Sustainability of Pension Systems in the New EU Member States and Croatia is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion.This study finds that pension reforms in recent years have improved the efficiency and sustainability of pension systems in the new member states of the European Union and Croatia. However, for many countries, these probably have not gone far enough ...

This study finds that pension reforms in recent years have improved the efficiency and sustainability of pension systems in the new member states of the European Union and Croatia. However, for many countries, these probably have not gone far enough to ensure long-term sustainability, given the aging of the population. Reforms have included changes to Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) systems, including increases in retirement ages (not at least for women), new benefit formulas, and new indexation mech...

Following the collapse of commodity prices in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in 2014-15, many countries in the region were unable to cushion the impact of the shock in order to experience a more gradual adjustment, to a large extent because they had not built adequate fiscal buffers during the commodities’ windfall from 2010-14. Many LAC countries entered 2020 and the COVID-19 crisis in an even more difficult position, with rising debt and limited fiscal space to smooth the negative...

Following the collapse of commodity prices in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in 2014-15, many countries in the region were unable to cushion the impact of the shock in order to experience a more gradual adjustment, to a large extent because they had not built adequate fiscal buffers during the commodities' windfall from 2010-14. Many LAC countries entered 2020 and the COVID-19 crisis in an even more difficult position, with rising debt and limited fiscal space to smooth the negative...

To most companies, efficiency means profits and growth. But what if your “efficient” company—the one with the reduced headcount and the “stretch” goals—is actually slowing down and losing money? What if your employees are burning out doing the work of two or more people, leaving them no time for planning, prioritizing, or even lunch? What if you’re losing employees faster than you can hire them? What if your superefficient company is suddenly falling behind?Tom DeMarco, a leading m...

The remarkable story of how rustbelt cities such as Akron and Albany in the United States and Eindhoven in Europe are becoming the unlikely hotspots of global innovation, where sharing brainpower and making things smarter -- not cheaper -- is creating a new economy that is turning globalization on its headAntoine van Agtmael and Fred Bakker counter recent conventional wisdom that the American and northern European economies have lost their initiative in innovation ...

How To Develop A Millioanire MindsetYou already recognize that rich individuals think differently than middle class or poor individuals – in every aspect of life.But particularly when it comes to money. That's why they're rich. Their selections and decisions just by nature bring about riches.Rich individuals think with their wealth attitude – beliefs and positions that produce wealth. With the new attitudes come new choices.Remember that you are able to actu...

Much has been said about the re-emergence of China to its historical position of eminence in the world economy, yet little is understood about the kind of economic system China is evolving. What are the rules of the game of business in today's China, and how are they likely to change over the next decades? The answers to these questions are crucial to business persons formulating strategy toward China, but also for policy-makers concerned with retaining the competitiveness of their nations...

The major challenges facing all of us today are time and financial pressures. Many small business owners deal with physical and mental stress while worrying about being sued by an unhappy customer. Many small business owners complain that they do not feel they own their business. Instead it owns them. After years of trying one technique after another, Dr. Williams has designed a system that limits the pressure and stress that you cannot control so you can better concentrate on the areas wh...

The global business world appears to be changing and there is an ever greater focus on developing countries. This change in the international business environment is not reflected in the range of management textbooks currently available, as most are written from a developed country perspectiveThis book introduces and assesses the typical theories and management approaches that are popular in developed countries, from the perspective of managers in developing countries. A wide varie...

There are few industries, if any untouched by global competitive forces. Firms and countries long accustomed to dominance in their respective international markets must now reckon with aggressive and innovative competitors from all corners of the world. As the cross-border flow of people, knowledge, ideas, products, services and management practices accelerates, the notion of home-based advantage is becoming weaker. Unlike their domestic counterparts, firms competing across borders must de...

Standards are everywhere, yet go mostly unnoticed. They define how products, processes, and people interact, assessing these entities' features and performance and signaling their level of quality and reliability. They can convey important benefits to trade, productivity, and technological progress and play an important role in the health and safety of individual consumers and the environment. Firms' ability to produce competitive products depends on the availability of adequate quality-suppo...