикнува раст на работните места преку своите два главни канали за поддршка на светот во развој – Меѓународната банка за обнова и развој (МБОР) и Меѓународното здружение за развој (МЗР) – како и преку ИФЦ и Мултилатералната агенција за гарантирање на инвестиции. Помошта се обезбедува во вид на совети за политики, поддршка за развој на приватниот сектор плус заеми и програми за унапредување на урбанизацијата, инфраструктурата и човечкиот развој (вклучувајќи и социјална заштита.

Контакти
Вашингтон: Мерел Так-Примдал, (202) 473-9516, mtuckprimdahl@worldbank.org;
Вашингтон: Дорота Ковалска (202) 473-2676, dkowalska@worldbank.org
За барања за емитување: Наталија Чишлик, (202) 458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

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Crossing Boundaries

2012-09-06T23:45:00.000Z

As prepared for delivery

Friday, September 7, 2012

World Conservation Congress

Jeju, Korea

Rachel Kyte, Vice President, Sustainable Development

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen - I am honored to have been asked to make the keynote address at this vital gathering of conservation thinking, leadership and action. I am particularly delighted to be here as I had the privilege and honor to work at IUCN a number of years ago. It feels good to be back again!

This Congress brings together some of the world’s smartest thinkers on the policy and practice of conservation and environmental protection. If anyone is going to guide the world in new ways of thinking and acting, it is this group of 7,000 or more which traverses all spheres - private, public, civil society, multilateral, large, small, left, right.

You, as a group, are not at the fringes of decision-making - you are at the very heart of it. Your scientific research, dedication, pursuit of better policies and connections to community all go towards much better, more informed decision-making.

Over the last few years I have had the opportunity to cross some of the boundaries that very often define our perceptions and determine the work in our institutions. My perspectives changed as I moved from IUCN to working with private companies during my time at the World Bank’s private sector arm - the IFC - and they’re changing again now as Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank.

Today, I am convinced that we will have to make a bigger effort to cross boundaries – between our organizations, across public and private sectors and within civil society - so that we reach a better future for our planet.

Let’s take a look at just some of the evidence of environmental decline before us. Evidence is one of the many things that the World Bank and IUCN share.

· The number and size of populations of the world’s species have decreased by almost a third over the last 100 years and this is projected to continue decreasing

· Over 60 percent of ecosystems are in worse shape now than 50 years ago

· 85 percent of ocean fisheries are fully exploited or over-exploited or depleted

· The condition of coral reefs has deteriorated by 38 percent since 1980

· 80 percent of people live in areas where the quality of rivers is threatened

· Climate change is worsening everything. Flood disasters increased by 230 percent and drought disasters by 38 per cent in the 20 years to the early 2000s.

At the same time that this assault on nature has been occurring, we have enjoyed an unrivalled period of economic growth which has seen 660 million people lifted out of poverty in the past 20 years. Don’t get me wrong - we are not saying we need to stop growth to protect nature. Rather, we are calling for a different kind of growth - a greener and more inclusive growth.

An indispensable part of this will be realizing the potential of ecosystems within our economies and to put nature at the foundation of economic strategies. Nature needs to be firmly on the agendas of finance ministers and discussed in board rooms with the focus on building the public-private partnerships to invest in our natural wealth.

Are we ready to do this? Increasingly the World Bank Group is. Now let me share with you three reasons for my cautious optimism that others are ready too.

Firstly, governments are increasingly stepping up - whether by increasing the number and extent of areas under protection or by better recognizing the value of nature and ecosystem services.

Governments, however, are facing daily trade-offs - for example - building a road through a park so that farmers can have better access to markets and/or conserving a road-less national park. Or, they’re weighing up a marina in a mangrove area to boost tourism versus protecting it for its fish breeding, storm protection and carbon storage values.

Effective conservation cannot and will not be driven just by conservation for conservation’s sake. Fortunately, governments increasingly recognize that maintaining and, eventually, accounting for their natural capital comes down to a question of social and economic development. There may not be simple win-wins all the time; but there may be approaches that can come close enough.

We are seeing more and more good examples. In the State of Acre in the northwestern corner of Brazil, the State Government has been making a concerted effort to bring services to its dispersed rural population and to move away from a growth model based on extraction of forest products and expansive agriculture. Where previously 90 percent of Acre’s timber extraction was illegal, now the majority comes from approved forest management plans. Real GDP has increased by over 44 percent and deforestation rates have declined by 70 percent. Acre is showing that safeguarding a state’s natural wealth will also help lift its people out of poverty.

In Liberia, the government has installed a chain of custody system for exporting logs that is helping reduce illegal logging and bringing in much-needed funding for conservation. The Government is also enforcing fishing regulations and arresting vessels found to be fishing illegally.

To manage trade-offs, governments need better information on the economic and social effects of their decisions. More and more governments are embracing the need to use natural capital accounts alongside GDP. At the World Bank Group, we are working with countries from Botswana to the Philippines to put the value of natural capital into the center of their economic decision making. After the 50:50 Campaign at Rio, 62 countries have signed on to support natural capital accounting along with the heads of close to 90 companies. These companies are doing this for competitive reasons - they need to be able to value their assets over the long term.

That brings me to the second reason for my optimism -- the growing leadership coming from parts of the private sector, be they small businesses and local entrepreneurs or Fortune 500 companies.

I see real traction emerging from the advent of rigorous performance standards and principles for corporate behavior. For example, we are beginning to see evidence that the revised IFC Performance Standard on Biodiversity is driving major change both at corporate headquarters and, more importantly, on the ground.

Companies working in developing countries are increasingly investing in biodiversity expertise, in community development, environmental restoration and long-term conservation capacity building. The big shift is that companies are beginning to see this as more than reputational risk management and rather as a way to improve their operations and manage business risk, a key part of creating value. Mainstreaming nature conservation across their operations makes good business sense. Why? Because many companies depend on freshwater, genetic resources, climate regulation, and natural hazard protection to run their businesses successfully and to see their profits grow.

As well as making good business sense, conserving nature and maintaining the resilience of ecosystems upon which people and business depend, allows companies to build trust in the communities in which they operate and among stakeholders abroad. This creates something many call a “social license to operate”.

We are beginning to see more and more companies engage with conservation organizations and external experts to better understand the environment in which they are working. This has inspired some companies to go beyond the minimization of project impacts but also to consider how they might contribute to conservation more broadly.

One example is Rio Tinto which launched its biodiversity strategy at this Congress in 2004. That strategy committed the company to making a Net Positive Impact on biodiversity through its operations. For the past seven years, the company has been piloting the strategy - working alongside government, conservation groups and civil society in Madagascar to build public sector capacity, develop livelihood alternatives, and establish offsets to conserve high biodiversity value areas.

Other examples include Shell in Gabon and Peru LNG which have been working together with the Smithsonian Institution to develop science-based assessment and monitoring of project impacts.

I also see the first few encouraging examples from the finance sector in integrating nature and ecosystem services protection into their investments.

That takes me to my third reason for optimism - that the need for action is overcoming global political sclerosis.

Rio+20 confirmed for me that while at the global level we lack political leadership today to gain consensus, global inaction is being overwhelmed by the ideas, the innovation and the real commitment to action from smart policymakers, city mayors, community leaders and CEOs.

Like-minded coalitions across sectors emerged on almost all issues. People gravitated to ideas and approaches that promised action - whether that was about ocean health, natural capital accounting, access to sustainable energy or reducing short-term climate pollutants.

For the more than 1000 business executives who attended Rio, the message was that action on sustainability is all about future markets, future products, future employees, future investors, and competitiveness linked to sustainability as shared value.

There was an almost overwhelming sense that while we need global governance for ultimate speed and scale, we cannot afford to wait for international agreements to do what everyone knows needs to be done. For every square bracket negotiated, a species is lost and that window of opportunity gets smaller and smaller.

…………………

So, while I have these reasons for cautious optimism --- I am also speaking from a place of urgency. To address the challenges ahead, each and every one of us will have to cross boundaries and we in the conservation community will need to move collectively outside our comfort zones. To this end, I have three appeals.

First to governments: Governments have responsibilities to their citizens that are measured in units of finance – jobs, tax receipts, GDP. We are not naïve: There can be and will be tensions between conservation and development; that’s why public servants need to be armed with the tools and information they need to make fully informed decisions. And that’s why those of you here who work in government should unpack the economic benefits of conservation and translate them into real numbers through natural capital accounting to transform conservation from a discrete sector to an engine of inclusive green growth.

Second to the Private Sector: To be part of the solution, companies need to raise the profile of nature conservation in their boardrooms and recognize the value of nature to their bottom lines. On the ground, companies need to commit to best management practices which will sometimes mean working beyond their immediate project areas to offset impacts and to secure supply chains. This raises technical, political and governance challenges which is why companies need to reach out and offer a hand in partnership to governments, to conservation organizations and even to each other. We hear from the private sector the need for a level playing field when it comes to best practice in biodiversity management. A coordinated and loud voice from industry groups towards government regulators might be part of the solution.

We also need to find ways to bring to scale financial instruments like green bonds, conservation banking, subsidy reform, license to operate agreements for generating new potential sources of support so that good practice can be rewarded with access to capital.

Third to Civil Society: Very often, civil society, conservation organizations and academic institutions are the backbone of any commitment to conserving nature.

But it is important to remember that it’s governments that have the main responsibility for the stewardship of natural assets. These are their citizen’s natural assets; governments must manage them. The rest of us – civil society, donors and philanthropists – must work together, provide them support while demanding transparency and holding them to account, so that they can do more and do it better.

We in the conservation community need to see the private sector as full partners for solutions and not just a threat or a fundraising opportunity. For example, in public private partnerships - if we were able to develop aggregated offsets, is the conservation community collectively ready to provide the means for verification?

