World Bank Discussion Paper No. 320. Provides separate estimates of the influence of borrowing by both men and women, through three credit programs, on a variety of household and individual outcomes, including school enrollment, labor supply, the asset holdings of women, recent fertility and use of contraceptives, consumption, and the anthropometric status of children. The findings show that credit provided to women is more likely to influence these behaviors than credit provided to men and has a significant effect on the well-being of poor households in Bangladesh.

A study of the international NGO advocacy for social and environmental justice, it looks at the fundamental issues of legitimacy, accountability and democracy that such activities involve and how they are manifested. It presents case studies on trade issues, labour rights, extractive industries and indigenous people in Asia and South America.

Ch. 1. Regulating infrastructure : a review of the issues, problems, and challenges / Ed Araral [und weitere] -- pt. I. Problems, issues, and perspectives in regulation, regulatory design and outcomes. ch. 2. Infrastructure regulation : what works, why, and how do we know? / Judith Clifton [und weitere]. ch. 3. Does political accountability matter for infrastructure regulation? : the case of telecommunications / Farid Gasmi, Paul Noumba and Laura Recuero Virto. ch. 4. Entry relaxation and an independent regulator : performance impact on the mobile telecoms industry in Asia / Chalita Srinuan, Pratompong Srinuan and Erik Bohlin -- pt. II. Electricity sector regulation & governance. ch. 5. Risk, regulation and governance : institutional processes and regulatory risk in the Thai energy sector / Darryl S.L. Jarvis. ch. 6. Electricity tariff regulation in Thailand : analyses and applications of incentive regulation / Puree Sirasoontorn. ch. 7. Regulating power without a five year plan : institutional changes in the Chinese power sector / Kun-Chin Lin, Mika Purra and Hui Lin. ch. 8. The Indonesian electricity sector : institutional transition, regulatory capacity and outcomes / Mika Purra. ch. 9. Regulating the independent power producers : a comparative analysis of performance of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu in India / Rajendra Kumar. ch. 10. Partial privatization and nested regulation : institutional choices in public sector and regulatory reform / Sunil Tankha. ch. 11. The electricity industry reform in Korea : lessons for further liberalization / Junki Kim and Kyuhyun Kim -- pt. III. Water sector regulation & governance. ch. 12. Regulatory independence and contract incompleteness : assessing regulatory effectiveness in water privatization in Manila / Xun Wu, Loit Batac and Nepomuceno A. Malaluan. ch. 13. Can regulation improve the performance of government-controlled water utilities? / David Ehrhardt and Nils Janson. ch. 14. Effects of regulatory quality and political institutions on access to water and sanitation / Andrew B. Whitford, Helen Smith and Anant Mandawat. ch. 15. The regulation of water infrastructure in Italy : origins and effects of an 'hybrid' regulatory system / Alberto Asquer. ch. 16. Measuring effectiveness of regulation across a river system : a welfare approach / Alex Coram and Lyle Noakes. ch. 17. Private sector participation and regulatory reform in water supply : the Southern Mediterranean experience / Edouard Perard. ch. 18. Tempered responsiveness through regulatory negotiations in the water sector : managing unanticipated innovations emerging from participation reforms / Boyd Fuller and Sunil Tankha

This paper provides a comprehensive survey of pertinent issues on sovereign debt restructurings, based on a newly constructed database. This is the first complete dataset of sovereign restructuring cases, covering the six decades from 1950–2010; it includes 186 debt exchanges with foreign banks and bondholders, and 447 bilateral debt agreements with the Paris Club. We present new stylized facts on the outcome and process of debt restructurings, including on the size of haircuts, creditor participation, and legal aspects. In addition, the paper summarizes the relevant empirical literature, analyzes recent restructuring episodes, and discusses ongoing debates on crisis resolution mechanisms, credit default swaps, and the role of collective action clauses.

Examines how contemporary American working- class literature reveals the long- term effects of deindustrialization on individuals and communities

World Bank Discussion Paper No. 367. Many developing countries enforce seed regulations and other policies that obstruct private companies from operating and delivering new technology. This volume presents recommendations and selected papers from an international workshop organized by the World Bank in 1995 to review seed policies and to develop recommendations on ways of easing entry barriers for certain varieties of seeds in developing countries. The papers and discussions identified reforms to speed the flow of private seed technology to these countries, with a particular focus on reforms and their impacts in Bangladesh, India, Peru, and Turkey.