This evaluation examines the relevance and effectiveness of Poverty Reduction Support Credits (PRSCs), introduced by the Bank in early 2001 to support comprehensive growth, improve social conditions, and reduce poverty in IDA countries. PRSCs were intended to allow greater country-ownership, provide more predictable annual support, exhibit more flexible conditionality, and strengthen budget processes in a results-based framework. By September 2009, the Bank had approved 99 PRSCs totaling some...

Anjali Kumar, a pragmatic lawyer for Google, was part of a rapidly growing population in America: highly spiritual but religiously uncommitted. But when her daughter was born, she became compelled to find God -- or at least some kind of enlightenment.Convinced that traditional religions were not a fit for her, and knowing that she couldn't simply Google an answer to "What is the meaning of life?", Kumar set out on a spiritual pilgrimage, looking for answers -- and ...

Upon signing the Millennium Declaration in 2000, the international community committed itself to eight development goals with timebound targets and measurable indicators. The third of these eight goals was to "promote gender equality and empower women". The third Millennium Development Goal (MDG3) in the Millennium Declaration has spurred national and international efforts to improve women's situation around the globe. Equality for Women: Where Do We Stand on Millennium Goal 3? tracks co...

A modernized approach to meditation that will appeal to anyone, even if - especially if - you believe you have no time, you can't sit still, or that "it's just not you."Whether you're a Fortune 500 CEO or someone bogged down with a never-ending to-do list, the proven secret to being more effective and living a happier, healthier life is to hurry up and slow down, to unplug. Studies show that you can get more done - and do it better - by doing less, just by consciou...

This evaluation assesses the Bank Group's support for environmental sustainability in both the public and private sectors over the past 15 years. It identifies several crucial constraints that need to be addressed, perhaps most importantly insufficient government commitment to environmental goals and weak institutional capacity to deal with them. But constraints within the Bank Group, including insufficient attention to longer-term sustainable development, must be reduced as well. The Ba...

From the cofounders of The Well Daily, a playfully-illustrated, informative, and easy-to-use meditation guidebook—including an eight-week plan for busy novices—that helps even the busiest would-be meditator incorporate this practice into their lifestyle and enjoy its many physical and emotional benefits.We’ve all heard the reports about meditation: that it helps us relieve stress and anxiety, improve our moods, lose weight, and sleep better. We know that it can make us healthier, n...

The report assesses the World Bank Group?s support for growth and productivity in the agriculture sector. Enhancing agricultural growth and productivity is essential to meeting the worldwide demand for food and to reducing poverty particularly in the poorest developing countries. Between 1998 and 2008 the period covered by this evaluation the World Bank Group (WBG) provided 23.7 billion in financing for agriculture and agribusiness in 108 countries (roughly 8 percent of total WBG financing) s...

Utterly transporting and stylish, Material Girl, Mystical World takes you on an unforgettable journey through modern spirituality — from meditation and tarot to astrology—guided by wise and witty tastemaker Ruby Warrington, founder of The Numinous.Inspired by the consciousness-shifting traditions that have moved seekers for generations, Material Girl, Mystical World is a fabulous adventure in the "Now Age" **—**a ...

This IEG evaluation, requested by the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors, represents the first independent evaluation of the PSIA experience. The evaluation finds that:• The PSIA approach has appropriately emphasized the importance of assessing the distributional impact of policy actions, understanding institutional and political constraints to development, and building domestic ownership for reforms • PSIAs have not always explicitly stated their operational objectives (i.e., informin...

The Handbook is a virtual encyclopedia of public financial management, written by topmost experts, many with a background in the IMF and World Bank. It provides the first comprehensive guide to the subject that has been published in more than ten years. The book is aimed at a broad audience of academics/students, government officials, development agencies and practitioners. It covers both bread-and-butter topics such as the macroeconomic and legal framework for budgeting, budget preparatio...

How to unclutter your mind – so that you can think straight, think well, think analytically and think creatively – is one of the best-kept secrets that the human race holds. However, there are untold benefits to uncluttering or emptying your mind of all your thoughts, and to stop at least for a moment from rehashing and spinning in old stories and being caught up in all the old emotions tangled in those stories.In this book, we’ll:Reveal the secret of how to unclutter...

Trade integration contributes substantially to economic development and poverty alleviation. In recent years much progress was made to liberalize the trade regime, but customs procedures are often still complex, costly and non-transparent. This situation leads to misallocation of resources. Customs Modernization Handbook provides an overview of the key elements of a successful customs modernization strategy and draws lessons from a number of successful customs reforms as well as from customs ...