Across all these areas of engagement, the World Bank Group stands ready to do its part and to do more:

We entered the debate on green growth in May 2012 through our report ‘Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development’. We want to contribute, in particular by focusing on the inclusiveness of green growth, on the importance of sound fiscal policies - like the removal of inefficient fuel subsidies - and on ensuring that nature considerations are taken into account in economic decision-making. Our work on green growth is, importantly, supported by the Korean Government.

With new energy and emphasis around Natural Capital Accounting stemming from Rio, it is crucial to keep up the political support and momentum, attract key new country partners, and visibly demonstrate action - including through our global partnership called WAVES.

We also want to do more to streamline nature considerations into our own operations by coordinating the implementation of the IFC’s Performance Standards and the World Bank’s operational policies. And I expect that the Bank Group will work more on aggregated offsets as a means of bringing public and private interests together to conserve at scale within a transparent framework.

We are also working on enhancing environmental law enforcement to ensure that the benefits of nature accrue to national economies and local communities - not thugs and organized crime.

Conclusion

Ladies and Gentlemen, as we begin this Congress:

· Let’s agree that we need to do more, better and with more far-reaching consequences

· Let’s together move away from our ardent attachment to old ideologies, old attitudes that stop us from finding solutions together. What we need today is innovation, communication and partnerships between governments, communities, financial institutions, companies and conservation organizations.

· The type and range of solutions will be as diverse as species and ecosystems. Just as nature is not just a set of charismatic species, we will need more than a set of boutique projects and anecdotes to show large-scale impact. We will need to prioritize without devaluing any one community’s chance of life. We will need brave thinkers at the table, all types of partnerships, people with the humility and patience to make them work. Who better than those of us already humbled by the glory of nature and the complexity of its life support?

· Let’s cross our boundaries together.

· I look forward to being with you every step of the way.

Zoellick to Join Harvard’s Belfer Center, Peterson Institute

2012-06-27T13:00:00.000Z

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2012—Robert B. Zoellick today said he would join the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington DC after he steps down as World Bank Group President on June 30.

Zoellick will become the Peterson Institute’s first Distinguished Visiting Fellow as well as also becoming a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

“I appreciate the opportunity to engage with the scholars and practitioners at Harvard’s Belfer Center and the Peterson Institute for International Economics,” said Zoellick. “I hope to work on the intersection of economics and security, applying history to policy questions of today. Both institutions have been at the cutting edge of research and policy development, and I have benefited greatly from both in the past.”

As the 11th president of the World Bank, Mr. Zoellick turned around an institution in trouble in 2007, recapitalized the Bank, and expanded financing for the poorest countries following the food, fuel and financial crises of recent years. He modernized the Bank by making it more accountable, flexible, fast-moving, transparent, and focused on good governance and anti-corruption. He has increased representation of developing countries in governance and staffing and encouraged developing countries to set their own priorities rather than have them dictated from the Bank. His record has also been marked by an increased role for the private sector through the bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), which under his leadership has recruited sovereign wealth funds and pension funds to invest in poor countries, especially in Africa.

Before his term at the Bank, Mr. Zoellick served as Vice Chairman, International, of the Goldman Sachs Group as well as Managing Director and Chairman of Goldman Sachs’ Board of International Advisors from 2006-2007. Previously, he was Deputy Secretary of State in 2005-2006 and a member of the Cabinet as U.S. Trade Representative from 2001 to 2005.

From 1985 to 1993, he served at the Treasury and State Departments in various posts, as well as White House Deputy Chief of Staff. He was the lead U.S. official in the "Two-plus-Four" process of German unification in 1989-90 and served as "sherpa" for the preparation of the G-7/8 Economic Summits in 1991-92.

Mr. Zoellick graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Swarthmore College in 1975 and earned a J.D. magna cum laude from the Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the Kennedy School of Government in 1981.

Contacts:

In Washington: Frederick Jones, (202) 473-9336, fjones@worldbank.org

For Broadcast Requests: Mehreen Sheikh, (202) 458-7336, msheikh1@worldbank.org

Innovative Fund to Boost Food Security and Farmer Livelihoods is Launched

2012-06-18T19:04:43.000Z

New Approach to Financing Innovations in Food Security and Agricultural Development Unveiled at G20 Summit in Mexico

AgResults: Innovation in Research and Delivery

LOS CABOS, Mexico (June 18, 2012) – An innovative initiative that will enhance global food security and improve the livelihoods of developing country farmers through prizes and other market-based incentives was announced today by G20 Leaders. With a results-driven funding model that rewards innovators for tackling some of the biggest problems in food security and agricultural development, AgResults addresses global challenges in food security and agriculture by generating market-oriented solutions. The initiative aims to achieve significant improvements in the wellbeing of the poor and vulnerable in developing countries with a fund of up to $100 million, to be administered by the World Bank. The governments of Australia, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, are supporting this effort.

AgResults uses pull mechanisms to encourage innovation through results-based payments such as prizes that are typically paid out when certain objectives or milestones have been met. Such financing mechanisms have seen success in generating innovation and market-oriented solutions in other domains such as healthcare, and AgResults aims to deliver similar gains in global food security and agricultural development.

AgResults was born out of the realization that there is a great need for increased investment in global food security and agriculture, in particular from the private sector. The FAO estimates that world food production must double by 2050 to feed a growing world population, while nearly a billion people suffer from a lack of crucial micronutrients in their diet—a hidden hunger that inhibits the development of children and reduces adult productivity. Recognizing these gaps, leaders at the June 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto committed to exploring innovative, results-focused ways of harnessing private sector innovations in food security and agricultural development in developing countries. This commitment involved a two-year effort by committed partners to develop AgResults, culminating in today’s launch of the initiative in support of the Summit priority of enhancing global food security. AgResults addresses this priority directly through new funding and a focus on bringing new, innovative approaches to bear on global food security issues.

In the coming years, AgResults will launch a series of pilots that address some of the biggest problems in global food security and agricultural development. The initiative’s portfolio of pilots will represent a diverse mix of agriculture and food security issues, testing different types of pull mechanisms in different regions globally. The initial set of pilots, focusing on maize production in Sub-Saharan Africa, include:

· Incentivizing the adoption of on-farm storage technology for smallholder farmers;

· Encouraging innovative distribution of a breakthrough technology to reduce aflatoxin contamination; and

· Building a market for new vitamin A-enhanced varieties of maize.

Additional pilots will be explored in the coming years, potentially including livestock vaccines and fertilizer innovation as well as new ideas related to increasing crop yields, decreasing post-harvest losses, increasing livestock productivity and improving nutrition.

For further information, please visit www.worldbank.org/cfp/agpm

Contacts:

In Washington: Amy Stilwell, (202) 458-4906, astilwell@worldbank.org

In Mexico: Fernanda Zavaleta, 52-55-5480-4252, fzavaleta@worldbank.org

For Broadcast Requests: Natalia Cieslik, (202) 458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

Global Mobility Unaffected by Financial Crisis, as Remittances Remained Resilient

2012-06-13T13:00:00.000Z

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2012 – The global financial crisis of 2008/09 has not sent migrant workers streaming back home, despite worsening employment prospects and anti-immigration rhetoric in some destination countries, says a new book on migration and remittances, published by the World Bank.

In fact, migrants may have mitigated some of the pain of the crisis as they tend to work for lower wages, receive fewer benefits and rely relatively little on the state, says the ‘Migration and Remittances during the Global Financial Crisis and Beyond’ book.

“During the crisis, remittances continued to provide a steady source of foreign currency to developing country economies at a time when foreign aid remained flat and foreign direct investment declined sharply,” said Otaviano Canuto, Vice President, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, at the World Bank.

Removing restrictions on human mobility may help enhance financial flows among nations and alleviate some of the adverse effect of the crisis, says the book. With migrant workers projected to remit about $399 billion to their home countries during 2012, compared to $372 billion in 2011, remittances are the most tangible link between migration and development.

Although many of the 215 million international migrants are facing worsening employment prospects in some destination countries, particularly high-income Europe, their cash support to families in their home countries has remained resilient, posting, in 2009, the only decline in recent memory. Even then, remittances decreased by a modest 5.2 percent, in sharp contrast with the precipitous declines seen in global private capital flows.

“The resilience of remittances is good news for developing countries as they remain one of the less volatile sources of foreign exchange earnings, particularly for the less developed countries. At the household level, these cash transfers are, in many cases, the only lifeline for families in the home countries,” said Hans Timmer, Director of Development Prospects at the World Bank.

However, despite many years of recording ever-increasing volumes of remittances, leveraging this rather large and growing source of funds for socio-economic development remains a key challenge, with the vast majority of remittances used for maintaining families and for the purchase of consumer goods.

The book, which is the first comprehensive study of remittances during the global financial crisis, is a compilation of 45 separate studies that identify and discuss remittance practices across the world and possibilities for the future. Each study is authored by a different expert who analyzes certain countries and certain aspects of remittances, ranging from patterns of remittance flows to usage of remittances received by communities and households.

The book is co-edited by Dilip Ratha, Manager of the Bank’s Migration and Remittances Unit; Ibrahim Sirkeci, Professor of Transnational Studies and Marketing at Regent’s College, London; and Jeffrey Cohen, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Ohio State University, USA, who also co-author the book’s first chapter on remittance flows and practices during the crisis.

“Contrary to expectations, we found no evidence of return of migrants, even as the financial crisis reduced employment opportunities in the United States and Europe, with many countries, such as Spain, offering financial incentives to encourage migrants to return,” said Sirkeci.

Migration, in fact, was a strategic response to the financial crisis. Like any political or environmental catastrophe, the financial crisis caused human insecurity and people in developing countries responded by crossing borders or moving domestically to survive the impact of the crisis.

“Remittances have remained resilient and, barring the decline in 2009, have maintained a healthy growth momentum. However, since the book went to press, the global economy continues to experience serious bouts of volatility, which could affect migrant earnings and, hence, remittances,” said Ratha.

For receiving countries, a key factor behind the resilience in remittances is the diversification of migrant destinations.

