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World Development Report 2005:
A Better Investment Climate For Everyone
(full text)(final version)

Download the Overview
Arabic
(362 KB) - Chinese (790 KB) - French (362 KB) - English (383 KB) - Portuguese (342 KB)
Russian (814 KB) - Spanish (343 KB)

Complete report (3 MB)

Table of Contents & Foreword (
120 KB)
Overview (
175 KB)


 Part 1: Improving the Investment Climate
Chapter 1: The Investment Climate, Growth, and Poverty (270 KB)
Chapter 2: Confronting the Underlying Challenges (274 KB)
Chapter 3: Tackling a Broad Agenda (220 KB)

 Part 2: Delivering the Basics
Chapter 4: Stability and Security (196 KB)
Chapter 5: Regulation and Taxation (219 KB)
Chapter 6: Finance and Infrastructure (858 KB)
Chapter 7: Workers and Labor Markets (227 KB)

 Part 3: Going beyond the basics
Chapter 8: Selective Interventions (192 KB)
Chapter 9: International Rules and Standards (137 KB)

 Part 4: How the International Community Can Help
Chapter 10: How the International Community Can Help (121 KB)

 Bibiography, Endnotes, and References
Bibliography (28 KB)
Endnotes (104 KB)
References  (370 KB)

 Selected Indicators
Measuring the Investment Climate & Selected World Development Indicators  (268 KB)
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Read also the Background Papers
and Case studies commissioned by the UK's Department for International Development

Background Papers

A Survey of Government Regulation and Intervention in Financial Markets
January 2005
By L. Klapper and R. Zaidi
The effect of finance on growth is significant enough to have policy implications. A doubling of ratio of private sector credit is associated with an increase in average long-term growth of almost 2 percent. There is, nevertheless, a need to exercise caution in pursuing credit expansion to achieve finance driven growth. Too rapid a growth can also lead to inflation, depreciation or institutional insolvency. Financial system development is commonly associated with credit expansion. However, they must also function effectively and be large in the sense of supporting firms, services providing, amount of funds intermediated and resources employed.

Impact of Government Regulation on Microfinance
By A Hubka and R. Zaidi
January 2005
Microfinance, defined as “a credit methodology that employs effective collateral substitutes to deliver and recover short-term, working capital loans to microentrepreneurs,” has demonstrated success as a poverty reduction strategy. Microfinance was initially developed by and is today still primarily deployed by non-government organizations (NGOs) who receive donor funds and on- lend to microfinance clients (often at subsidized interest rates). In many cases, governments also play a critical role—setting policy for the microfinance industry (most frequently vis-à-vis interest rates), providing lump sum grants to NGOs or other microfinance institutions (MFIs), or lending directly to the poor. Credit unions, cooperatives, commercial banks, and small informal groups (self help groups—SHGs) are other important players in microfinance.

Microeconomic Evidence of Creative Destruction in Industrial and Developing Countries October 2004

How Labor Market Policy Can Combine Workers’ Protection and Job Creation  October 2004

 Do Employers' Perceptions Square with Actual Labor Regulations?  October 2004

 The Debate on Industrial Policy in East-Asia: In Search for Lessons  September 24, 2004

How Do Investment Climate Conditions Vary Across Countries, Regions and Types of Firms? September, 2004

Tanzania's Commercial Court  August 12, 2004

Donor Assistance for Investment Climate Reforms and for Direct Support to Firms: An Overview of Available Data  July 31, 2004

Customs Valuation Reform in the PhilippinesJuly 16, 2004

 Business Registration Reforms in PakistanApril 23, 2004

Managing Investment Climate Reform: Case Study of Uganda Telecommunications  April 16, 2004

Policy Reform on Investment Climate: Case analysis of Hangzhou
March 29, 2004
By Pu Yufei, Sheng Lei and Yao Yu1
This paper studies the investment climate reforms in Hangzhou, in the context of those of the economic system in China. It describes the different waves of reforms, the forces behind them, and the effects of the reforms. Through historic and comparative analysis, the study draws the following basic conclusions. First, investment climate reform is a long process. The strength of each group grows and declines at times. Second, the reform and open policy by the central government is a strong force in promoting the improvement of the investment climate in Hangzhou. Third, the municipal government of Hangzhou was in a leading position to improve the investment climate. Fourth, whether the investment climate is good or bad has a strong impact on the economic development of the region. The course of the gradual improvement of the investment climate in Hangzhou is that of the gradual enhancement of the overall economy.

How to Overhaul the Labor Market: Political Economy of Recent Czech and Slovak Reforms  March 25, 2004

The Political Economy of Labor Reform in Colombia March 16, 2004

Managing Investment Climate Reforms: Colombian Ports Sector Reform Case Study February 26, 2004.

The Mexican Credit Reporting Industry Reform: A Case Study February 23, 2004

Managing Labor Market Reforms: Case Study of Poland  February 20, 2004

Mexican Deregulation: Smart Tape on Red Tape February 19, 2004

Managing Port Reforms in India: Case Study of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) Mumbai. February 15, 2004

Thailand's 20 Year Program to Title Rural Land February 13, 2004

Tradenet in Ghana: Best Practice in the Use of Information Technology  January 28, 2004

Managing Investment Climate Reforms: Vietnam Case Study  January 17, 2004

Managing Investment Climate Reforms: The Peru Urban Land Reform Case Study January 2, 2004

Inspectorate Reform in Latvia, 1999-2003  December 23, 2003

 The Political Economy of Reform: Institutional Change as a Tool for Political Credibility  December 4, 2003

The Investment Climate for the Informal Economy: A Case of Durban, South Africa  September 15, 2003

The Investment Climate for Female Informal Businesses: A Case Study from Urban and Rural India  September 4, 2003

Street Vending in African Cities: A Synthesis of Empirical Findings From Kenya, Cote d'Ivoire August 16, 2003


Case Studies Commissioned by the UK's Department for International Development

The Importance of the Enabling Environment for Business and Economic Growth  November 2003

Donor Experiences in Supporting Reforms to the Investment Climate for Small Enterprise Development November 2003

Less is More Better Compliance and Increased Revenues by Streamlining Business Registration in Uganda November 2003

Improving the Business Trade Licensing Reform Environment   November 2003

The Investment Climate in South Africa -  Regulatory Issues: Some insights from the high-growth, export-oriented SME sector November 2003

Investment for Development Project (IFD) - Civil Society Perceptions   November 2003

Investment Climate Reform in South Africa   November 2003

Lessons for Development from London Business School's Centre for New and Emerging Markets (CNEM) Research Project "Investment in Emerging Markets"   November 2003

Some Lessons from the CUTS 7-Up Comparative Competitive Policy Project   November 2003

Investment Climate Reform Competition Policy and Economic Development: Some Country Experiences   November 2003

Competition Law and the Investment Climate in Developing Countries   November 2003

Lessons from CBC Business Environment Surveys 1999, 2001, 2003  November 2003

Creating FDI Friendly Environments in South Asia   November 2003

Migrant Remittances and the Investment Climate: Exploring the Nexus  January 2004

Investment Climate Reform in Ukraine   November 2003

OECD (UK & EU) Home Country Measures and FDI in Developing Countries: A Preliminary Analysis  November 2003



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