Author: François Bourguignon
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821368427
Category : Adaptation (Biology)
Languages : en
Pages : 300
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Book Description
This book provides profiles of over 50 countries with 54 development indicators about people, environment, economy, technology, infrastructure, trade and finance, all in one handy, pocketsized volume. A must have for anyone interested in today's development challenges in subSaharan Africa.
Author: D. I. Blockley
Publisher: Thomas Telford
ISBN: 9780727727480
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 500
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Book Description
"This is a serious and impressive work. It will help those who are committed to changing the industry to create structures to do so, whether in one area or in totality. It offers a whole range of powerful tools, which will be particularly useful to those with the personal drive to apply them to rethinking construction. It is packed with examples that help to flesh out a rigorous analysis of how the industry can improve."David Fison, Kvaerner Construction
Author: Robert W. Poole
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022655760X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 376
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Book Description
A transportation expert makes a provocative case for changing the nation’s approach to highways, offering “bold, innovative thinking on infrastructure” (Rick Geddes, Cornell University). Americans spend hours every day sitting in traffic. And the roads they idle on are often rough and potholed, with exits, tunnels, guardrails, and bridges in terrible disrepair. According to transportation expert Robert Poole, this congestion and deterioration are outcomes of the way America manages its highways. Our twentieth-century model overly politicizes highway investment decisions, short-changing maintenance and often investing in projects whose costs exceed their benefits. In Rethinking America’s Highways, Poole examines how our current model of state-owned highways came about and why it is failing to satisfy its customers. He argues for a new model that treats highways themselves as public utilities—like electricity, telephones, and water supply. If highways were provided commercially, Poole argues, people would pay for highways based on how much they used, and the companies would issue revenue bonds to invest in facilities people were willing to pay for. Arguing for highway investments to be motivated by economic rather than political factors, this book makes a carefully-reasoned and well-documented case for a new approach to highways.
Author: Marianne Fay
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464811024
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 121
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Book Description
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) does not have the infrastructure it needs, or deserves, given its income. Many argue that the solution is to spend more; by contrast, this report has one main message: Latin America can dramatically narrow its infrastructure service gap by spending efficiently on the right things. This report asks three questions: what should LAC countries’ goals be? How can these goals be achieved as cost-effectively as possible? And who should pay to reach these goals? In doing so, we drop the ‘infrastructure gap’ notion, favoring an approach built on identifying the ‘service gap’. Benchmarking Latin America in this way reveals clear strengths and weaknesses. Access to water and electricity is good, with the potential for the region’s electricity sector to drive competitive advantage; by contrast, transport and sanitation should be key focus areas for further development. The report also identifies and analyses some of the emerging challenges for the region—climate change, increased demand and urbanization—that will put increasing pressure on infrastructure and policy makers alike. Improving the region’s infrastructure performance in the context of tight fiscal space will require spending better on well identified priorities. Unlike most infrastructure diagnostics, this report argues that much of what is needed lies outside the infrastructure sector †“ in the form of broader government issues—from competition policy, to budgeting rules that no longer solely focus on controlling cash expenditures. We also find that traditional recommendations continue to apply regarding independent, well-performing regulators and better corporate governance, and highlight the critical importance of cost recovery where feasible and desirable, as the basis for future commercial finance of infrastructure services. Latin America has the means and potential to do better; and it can do so by spending more efficiently on the right things.
Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264308113
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 136
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Book Description
This report is a joint effort by the OECD, UN Environment and the World Bank Group, supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. It focuses on how governments can move beyond the current incremental approach to climate action.
Author: Margot P. C. Weijnen
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783030745851
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 245
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Book Description
This open access book makes a case for a socially inclusive energy transition and illustrates how engineering and public policy professionals can contribute to shaping an inclusive energy transition, building on a socio-technical systems engineering approach. Accomplishing a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy in 2050 is a daunting challenge. This book explores the challenges of the energy transition from the perspectives of technological innovation, public policy, social values and ethics. It elaborates on two particular gaps in the design of public policy interventions focused on decarbonization of the energy system and discusses how both could be remedied. First, the siloed organization of public administration fails to account for the many interdependencies between the energy sector, the mobility system, digital infrastructure and the built environment. Cross-sector coordination of policies and policy instruments is needed to avoid potentially adverse effects upon society and the economy, which may hamper the energy transition rather than accelerate it. Second, energy and climate policies pay insufficient attention to the social values at stake in the energy transition. In addressing these gaps, this book intends to inspire decision makers engaged in the energy transition to embrace the transition as an opportunity to bring a more inclusive society into being.