Countries in South Asia and East Asia with many migrants in the United States, Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries continued to register increased remittance inflows. One study in the book concludes that only a prolonged global slowdown would cause a decline in remittance flows to India, the largest recipient of remittances in 2011, with $64 billion.

In contrast, Latin America and the Caribbean region, whose migrants are concentrated in the United States, suffered a dramatic decline in remittances throughout the financial crisis. Mexico, the world’s third largest recipient of remittances ($24 billion in 2011), saw a significant decline in remittance inflows from the United States during the crisis. A similar strong impact was found in El Salvador. Both cases underline the fact that many Latin American countries were vulnerable to the effects of crisis, with a special impact on the urban youth in these countries, who face more difficult labor market prospects and declining opportunities to migrate.

Studies related to the effect of the crisis in the European Union on remittance-receiving countries found that Spain has been the fastest-growing immigration destination for the past decade and is now the fifth largest remittance-sending country, after the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Switzerland.

In the East Asia and Pacific region, remittances account for as much as 12 percent of GDP, as in the case of New Zealand and Pacific island economies, while remittances have been keeping the national economy afloat in the Philippines for the past three decades.

Also, due to the depreciation of local currencies of many remittance-recipient countries, such as India, Mexico, and the Philippines, migrants from those countries turned to investment-oriented remittances in South Asia and East Asia where goods, services, and assets suddenly became significantly inexpensive and affordable.

The book recommends that countries develop policies that reduce restrictions on human mobility and develop programs to facilitate the use of remittances for long-term investments and promoting entrepreneurship. Such changes, tailored to both host and recipient country needs, can strengthen the contribution of remittances to development.

Eliminating the complexity of transactions and reducing transaction costs would also help increase the volume of remittances utilizing official channels, to enable many small nations, in particular, to reap the socio-economic benefits of migrant earnings.

The book is available for purchase at http://publications.worldbank.org/18826

The latest migration and remittances data are available at www.worldbank.org/migration

Interact with migration experts at http://blogs.worldbank.org/peoplemove/

Contacts:

In Washington: Indira Chand +1 (202) 458-0434, +1 (703) 376-7491, ichand@worldbank.org

For TV/Broadcast: Natalia Cieslik +1 (202) 458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

WB Urges Developing Countries to Strengthen Domestic Fundamentals, to Weather Global Economic Turmoil

2012-06-12T17:00:00.000Z

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2012 – Developing countries should prepare for a long period of volatility in the global economy by re-emphasizing medium-term development strategies, while preparing for tougher times, says the World Bank in the newly-released Global Economic Prospects (GEP), June 2012.

A resurgence of tensions in high-income Europe has eroded the gains made during the first four months of this year, which saw a rebound in economic activity in both developing and advanced countries and an easing of risk aversion among investors. Since May 1^st, increased market jitters have spread. Developing and high-income country stock markets have lost some 7 percent, giving up two-thirds of the gains generated over the preceding four months. Most industrial commodity prices are down, with crude and copper prices down by 19 and 14 percent, respectively, while developing country currencies have lost value against the US dollar, as international capital fled to safe-haven assets, such as German and U.S. government bonds.

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So far, conditions in most developing countries have not deteriorated as much as in the fourth quarter of 2011. Outside of Europe and Central Asia and the Middle-East and North Africa, developing country credit default swap (CDS) rates, a key indicator of market sentiment, remain well below their maximums from the fall of 2011.

“Global capital market and investor sentiment are likely to remain volatile over the medium term – making economic policy setting difficult. In this environment, developing countries should focus on productivity-enhancing reforms and infrastructure investment instead of reacting to day-to-day changes in the international environment,” said Hans Timmer, Director of Development Prospects at the World Bank.

Increased uncertainty will add to pre-existing headwinds from budget cutting, banking-sector deleveraging and developing country capacity constraints. As a result, the World Bank projects that developing country growth will slow to a relatively weak 5.3 percent in 2012, before strengthening somewhat to 5.9 percent in 2013 and 6.0 percent in 2014. Growth in high-income countries will also be weak, 1.4, 1.9 and 2.3 percent for 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively – with GDP in the Euro Area declining 0.3 percent in 2012. Overall, global GDP is projected to rise 2.5, 3.0 and 3.3 ⁽¹⁾ percent for the same period.

This baseline scenario remains the most likely outcome. However, should the situation in Europe deteriorate sharply no developing region would be spared. Developing Europe and Central Asia is especially vulnerable because of its close trade and financial ties with high-income Europe, but the world's poorest countries will also feel the fall out – especially countries that are heavily reliant on remittances, tourism or commodity exports or that have high-levels of short-term debt.

“Where possible, developing countries need to move to reduce vulnerabilities by lowering short-term debt levels, cutting budget deficits and returning to a more neutral monetary policy stance. Doing so will provide them with more leeway to loosen policy, should global conditions take a sharp turn for the worse,” said Andrew Burns, Manager of Global Macroeconomics and lead author of the report.

The full report and accompanying datasets are available at www.worldbank.org/globaloutlook

Regional Highlights

Growth outlooks for each country are available in the full report at:

www.worldbank.org/globaloutlook

Growth for the East Asia and Pacific region is on a moderately easing trend, with GDP gains for the region dropping to 8.3 percent in 2011 from 9.7 percent in 2010. The recent deterioration in global financial conditions is expected to add to pre-existing headwinds, including relatively weak demand from the high-income world, and a slowing phase in China to moderate regional growth to 7.6 percent in 2012, before broader global recovery lifts exports and growth for the region in 2013 to 8.1 percent, easing to 7.9 percent in 2014. China’s GDP is expected to accelerate from 8.2 percent in 2012 to 8.4 percent by 2014.

Notwithstanding the economic downturn in the Euro Area in the fourth quarter of 2011, developing Europe and Central Asia posted strong (5.6 percent) growth in 2011, driven by robust domestic demand and good harvests in countries such as Russia, Romania and Turkey. However, severe weather conditions in early 2012, capacity constraints in some countries, deleveraging by European banks, and the renewed turmoil in high-income Europe are projected to slow regional GDP growth to 3.3 percent this year, before a modest recovery begins with growth firming to 4.1 and 4.4 percent in each of 2013 and 2014.

Growth in the Latin America and the Caribbean region eased to 4.3 percent in 2011, from 6.1 percent in 2010, due to the pronounced slowdown in the region’s larger economies. In Brazil, GDP slowed sharply to 2.7 percent in 2011 (7.5 percent in 2010), as investment growth and private consumption eased. The region’s short-term outlook is clouded by a weak external environment, and capacity constraints in select economies. Regional GDP is expected to decelerate to 3.5 percent in 2012, firming to 4.1 percent and 4 percent in 2013 and 2014, respectively, while growth in Brazil is projected to remain below potential at 2.9 percent in 2012, before accelerating to 4.2 percent in 2013 and 3.9 percent in 2014.

Uncertainty, volatility, and political change continue to characterize conditions in the Middle East and North Africa region. Aggregate GDP grew by 1 percent in 2011, down from 3.8 percent in 2010. Regional growth is projected to remain weak at 0.6 percent for 2012, mainly reflecting the influence of sanctions on growth in Iran, and continued GDP declines in Syria and Yemen. As these elements fade in importance, growth for the region should step up to 2.2 percent in 2013 and 3.4 percent in 2014. Egypt’s economy is projected to move out of negative territory to 1.4 percent growth in 2012, rising to 4.6 percent in 2014. Growth is also expected to pick up strongly in Jordan and Lebanon, while oil prices, which are projected to average near $107/bbl in 2012, will benefit the region’s oil exporters.

Growth in South Asia slowed to 7.1 percent in 2011, from 8.6 percent in 2010, as headwinds from the Euro Area crisis caused a steep deceleration in exports and a reversal of portfolio inflows. Growth in India was particularly weak due to monetary policy, stalled reforms, and electricity shortages, which, along with fiscal and inflation concerns, cut into investment activity. Policy uncertainties, fiscal deficits, entrenched inflation, and infrastructure gaps will continue to weigh negatively on investment activity and are expected to limit regional growth to a relatively modest 6.4 percent in 2012, 6.5 percent in 2013, and 6.7 percent in 2014. India will see growth (measured at factor cost) increasing to 6.9, 7.2 and 7.4 percent in fiscal years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, respectively.

Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa remained robust in 2011 at 4.7 percent. Excluding South Africa, growth in the rest of the region was stronger, at 5.6 percent, making it one of the fastest growing developing regions. Higher commodity prices and improved macroeconomic and political stability in recent years has supported increased private investment flows to the region, with promising prospects in the medium term. As global demand firms and domestic demand remains robust, regional growth is expected to strengthen to 5 percent in 2012, 5.3 percent in 2013 and 5.2 percent in 2014.

Contacts

In Washington: Merrell Tuck-Primdahl +1 (202) 473-9516, +1 (202) 476-9897, mtuckprimdahl@worldbank.org;

Indira Chand +1 (202) 458-0434, +1 (703) 376-7491, ichand@worldbank.org

In London: Derek Warren + 44 (20) 7592-8402 , dwarren1@worldbank.org

For TV/Broadcast: Natalia Cieslik +1 (202) 458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

(1) Using purchasing power parity weights, global growth would be 3.3, 3.9 and 4.2 percent for 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Globalization: Made in the Americas

2012-06-08T00:30:00.000Z

AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

Inter-American Dialogue 30^th Anniversary Dinner

Remarks of Robert B. Zoellick, President, World Bank Group

June 7, 2012

Introduction

Thank you for the honor of your invitation to commemorate the 30^th Anniversary of the Inter-American Dialogue.

The origins of this Dialogue stretch back to a discussion between Peter Bell and Abe Lowenthal on a park bench.

Peter and Abe were disturbed by the breakdown in inter-American exchanges during the Falklands/Malvinas war, and by the lack of ties with the rising democrats of Latin America. So they discussed bringing together leaders from across the hemisphere to set a new inter-American agenda. The Dialogue held its first ad hoc conference in late 1982.

Today, 30 years later, Latin America’s very success offers the opportunity to remake that Hemispheric partnership around new pillars:

· A revived free trade policy that will aid structural reforms for growth in all our countries;

· An energy transformation, ending the Hemisphere’s energy dependency;

· A new diplomacy infused with private sector pragmatism to solve public problems;

· Shared security; and

· The first Democratic Hemisphere.

For the United States, this new agenda could enable us to rely on a great, home-grown asset – Hispanic-Americans – as the vanguard of U.S. connectivity in a new Western Hemispheric economy.

This Dialogue can – and I believe will – help drive this change: to create a “Globalization: Made in the Americas.”

Under Peter Hakim’s and now Michael Shifter’s energetic leadership, the Inter-American Dialogue has become the leading U.S. center for policy analysis, exchange, and communication in the Western Hemisphere.

The idea at the heart of the Dialogue remains very much the same as that which emerged from the conversation on the park bench: that through dialogue and shared vision, interested citizens across the hemisphere together can plant the seeds of new policy ideas and practical proposals for progress in the Americas.

So tonight, let’s put that idea to work.

A Different Vantage Point

Just two months ago, the leaders of the Western Hemisphere met in Cartagena for the Summit of the Americas. Colombia was an excellent host, and the Summit showcased the country’s many hard-won achievements.

But the news reports were, frankly, disappointing. Aside from the behavior of some Secret Service agents, the coverage focused on disagreements about Cuba and drugs. Some even suggested this would be the last Summit of the Americas. The agenda seemed stuck in a time warp.

So when Carla Hills asked if I could join you this evening, I thought the best way to celebrate the Dialogue’s Anniversary was to offer new possibilities for the Americas in a fast-changing global economy.

My vantage point on our hemisphere is different from many U.S. contributors to the Dialogue. I am not a specialist in Latin America.

Like many of my U.S. foreign and security policy colleagues, much of my energy has been concentrated on the issues of Europe and the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Southwest Asia.

Yet because of my economic background, Latin America and Canada have loomed larger on my global map.

In the 1980s and early 90s, working with Secretary of Treasury and State James Baker, we were immersed in issues of Latin American debt and reforms for growth, the Canadian and North American FTAs, and Central American security and democracy.

In 2001, as U.S. Trade Representative, we were fortunate to build on that experience, negotiating FTAs with Chile, Colombia, Peru, Panama, the five countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic. Together with NAFTA, these FTAs cover 54 percent of the economy of our hemisphere, not including the United States, offering an underutilized web of free traders that could support deeper integration in the Americas – even hemispheric free trade and democracy.

Five years as President of the World Bank Group has added to this perspective.

Why am I stressing this global outlook on Latin America? Because, while working on the issues of our region, I have urged my Latin counterparts to look globally, too.

Instead, for too many years, the dialogue within our hemisphere seemed constrained by a North-South framework. The United States loomed large – whether as a hegemon, source of support, market, model, danger, or even frustrating land of inattention.

On development, debt, investment, competition, and trade, Latin Americans need to see the wider horizon – especially to benchmark with East Asia. And beyond East Asia, Latin America has a new role to play in building multiple engines of growth with other emerging markets. It is time to break out of that North-South construct.

Consider Canada’s experience in combining regional integration with global reach: of course, Canada’s FTA with the United States in 1988 deepened the two countries’ economic integration – but in addition, the competitive adjustment driven by that accord made Canadian business more competitive globally.

A new hemispheric partnership requires leaving old habits, old mindsets, and old models of dependency behind.

That partnership will necessitate a new mix of partners, public and private.

That partnership should be the next challenge for the Summit of the Americas and this Dialogue.

Latin America’s Record of Gains

Latin America’s recent record of gains now puts it in a position to remake the Hemispheric partnership.

The numbers tell the story.

Between 2003 and 2010, the income of the average Latin American increased by more than 30 percent. A silent revolution in macro-financial policy has strengthened the economic immune system of many countries. We saw the payoff after the fall of Lehman Brothers: Sound policies in Latin America enabled expansions to offset the downturn without the aftershocks that now threaten Europe.

About 73 million Latin Americans have been lifted out of poverty since 2003. Today, almost a third of the region’s population is considered middle class.

Latin America is breaking a pattern of persistent inequality, including through an increase in women’s involvement in the economy, particularly from poor families. Colombia and Peru have buttressed this trend by boosting opportunities for people of African and indigenous origin, seeking to overcome divisions that populists have exploited.

Mexico and Brazil have led in developing well-targeted conditional cash transfer programs that have revolutionized public assistance. These programs couple income grants for poor families with incentives for health check-ups and keeping children in school. Mexico’s Oportunidades program has probably done more for women’s health than anything in the country’s history.

These are safety net programs that appeal to a fiscal conservative: They cost only about half a percent of GDP. The World Bank has helped export this model to 40 other countries, ranging from Pakistan to the Philippines.

Latin America is “going global.” As the global trade negotiations have stalled, leading Latin American free traders have tried to keep up the momentum. Mexico has FTAs with 59 countries; Chile with 43.

Colombia offers a leading example of how a democracy can combine security, development, and good governance to overcome narco-traffickers, kidnappers, and terrorists. Peru demonstrates how sound economic policy and political commitment across administrations can reverse years of stagnation.

Brazil’s influence is expanding – through its companies, agricultural and mining experience, development work, peacekeeping in Haiti, and interest in Africa. Brazil’s leaders of the left have also turned a page in history by sticking with democracy. Rising leaders of the left in other Latin American countries have seen the benefits for the poor of Brazil’s example, compared to authoritarians who tear down institutions to consolidate personal or party power.

Looking Ahead

So what’s ahead for Latin America?

Latin America’s per capita income is still only at 30 percent of the U.S. level.

To climb higher, Latin American economies will need to leap beyond the so-called middle income trap. Many developing economies make early rapid gains. But then productivity and growth tend to slow.

This is a global challenge. In 1960, the World Bank ranked 101 economies as middle income; by 2008, almost half a century later, only 13 had made it to high income levels – and one was Greece.

Many Latin American countries will need to translate the commodity boom into broader, more diversified economies. This region has lived through roller-coaster booms and busts before.

Higher productivity is the antidote to the middle income trap.

Since the 1980s, Latin America has underinvested in infrastructure – electricity, roads, bridges, ports, transport – and maintaining and operating these services. Currently, Latin America spends 2 to 3 percent of GDP on infrastructure, less than half the rate of investment in East Asia.

Public-private infrastructure partnerships not only offer a source of financing, but also better design, maintenance, and operations to deliver high-quality services on time.

Colombia has experimented with PPPs in urban water supply and sanitation. Mexico’s new Highway Concession Program has mobilized PPP projects of around $11 billion, expanding the country’s major toll roads network by some 25 percent.

Latin America has to anticipate its human capital needs. The region is aging rapidly: today, about 11 percent of Brazil’s working age-population are seniors; by 2050, it will be nearly half.

Latin America also needs to improve the results of its investments in education. By age 15, the learning achievement of the average Latin American student lags two years behind his or her developed country counterparts.

Latin America is recognizing that gender equality is smart economics. Today, women in Latin America outnumber men in schools and universities. Working age women represent roughly 40 percent of the entire labor force in the region.

To continue to grow, the region will need more competition and innovation in the service sector. Competitive services increase productivity. They supply the ‘software’ of integration: transport, where delays and losses can impose significant costs; information technology, because accurate data and effective communication is vital; financial services, to create a supportive business environment; and logistics systems, which are a driver of business competitiveness.

A New Agenda

What do these challenges mean for a new hemispheric partnership? What should have been the news coming out of Cartagena?

Let me offer five ideas.

First, the Western Hemisphere needs to revive an activist free trade and economic reform policy, globally and regionally. We need fresh approaches.

The United States will be cutting agricultural subsidies, especially given high prices, and eliminating protection for ethanol. Why not deploy these to prod others?

Service sector liberalization can boost productivity, open new businesses, create new jobs, and cut the “Latin cost” that many countries impose on their own businesses. Why not deploy this economic need to revive a mutual interest in negotiation?

A strong self-interest can drive this renewed call for liberalization. Latin American economies still need much investment and more robust capital markets – especially in local currencies – that can help Latin American entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses to expand.

Infrastructure investments require capital goods and services, as Panama’s 21st Century Canal project is demonstrating. Why not dismantle barriers to lower the cost of infrastructure expansion?

Better logistics make economies more competitive. The World Bank’s 2012 Logistics Performance Index estimated that Latin American logistics costs are between 16 and 26 percent of GDP – that’s two to four times the average in Europe or East Asia.

The World Bank has helped Colombia and Peru to implement a “single window” approach to customs clearance and border management. In Brazil and Peru, the Bank has worked with international freight forwarders to connect rural, remote villages and small businesses to export through national postal services; in the first six months, more than 300 small firms in Peru became exporters, most for the first time.

Even as the WTO works toward a Trade Facilitation agreement, the Americas could develop an accord that points the way.

Brazilian officials are focused on exchange rates. Yet to really boost growth the target should be productivity. Better infrastructure can help, and so can more efficient and effective public services. The World Bank Group has launched a deeper partnership with the Governors of the Northeastern states of Brazil to overcome these impediments. Over time, however, the United States and its free trade partners should be working with Brazil to rebuild the case for a hemispheric initiative to realize the benefits of trade liberalization and economic reforms.

It takes two to tango, and this agenda requires changes on the part of the United States, too. The United States is no longer leading the open trade agenda, as it relies increasingly on defensive measures. The United States has its own high costs of trade – antiquated ports and laws to protect special interests.

The United States should work with its current free trade partners in the Americas to deepen ties of development, reform, and investment.