Author: Vivien Foster
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464814430
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 482
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Book Description
During the 1990s, a new paradigm for power sector reform was put forward emphasizing the restructuring of utilities, the creation of regulators, the participation of the private sector, and the establishment of competitive power markets. Twenty-five years later, only a handful of developing countries have fully implemented these Washington Consensus policies. Across the developing world, reforms were adopted rather selectively, resulting in a hybrid model, in which elements of market orientation coexist with continued state dominance of the sector.This book aims to revisit and refresh thinking on power sector reform approaches for developing countries. The approach relies heavily on evidence from the past, drawing both on broad global trends and deep case material from 15 developing countries. It is also forward looking, considering the implications of new social and environmental policy goals, as well as the emerging technological disruptions.A nuanced picture emerges. Although regulation has been widely adopted, practice often falls well short of theory, and cost recovery remains an elusive goal. The private sector has financed a substantial expansion of generation capacity; yet, its contribution to power distribution has been much more limited, with efficiency levels that can sometimes be matched by well-governed public utilities. Restructuring and liberalization have been beneficial in a handful of larger middle-income nations but have proved too complex for most countries to implement.Based on these findings, the report points to three major policy implications:First, reform efforts need to be shaped by the political and economic context of the country. The 1990s reform model was most successful in countries that had reached certain minimum conditions of power sector development and offered a supportive political environment.Second, countries found alternative institutional pathways to achieving good power sector outcomes, making a case for greater pluralism. Among the top performers, some pursued the full set of market-oriented reforms, while others retained a more important role for the state.Third, reform efforts should be driven and tailored to desired policy outcomes and less preoccupied with following a predetermined process, particularly since the twenty-first-century century agenda has added decarbonization and universal access to power sector outcomes. The Washington Consensus reforms, while supportive of the twenty-first-century century agenda, will not be able to deliver on them alone and will require complementary policy measures
Author: Don E. Albrecht
Publisher: Washington State University Press
ISBN: 9780874223194
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
The vastness and isolation of the American West forged a dependence on scarce natural resources especially water, forests, fish, and minerals. Today, the internet is shaping another revolution, and it promises both obstacles and opportunity. Seeking to understand the impact of a global society on western small towns, the author, director of the Western Rural Development Center at Utah State University, conducted strategic planning roundtables in thirteen states. The gatherings brought three major concer
Author: Jeff Schlegelmilch
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231548877
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 91
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Book Description
As human society continues to develop, we have increased the risk of large-scale disasters. From health care to infrastructure to national security, systems designed to keep us safe have also heightened the potential for catastrophe. The constant pressure of climate change, geopolitical conflict, and our tendency to ignore what is hard to grasp exacerbates potential dangers. How can we prepare for and prevent the twenty-first-century disasters on the horizon? Rethinking Readiness offers an expert introduction to human-made threats and vulnerabilities, with a focus on opportunities to reimagine how we approach disaster preparedness. Jeff Schlegelmilch identifies and explores the most critical threats facing the world today, detailing the dangers of pandemics, climate change, infrastructure collapse, cyberattacks, and nuclear conflict. Drawing on the latest research from leading experts, he provides an accessible overview of the causes and potential effects of these looming megadisasters. The book highlights the potential for building resilient, adaptable, and sustainable systems so that we can be better prepared to respond to and recover from future crises. Thoroughly grounded in scientific and policy expertise, Rethinking Readiness is an essential guide to this century’s biggest challenges in disaster management.
Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264307931
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 236
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Book Description
In 2008, the weight of developing and emerging economies in the global economy tipped over the 50% mark for the first time. Since then, Perspectives on Global Development has been tracking the shift in global wealth and its impact on developing countries. How much longer can the dividends of ...