The current architecture of US FTAs in the hemisphere offers a solid legal framework, but it needs to evolve into a home for an ongoing dialogue – across countries and with business, academic, civil society, and environmental communities – to see what else can be done to lower costs and barriers and create opportunities.

The United States and its partners could explore progressive integration across the FTAs, for example by expanding provisions to cumulate inputs among partners while qualifying for free trade.

The United States needs to make its hemispheric FTA network dynamic, linked to business and investment policies, and improved governance.

A new concept of an FTA network in the Americas could also support inclusive and sustainable development as the foundation for open societies and borders.

Second, innovation in the energy sector, led by the United States, could transform energy security for North America, the Hemisphere, and the world.

In 2008, imports supplied 70 percent of US oil demand. By 2020, PFC Energy estimates that imports could be down to 40 percent of US oil demand – or even 20 percent if Canadian oil is counted as part of the home market. If natural gas for Canada and the United States is added, U.S. net energy imports from the rest of the world could drop to five percent of U.S. demand. That’s an amazing game-changer in energy.

If Mexico opens PEMEX to real outside investment, the outlook is even brighter. With the discovery of the giant deep offshore PRESAL oil and gas fields, Brazil can play a major role in supplying oil and gas in the region.

Yet there is a need to connect these energy supplies – through infrastructure – with countries in Central America and the Caribbean that have suffered from high prices and limited access. Increased efficiency and alternative sources could help the energy poor, too. It’s long past time for a hemispheric energy policy – blending consideration of inclusive growth, the environment, and indigenous communities’ interests.

Third, this new Hemispheric partnership needs to break old patterns of diplomacy. There are now vibrant private sectors all across the hemisphere. The challenges of overcoming the middle income trap and structural reforms to boost productivity need private sector advice and solutions. All across the developing world, the World Bank is encountering a new pragmatism about involving the private sector in areas that used to be public monopolies: infrastructure; education; healthcare; skills training; delivery of public social services. Advanced economies such as the United States should be taking note, too.

Yet government-business dialogues can be stilted showcases. The Summit of the Americas – and perhaps the Dialogue – should review which approaches work better and why. With some guidance, businesses can better connect possibilities with policies. Governments can commit to responses, commitments, openness, and results.

Fourth, the new Hemispheric agenda should help all 35 countries overcome security threats to growth and opportunity.

The fragile governments of Central America are at risk of being overwhelmed by crime and violence linked to drug trafficking, organized crime, gangs, and firepower. Spain, which has roughly the same population as Central America, has about 400 murders per year; in 2010, Central America had over 18,000.

The region pays a heavy economic price for this insecurity – as much as 8 percent of GDP. The basic legitimacy of governments and institutions is fraying: About half of Central Americans say a military coup could be justified when crime levels are high.

Experiences from Medellin and Rio de Janeiro have shown that the best way to attack criminal insecurity is through an integrated approach: combining stepped-up policing, prevention, and community investments. Quick turnarounds are possible. Strong regional cooperation is indispensable.

The United States has an unfortunate pattern of ignoring dangers in Central America until they explode. This time U.S. diplomacy should work with Mexico, Colombia, and Panama to develop a coherent strategy – not band-aids. As in Colombia, the Central American private sector must also be part of the solution. And the United States should also take responsibility for the drug habits of its public that fuel demand for narcotics from the south.

Fragility in the Caribbean is another soft spot. But small economies can be competitive in many sectors. Accelerating integration in the Caribbean can share services, add to resilience, and boost economic prospects.

Latin America should also be looking toward a greater role in global security – through practical steps, not the old G-77 policies of the past. My friend and former colleague, Bernie Aronson has proposed, for example, that Brazil could lead by voluntarily ending its uranium enrichment program and then calling on other nations – including Iran – to follow its example. If Brazil wants to help shape the 21^st Century, leadership in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons – with an idea and action – would send a powerful signal.

Fifth, the debate over Cuba at Cartagena sounded like hollow echoes from another era. Look ahead, not back.

Chavez’s days are numbered. If his subsidies to Cuba and Nicaragua are cut, those regimes will be in trouble. The democrats of Latin America – left, center, and right – should be preparing. The calls for democracy – for an end to intimidating thugs, human rights, fair elections, and rule of law – should come from all its capitals.

There will soon be an opportunity to make the Western Hemisphere the first Democratic Hemisphere. Not a place of coups, caudillos, and cocaine -- but of democracy, development, and dignity.

This transformation will not be achieved by the Calvo doctrine. By divisive populists. By corruption. By acquiescence. By silence.

You know well that if Latins leave the work to Washington and Ottawa, the opponents of liberty and human rights will play the cards of gringoism and neo-imperialism. Trump them.

Conclusion

For the United States, a new partnership in the Western Hemisphere offers opportunities for renewal at home, too.

All the debates about macroeconomic issues – fiscal and monetary policies – as important as they are, risk inattention to microeconomic incentives, structural reforms in the United States.

Energy. Infrastructure. Education. Human capital. Competition. Environment. Innovation. The United States also needs to clear away old rigidities on these new fundamentals.

The United States also needs to draw on the energies, intelligence, and drive of all its citizens.

As my friend Luis Alberto Moreno of the Inter-American Development Bank has pointed out, the 50 million strong Hispanic community in the United States is a growing market, source of entrepreneurship, and resource for a Hemispheric economic strategy. At over $1 trillion, the purchasing power of Latinos in the United States is larger than the economies of every Latin American country except Brazil.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are between two and three million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States. Many are small. But they create jobs, earn revenues, and pay taxes.

As Latin America grows, the Hispanic businesses in the United States offer an incredible asset. Hispanics in the United States could be in the vanguard of a new Western Hemispheric economy.

Small and medium-sized Hispanic-American businesses will need help to expand their entrepreneurialism – information about markets, financing, and risk management services. To be most effective, this assistance should be decentralized – perhaps drawing on local chambers of commerce in cities and states where most Hispanic businesses can be found. The Small Business Administration, OPIC, Ex-Im Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank could then deploy their resources to help.

The world economy is still struggling to recover from the worst blows since the 1930s. Europe is a danger zone. U.S. leadership remains vital to get through the storm, to reach a new world economy of multiple poles of growth.

This is why the news coming out of the Cartagena Summit was disappointing.

This is not a time for drift, for old North-South debates, for retreat behind borders, old mindsets, or out-dated dependencies.

This is a time for the New World to again inspire novel thinking – about development, growth, structural reforms, rule of law and human rights, democracy, and security.

This Dialogue should aim high: To have the Western Hemisphere shape this next era of globalization – so that future historians will title the next chapter, not “The Passing of the New World,” but “Globalization: Made in the Americas.”

Cities to Face Sharply Rising Costs for Garbage Treatment

2012-06-06T15:30:00.000Z

New report points to 70% global increase in urban solid waste

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2012 – A new, far-reaching report on the state of municipal solid waste around the world predicts a sharp rise in the amount of garbage generated by urban residents between now and 2025. The report estimates the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) will rise from the current 1.3 billion tonnes/year to 2.2 billion tonnes/year, with much of the increase coming in rapidly growing cities in developing countries. The annual cost of solid waste management is projected to rise from the current $205 billion to $375 billion, with cost increasing most severely in low income countries.

The report, What a Waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste Management, for the first time offers consolidated data on MSW generation, collection, composition, and disposal by country and by region. In itself, this is an accomplishment because, as the report states, reliable global MSW information is either not available or incomplete, inconsistent, and incomparable. Nevertheless, the authors of the report point to a looming crisis in MSW treatment as living standards rise and urban populations grow.

“Improving solid waste management, especially in the rapidly growing cities of low income countries, is becoming a more and more urgent issue,” said Rachel Kyte, Vice President, Sustainable Development at the World Bank. “The findings of this report are sobering, but they also offer hope that once the extent of this issue is recognized, local and national leaders, as well as the international community, will mobilize to put in place programs to reduce, reuse, recycle, or recover as much waste as possible before burning it (and recovering the energy) or otherwise disposing of it. Measuring the extent of the problem is a critical first step to resolving it.”

The report notes that municipal solid waste management is the most important service a city provides. In low-income countries, MSW is often the largest single budget item for cities, and one of the largest employers. A city that cannot effectively manage its waste is rarely able to manage more complex services such as health, education, or transportation. Improving MSW is one of the most effective ways of strengthening overall municipal management.

The report shows that the amount of municipal solid waste is growing fastest in China (which surpassed the US as the world’s largest waste generator in 2004), other parts of East Asia, and part of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Growth rates for MSW in these areas are similar to their rates for urbanization and increases in GDP. There is a direct correlation between the per capita level of income in cities and the amount of waste per capita that is generated. In general, as a country urbanizes and populations become wealthier, the consumption of inorganic materials (e.g. plastics, paper, glass, aluminum) increases, while the relative organic fraction decreases.

“What we’re finding in these figures is not that surprising,” said Dan Hoornweg, Lead Urban Specialist in the Finance, Economics, and Urban Development Department of the World Bank and eco-author of the report, “What is surprising, however, is that when you add the figures up we’re looking at a relatively silent problem that is growing daily. The challenges surrounding municipal solid waste are going to be enormous, on a scale of, if not greater than, the challenges we are currently experiencing with climate change. This report should be seen as a giant wake-up call to policy makers everywhere.”

The authors of the report say an integrated solid waste management plan is needed in cities to approach solid waste in a comprehensive manner. Key to such a plan is consultation and input from all stakeholders, including citizen groups and those working on behalf of the poor and the disadvantaged. Public health and environmental protection aspects of any such plan are also critical.

The report also spells out policy recommendations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, many of which emanate from inefficient solid waste management practices. Post-consumer waste is estimated to account for almost 5% of total global GHG, while methane from landfills represents 12% of total global methane emissions. The report says that a number of practical approaches could be applied in most cities, including:

· Public education to inform people about their options to reduce waste generation and increase recycling and composting;

· Pricing mechanisms (such as product charges) to stimulate consumer behaviour to reduce waste generation and increase recycling;

· User charges tied to the quantity of waste disposed of, with (for example) consumers separating recyclables paying a lower fee for waste disposal; and/or

· Preferential procurement policies and pricing to stimulate demand for products made with recycled post-consumer waste.

For a link to the report, click here: http://go.worldbank.org/BCQEP0TMO0

Contacts:

In Washington: Roger Morier, +1 202 473 5675, rmorier@worldbank.org

For Broadcast Requests: Natalia Cieslik, +1 202 458 9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

World Bank Group Unveils New Focus on ‘Green, Clean, Resilient’ Development

2012-06-05T04:00:00.000Z

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2012 -- The World Bank Group today released its ambitious, new Environment Strategy for 2012-2022 aimed at supporting countries to pursue sustainable development pathways that are green, inclusive, efficient, and affordable. The new Strategy responds to calls from governments and the private sector for new approaches to development in light of unprecedented environmental challenges and lays out a vision for “a green, clean and resilient world for all”.

“We’re seeing that working through the nexus of food crises, water insecurity, and energy needs is being made all the more complicated by environmental degradation and climate change,” said World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development Rachel Kyte. “Countries and communities and the ecosystems they depend on need to build resilience while moving to more efficient growth paths. This Strategy lays out the areas where we will put emphasis as we work to respond to countries’ needs.”

As countries seek to reduce poverty in the face of climate change and other major environmental challenges, the Bank Group is providing knowledge, solutions and financing to foster an environment that is:

· Green where natural resources are sustainably managed and conserved to improve livelihoods and ensure food security;

· Clean in which cleaner air, water and oceans enable people to lead healthy, productive lives and where development strategies emphasize low-emission, climate-smart transport, energy, agriculture and urban development;

· Resilient in which countries are better prepared for shocks and less vulnerable to natural disasters, volatile weather patterns and other impacts of climate change.

World Bank commitments addressing environment and natural resource management have grown from $1.5 billion or 8.4 percent of World Bank lending in FY01 to $6.3 billion or 14.3 percent in FY11.

“The Strategy acknowledges the vital role of the private sector in achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development,” said International Finance Corporation (IFC) Vice President for Business Advisory Services Nena Stoiljkovic. “IFC works with the private sector as an advisor, financier, and standard setter to help unlock this potential.”

The IFC invested $1.7 billion in climate-friendly projects in FY11, up 6 percent from $1.6 billion in FY10.

Under the “green” agenda, a key priority is the Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) global partnership which supports countries’ efforts to factor natural capital into national accounting systems and through the Global Partnership for Oceans, the focus is on restoring the world’s oceans to health and optimizing their contribution to economic growth and food security. The “clean” agenda prioritizes pollution management through river clean-up and legacy pollution projects while also encouraging low-emission development strategies and financing for renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and lower-carbon cities.

The “resilience” agenda, targets support to countries to adapt to climate change, improve disaster risk management, with a focus on vulnerable Small Island Developing States to reduce dependence on oil imports, build sound infrastructure, and restore protective coastal ecosystems such as mangroves.

The Strategy includes action plans for the specific environmental challenges in each developing region of the world.

· In Africa, work will focus on strengthening governance for natural resource management given growing pressure on the region’s agriculture, mining, forests, and water basins. In partnership with other agencies, the private sector, and civil society, the Bank Group is seeking to expand access to clean energy across the region.

· In East Asia and the Pacific the Bank Group is supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency, sustainable urban development and transport, as well as prioritizing the phase-out of numerous industrial pollutants; advising on carbon markets and adaptation in agriculture and coastal infrastructure; scaling up forest management; and strengthening regional partnerships to preserve biodiversity.

· In Europe and Central Asia where many countries are faced with energy shortages and a legacy of industrial pollution, the Bank Group is promoting clean energy and production while supporting programs to dispose of pollutant stockpiles, rehabilitate watersheds and improve disaster preparedness.

· In Latin America and the Caribbean where pressure continues on coastlines, wetlands, and the world’s largest forest cover, the Bank Group is supporting the management of protected areas, the integration of biodiversity conservation into productive landscapes and in some countries, the use of payments for environmental services. It is also providing the world’s most urbanized region with policy advice on cleaner development paths, supporting industrial pollution abatement, and promoting “green cities”.

· In Middle East and North Africa where high population density, water scarcity, and overfishing tend primarily to affect the poor, the Bank Group is supporting programs to strengthen the capacity of countries with shared seas—the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Gulf—to reduce marine pollution and manage fisheries. Other focus areas include desert ecosystems and livelihoods; improved urban and industrial planning; scaled-up solar power generation; and efforts to reduce vulnerability to drought.

· In South Asia where the poorest live in areas of high soil erosion, variable rainfall, and degraded forests, the Bank Group is helping to strengthen the role of natural resource management in the development agenda, strengthen environmental management in industry and reduce the costs to countries of environmental degradation.

Meeting the challenges of a green, clean, and resilient world requires leveraging the comparative advantage of all development partners. The new Strategy recognizes the growing role of the private sector in addressing sustainability concerns, developing sustainability standards, and ensuring that global markets can and do promote sustainable development.

The Strategy also encompasses the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) - the arm of the World Bank Group that promotes responsible foreign direct investment into developing countries by offering political risk insurance to the private sector.

"MIGA is pleased to have contributed to this strategy and to advance the notion that the private sector is absolutely crucial to affect change with respect to environmental issues," said Michel Wormser, MIGA's Vice President and COO.

To measure and monitor progress the Environment Strategy includes a results framework to track progress over time. The new Strategy also advances work to assess greenhouse gas emissions from the Bank Group’s portfolio of development projects with pilots being undertaken in a number of World Bank energy, transport and forestry sector projects.

Contacts:
In Washington: Elisabeth Mealey, +1 202-458-4475, emealey@worldbank.org

Vanessa Bauza, +1 202-458-1603, vbauza@ifc.org
Mallory Saleson +1 202-473-0844 msaleson@worldbank.org

For Broadcast Requests: Natalia Cieslik, +1 202-458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

To read the World Bank Group Environment Strategy 2012-2022, click here.

For more information on Sustainable Development at the World Bank click here.

For more information on the IFC Sustainability: www.ifc.org/sustainability

For more information on MIGA: www.miga.org

The project Competitiveness DPL is now in the pipeline.

2012-06-05T04:00:00.000Z

The project Competitiveness DPL is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

World Bank Projects Sharp Slowdown for the South East European Economies in 2012

2012-06-04T14:21:16.000Z

NEWS RELEASE

македонски /shqip/srpski

Growth to slow from 2.2 percent in 2011 to 1.1 percent in 2012

Skopje, June 05, 2012–Six countries in South East Europe (SEE6)¹ face a sharp slowdown in growth in 2012 amid heightened uncertainties in the Eurozone, says a new World Bank report released today. In the short term, the report says that several countries must implement sustained fiscal consolidation to reverse adverse debt dynamics and establish a basis for more dynamic, long-term growth. At the same time, the countries are facing a considerable structural reform agenda to improve productivity and competitiveness and reform their labor markets and public sectors.

“After 2.2 percent growth in 2011, early indications are that Southeast Europe’s six (SEE6) countries are experiencing a significant slowdown to 1.1 percent growth in 2012,” says Željko Bogetić, Lead Economist for the Western Balkans at the World Bank, and author of the South East Europe Regular Economic Report No. 2 (SEE RER), the second of a series of regular bi-annual reports.“Weak economic conditions in the Eurozone have exerted a drag on domestic demand, trade, and government revenues in SEE6 countries.”

While the drop to 1 percent growth would mark a sharp slowdown, Bogetić also emphasized that the figure could be worse, depending on how the Greek economic crisis is resolved.

“Importantly, this baseline projection assumes an orderly resolution of the Greek crisis and a containment of the broader contagion. Hence the importance of strengthening fiscal and financial buffers in all countries.”

With high levels of public debt and financing pressures, most countries have to adopt significant fiscal consolidation programs.

“This is the key short-term policy challenge for countries whose public debt-to-GDP ratio has been increasing rapidly,” says Bogetić, emphasizing that “economic policy must strike a balance between the need to improve public finances and reduce macroeconomic vulnerabilities, on the one hand, and strengthen the economic policy environment for investment, growth, and jobs, on the other.“

The financial sector in SEE6 remains relatively well placed, but risks are elevated, especially given a high risk of a broader contagion from the Greek crisis. The importance of the authorities continuing to take pro-active measures to require banks to build buffers and strengthen the resilience of the sector cannot be overemphasized.

Policymakers should especially take note of the difficult social situation and related trends: SEE6 countries are experiencing the highest unemployment and poverty rates in Europe.

Growth was weak and largely “jobless” during the nascent recovery in 2010-11. Poverty reduction gains from the pre-crisis period are being reversed, and the middle class has become more vulnerable, according to both objective and subjective indicators of welfare.

In the face of much more moderate growth prospects than before the crisis and high social pressures, SEE6 country governments should adopt a more ambitious and urgent structural reform agenda for growth and jobs.

In the longer-term, however, SEE6 countries face a historic opportunity to take advantage of the European “convergence train”––a reduction in the long-term per capita income gap with developed, “core’ European Union (EU) countries. All earlier entrants into the EU experienced this strong “catch up.” The same “convergence train” awaits new EU candidate countries among SEE6, but only with appropriate policies and reforms.

“The SEE6 long-term structural reform agenda must be focused on leveraging greater trade and financial flows and, especially, on reforming labor markets and the public sectors,” says Jane Armitage, World Bank Country Director and Regional Coordinator for South East Europe.

The special feature of the report is the focus on long-term prospects for convergence of SEE6 countries with the developed European countries and associated policy challenges

^{1SEE6 are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.}

^{For more on the report, and also, the full report here}

Contacts:
Skopje: Denis Boskovski, +389 23 117-159, dboskovski@worldbank.org
Belgrade: Vesna Kostic, +381 11 3023-747, vkostic@worldbank.org
Mirjana Popovic, +381 11 3023-747, mpopovic@worldbank.org
Sarajevo: Јасмина Хаџиќ, +387 33 251 302, jhadzic@worldbank.org
Pristina: Lundrim Aliu, +381-38-224-454, laliu1@worldbank.org
Tirana: Ana Gjokutaj, +355 4 2 280 655, agjokutaj@worldbank.org
Podgorica: Драгана Варезиќ, +382-20-665-353, dvarezic@worldbank.org
Washington: Victor Neagu +1 (202) 458 2736 vneagu@worldbank.org

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Be updated via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/worldbank
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Supporting growth in South-East Europe: Financial reporting and auditing play a critical role

2012-05-31T15:55:10.000Z

World Bank conference convenes ministers and senior officials in Vienna

VIENNA, May 31, 2012 – Ministers and senior officials from seven countries of South-East Europe and Moldova, participating in the Road to Europe - Program of Accounting Reform and Institutional Strengthening (REPARIS), as well as representatives from the EU, other European countries and international bodies, gathered in Vienna for the third REPARIS Ministerial Conference on 31 May.

Participating ministers and senior officials reviewed the progress that their countries have made in enhancing their financial reporting systems and aligning them with EU legislation.

As part of their efforts to support economic growth and to integrate more closely with the EU, most countries in the program have introduced new accounting laws. Countries are also strengthening their educational systems as well as the capacity of their accounting professions. Several countries are now moving to the next stage of reform by setting up the systems of public oversight and quality control that are needed to ensure that the new accounting rules are implemented consistently and reliably in practice.

The ministers and senior officials discussed how improved financial reporting helps reduce the barriers to business investment, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), thus helping to boost competitiveness and economic growth. They also discussed what further measures with regard to the EU’s new accounting directive (including special provisions for microenterprises), audit oversight and quality assurance need to be taken and how REPARIS can help them implement financial reporting reform.

In his opening address to the conference, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, Philippe Le Houerou, acknowledged that the financial crisis had left the countries of Europe and Central Asia with higher levels of public debt, weakened financial sectors, and historically high levels of unemployment. The crisis unveiled weaknesses that called for deep structural reforms. In response to these challenges, one of the main pillars of the World Bank´s strategy has been support for reforms to improve competitiveness.

“Good public and corporate governance is not a luxury, but a necessity for sustainable growth. The work of REPARIS on financial reporting is critical to the competitiveness agenda. It is also an important aspect of good governance, which requires transparency and integrity both in the public and the private sector”, said Le Houerou

The Governments of Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg are the main supporters of REPARIS.

“One program cannot tackle all the challenges we are facing. It must be selective to use its limited resources most effectively to deliver upon its agreed objectives. REPARIS is able to achieve just that. REPARIS helps to build and strengthen institutions to make the financial system more stable and to create a business climate conducive to promote growth and employment.”, highlighted Andreas Schieder, State Secretary in the Austrian Ministry of Finance in his opening remarks.

Ms. Biljana Šćekić, Deputy Minister of Finance of Montenegro, underlined the following: “Montenegro has been a part of the REPARIS program from its very beginning, and as a candidate country of the European Union, we are serious about completing our Accounting and Audit Reform journey.

This is important […] to deliver a climate that will enable our small young country to compete for investment and jobs in the new reality that is the Europe of today.”

Gerhard Schumann-Hitzler, Director, Financial Instruments and Regional Programmes at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Enlargement emphasized the importance of regional initiatives like REPARIS in improving the business environment, especially for SMEs, in the countries of the Western Balkans.

The conference was organized as part of the REPARIS program, which supports the efforts of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia to introduce effective and EU-compliant systems of financial reporting. REPARIS was launched in 2009 for a period of five years. The program is managed by the World Bank Centre for Financial Reporting Reform (CFRR), based in Vienna.

On the occasion of the Ministerial Conference, the CFRR is organizing in Vienna three technical workshops covering key aspects of the corporate financial reporting agenda relevant to policymakers, financial regulators, and professional accountancy organizations in the REPARIS countries.

Getting Macedonian Farm Products to EU Markets

2012-05-30T18:52:48.000Z

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Getting Macedonian Farm Products to EU Markets

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World Bank Increases Transparency through Inaugural Publication of Sanctions Board Decisions

2012-05-30T13:30:00.000Z

Milestone in anti-corruption agenda unmatched by any other IFI

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2012 - Marking another advance in openness and accountability in its anti-corruption work, the World Bank Group today published for the first time a set of decisions issued by the World Bank Group’s Sanctions Board in cases of alleged fraud and corruption.

"The World Bank Group takes a hard line against corruption, and we believe that greater transparency must be part of that effort,” said World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati. “By publishing Sanctions Board decisions, we are making all parties involved in the sanctions process more accountable. This move should deepen the deterrent effect of debarments and enhance the educational value of the Sanctions Board’s findings."

The first published decisions were announced at a panel discussion hosted by the World Bank Group Sanctions Board Secretariat to take stock of recent developments and consider ongoing challenges for the Bank Group’s sanctions system. At the discussion, the Bank Group also announced the appointment of two new Sanctions Board members: Mr. Yves Fortier, an international arbitrator and former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, who will serve as Chair of the Sanctions Board; and Ms. Catherine O’Regan, President of the International Monetary Fund Administrative Tribunal and former Judge of the South African Constitutional Court.

The Sanctions Board, an independent administrative tribunal with a majority of external members, serves as final decision-maker in all contested sanctions cases. Decisions are taken based on an adversarial process that includes written arguments and evidence and, where requested, an administrative hearing. More than 530 firms and individuals have been sanctioned by the World Bank Group for fraud, corruption and collusion since the sanctions system was established in 1999. Most of these sanctions have been in the form of debarments, where firms or individuals are rendered ineligible to participate in Bank Group-financed operations.

From December 2011, the Sanctions Board Law Digest has made publicly available summaries of past cases and the legal principles applied over time. The publication of full Sanctions Board decisions goes a step further and creates an unprecedented level of transparency by presenting the Sanctions Board’s detailed review of each new appeal to determine whether misconduct occurred and if so, what sanctions should apply.

"Publication of our decisions furthers the Sanctions Board's goal to fight fraud and corruption through the rule of law," said Fathi Kemicha, the first external Chair of the Sanctions Board. "Parties that come before the Sanctions Board, as well as our partners in the international community, will now have a more robust understanding of our process, case law, and careful examination of each case."

The decisions published today can be accessed on the World Bank’s external website, and explain the rationale for sanctions imposed in eight cases recently considered by the Sanctions Board:

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 46 (Sanctions Case No. 151): Income Electrix Limited debarred for six months for fraud.

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 47 (Sanctions Case No. 121): M/s. Concept Pharmaceuticals Limited debarred for fraud, with conditional release after three years.

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 48 (Sanctions Case No. 118): Zhonghao Overseas Construction Eng. Co., Ltd. debarred for two years for fraud, with conditional early release after one year.

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 49 (Sanctions Case No. 130): De Lorenzo of America, Corp., S.A. de C.V., and its affiliate Marketing Enterprises Latin America, LLC., each debarred for fraud, with conditional release after two years.

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 50 (Sanctions Case No. 117): ASDECON Corporation Company Limited debarred for corrupt practices, with conditional release after five years.

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 51 (Sanctions Case No. 145 and Sanctions Case No. 146):

- Sanctions Case No. 145: General Consulting Training (GCT) and Mr. Ali Safi each debarred for one year for fraud.

- Sanctions Case No. 146: TEAM Engineering & Management Consultants (TEAM) debarred for fraud, with conditional release after two years.

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 52 (Sanctions Case No. 134): Contransimex Nigeria Limited debarred for fraud, with conditional release after two years.

All sanctions are reflected on the World Bank Listing of Ineligible Firms & Individuals (www.worldbank.org/debarr).

For more information, please visit: www.worldbank.org/sanctions

Contacts:

In Washington: David Theis, (202) 458-8626, dtheis@worldbank.org;

For Broadcast Requests: Natalia Cieslik, (202) 458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

New Initiatives Give Hope to a Carbon Market Facing Challenges

2012-05-30T12:30:00.000Z

World Bank releases State and Trends of the Carbon Market report 2012

COLOGNE, GERMANY, May 30, 2012 – The total value of the carbon market grew by 11 percent in 2011, to $176 billion, and transaction volumes reached a new high of 10.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) according to a new report from the World Bank.

According to State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2012 this growth took place in the face of economic turbulence, growing long-term oversupply in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and plummeting carbon prices.

The report, released here at the Carbon Expo in Cologne, describes how even as prices declined, the value of the global carbon market increased in 2011, driven predominantly by a robust growth in financially motivated transactions. By far, the largest segment of the carbon market was that of EU Allowances (EUAs), valued at $148 billion. There was also a substantial increase in the volume of secondary Kyoto offsets (which grew by 43 percent, to 1.8 billion tons of CO₂e, valued at US$23 billion) fueled by increased liquidity in the Certified Emission Reduction (CER) market and in the nascent secondary Emission Reduction Unit (ERU) market. Following the same pattern observed in previous years, the global carbon market in 2011 was primarily driven by the EU ETS.

With the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012, the value of the pre-2013 primary CER, ERU and AAU markets declined once again in 2011. Not surprisingly, however, the market is starting to look beyond 2012 and consequently the post-2012 primary CDM market increased by a robust 63 percent, to US$2 billion, despite depressed prices and limited long-term-visibility. Although China remained the largest source of contracted CERs, African countries – largely bypassed in the pre-2013 market – emerged stronger in 2011 and accounted for 21 percent of post-2012 CERs contracted during the year.

Against this backdrop, several new domestic and regional carbon market initiatives gained traction in both developed and developing economies in 2011. Five new jurisdictions passed legislation adopting cap-and-trade schemes.

“It is heartening to see that, while leading economies continue to experience difficulties and the carbon market faces major challenges, we see increasing interest in, and support for, new market-based mechanisms to mitigate climate change in the long term,” said Joëlle Chassard, Manager of the Carbon Finance Unit of the World Bank.

The Australian Parliament passed the Clean Energy Act, the California Air Resources Board adopted a cap-and-trade regulation, and Québec adopted its own cap-and-trade program. The province is now working toward linking it with California’s starting in 2013. Last month, both Mexico and the Republic of Korea passed comprehensive climate bills, laying the foundation for future market-based mechanisms.

“Together, these initiatives will drive substantial resources towards low-carbon investments and they have the potential to unleash a truly transformational carbon market, in support of a global solution to the climate challenge,” said Alexandre Kossoy, Senior Financial Specialist, World Bank Carbon Finance Unit.

Contacts:

In Cologne: Isabel Hagbrink, +1 202 458 0422, ihagbrink@worldbank.org

In Washington DC: Elisabeth Mealey, +1 202 458 4475, emealey@worldbank.org

For an electronic version of the report and more information on the Carbon Finance Unit and its carbon funds, please see: www.carbonfinance.org

The project ADD'L FINANCING - MUNICIPAL SERVICES IMPROVEMENT PROJECT has changed to Active

2012-05-24T04:00:00.000Z

The project ADD'L FINANCING - MUNICIPAL SERVICES IMPROVEMENT PROJECT has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Additional Financing for the Municipal Services Improvement Project for Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of is to improve transparency, financial sustainability and delivery of targeted municipal services in the participating municipalities. The additional loan will finance the costs associated with scaling-up of project activities to enhance the impact of a well-performing project and help mitigating the adverse impacts of the unfolding economic crisis. It will continue: (i) financing investments in basic local infrastructure and municipal services; (ii) providing technical assistance (TA) to municipalities and Communal Service Enterprises (CSEs); (iii) supporting institutional reforms in municipalities through performance grants; and (iv) supporting operation of the Project Management Unit (PMU) responsible for project implementation.

The project Legal & Judicial Implementation & Institutional Support Project has changed to Closed

2012-04-02T04:00:00.000Z

The project Legal & Judicial Implementation & Institutional Support Project has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Legal and Judicial Implementation and Institutional Support Project (LJIIS) is to contribute to improving judicial efficiency and effectiveness and the business climate in FYR Macedonia by: (i) enhancing ministerial and judicial capacity to systemically implement the Government's Judicial Reform Strategy and key laws; and (ii) improving judicial infrastructure. The project consists of three components. The first component, ministerial and judicial capacity building, will strengthen the capacity of key institutions in the justice system, and will support the implementation of the proposed law on the judicial council, the new bankruptcy law, and the new legal framework for administrative disputes through subcomponents focusing on improving the quality of judicial management and the judiciary; administrative inspections and the administrative dispute resolution; and improving bankruptcy administration and ministry of economy supervision. The second component, improving court infrastructure, will support the implementation of the new law on courts by supporting the construction and rehabilitation of courthouses in FYR Macedonia. The third component, enhancing judicial information technology systems, will help to strengthen the supply and analysis of statistical and other information for the management and functioning of the justice system.

The project ADD'L FINANCING - MUNICIPAL SERVICES IMPROVEMENT PROJECT is now in the pipeline.

2012-03-12T04:00:00.000Z

The project ADD'L FINANCING - MUNICIPAL SERVICES IMPROVEMENT PROJECT is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Second Trade and Transport Facilitation Project has changed to Closed

2011-12-28T05:00:00.000Z

The project Second Trade and Transport Facilitation Project has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The Second Macedonia Trade and Transport Facilitation Project (TTFSE II) supports the efforts of the Government to improve its border crossing facilities and procedures to make them more efficient. More specifically, the project will support the Ministry of Finance in enhancing working conditions and efficiency of border agencies at the Blace border crossing with Kosovo. Under the project, the Ministry of Transport and Communication will address railway border-crossing bottlenecks and take actions to increase the competitiveness of the railway operations. All border-crossing agencies will benefit directly or indirectly from the project through improved interagency cooperation and modernization of procedures to enhance efficiency.

The project FYR Macedonia Policy Based Guarantee is now in the pipeline.

2011-11-30T05:00:00.000Z

The project FYR Macedonia Policy Based Guarantee is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Policy Based Guarantee (PBG) Program for Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is to help reduce future risks to stability by strengthening sustainability of public finances and the resilience of the financial sector and to support improved protection of the most vulnerable and to enhance incentives for formal labor market participation. This program document describes the PBG to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia) to support the government's program aimed at strengthening sustainability of public finances and functioning of labor markets, improving performance of social protection, and strengthening resilience of the financial sector. The medium-term fiscal policy supported by the program will remain supportive of macroeconomic stability, as well as nascent growth recovery. The program, among others, supports measures to enhance incentives for formal labor market participation. In addition, the program will continue to support social protection reforms to ensure that future growth is more inclusive than before, and financial sector stability, including by supporting an independent and accountable monetary authority and strengthening contingency planning. The PBG is proposed in light of the country's strong track record in macroeconomic management, improving structural and social policies and adequate external financing plan. FYR Macedonia restored macroeconomic stability early in the transition process and has maintained it for almost one and a half decades. This, combined with structural reforms, facilitated stronger growth prior to the crisis while keeping internal and external balances manageable.

The project Lukovo Pole Water Regulation and Renewable Energy Project is now in the pipeline.

2011-07-19T04:00:00.000Z

The project Lukovo Pole Water Regulation and Renewable Energy Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Energy Infrastructure Improvement Project is now in the pipeline.

2011-06-15T04:00:00.000Z

The project Energy Infrastructure Improvement Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Additional Financing for Energy Community of South East Europe Project is to support the functioning of Macedonian Power Transmission System Operator (MEPSO) in the context of the regional power market through financing investments necessary to rehabilitate and upgrade the power transmission network, increase the level of interconnection with neighboring power systems, and to strengthen the institutional capacity of AD MEPSO. The additional loan will finance: (1) a financing gap in the ongoing project estimated at US$ 4 million equivalent leaving insufficient funds for the financing of one sub-project, the replacement of an overhead transmission line (OHTL) from Skopje to Tetovo; and (2) scaled-up activities that include construction of a 400 KV overhead transmission line (OHTL) from the existing stip substation in FYR Macedonia to the Serbian border.

The project Business Environment Reform & Institution Strengthening Project has changed to Closed

2011-06-15T04:00:00.000Z

The project Business Environment Reform & Institution Strengthening Project has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The overall objective of the Business Environment Reform and Institutional Strengthening Project for Macedonia is to strengthen the capacity of the Government to improve selected areas of the business environment in a European Union (EU)-oriented context. The restructuring is pursuant to requests from the Borrower in letters dated June 10 and June 29, 2010 requesting the following changes: (a) partial cancellation of proceeds of the loan in the total amount of 2.4 million EUR which has already been acknowledged by the Bank effective June 10, 2010, (b) improvement and refinement of the results framework, namely the project development objective (PDO) indicators and intermediate result indicators, and (c) revision of the name and broadening of the scope of component three (currently competition policy) of the project to cover a broader set of activities related to the industrial policy strategy and competitiveness strategies. The partial cancellation also necessitates a reallocation.

The project Education Modernization Project has changed to Closed

2011-06-15T04:00:00.000Z

The project Education Modernization Project has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Education Modernization Project for Macedonia is to improve the quality of learning and participation at the targeted schools by strengthening school level planning and management; and improved equity and efficiency for a decentralized education system. It is the Bank' assessment that a four month extension would be prudent to ensure the completion of all activities undertaken in the second round of the school improvement grants program and to allow loan proceeds to be fully disbursed. The Ministry of education and science has prepared an action plan for completion of the remaining activities reflecting the extension of four months. The plan has been closely reviewed by the Bank team during the supervision visit in the week of September 11, 2010 and has been found acceptable. There are no outstanding audits for this project. The World Bank concurred with borrower's request for one year extension dated March 31, 2009.

The project AF-REAL ESTATE CADASTRE & REGISTRATION PROJECT is now in the pipeline.

2009-10-20T04:00:00.000Z

The project AF-REAL ESTATE CADASTRE & REGISTRATION PROJECT is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Development Policy Loan is now in the pipeline.

2009-09-24T04:00:00.000Z

The project Development Policy Loan is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objectives of the First Programmatic Development Policy Loan Program for Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of are: (i) to manage the impact of the global crisis by maintaining a sound macroeconomic and fiscal framework; (ii) to cushion the impact on the poor and vulnerable by enhancing social protection systems; and (iii) to strengthen the resilience of the financial sector by addressing potential vulnerabilities. The ultimate objective is to support the Government to emerge from the crisis on a stronger footing and to resume sustained high growth and convergence in living standards with the rest of Europe. The ongoing international economic crisis has brought to a halt the acceleration of economic activity of the last few years in the FYR of Macedonia. Following growth rates of close to six percent in 2007 and the first three quarters of 2008, economic activity has slowed down considerably since. Industrial production has been declining, business confidence has reached low levels, financing conditions have become tighter and labor market performance has deteriorated. Exports have dropped sharply. Negative effects have also spilled over into the fiscal accounts, and tax revenues in particular have disappointed relative to expectations, although two budget revisions in May and October 2009 have introduced sharp expenditure cuts, and hence the fiscal deficit is still forecast to be a manageable 2.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The authorities have proactively managed the crisis to create grounds for a sustainable and robust recovery. Anti-crisis measures were announced in late 2008 and early 2009. Following an initial fiscal stimulus, the two supplementary budgets adopted in 2009 have not only helped to contain public spending but also to improve its allocation. Non-priority expenditures were eliminated while funds for the social safety nets were protected. In addition, comprehensive payroll reform has been introduced to boost competitiveness of the economy. Significant improvements to the business environment were undertaken and measures to strengthen the resilience of the financial sector are underway.