rafmacalaba/datause-encoder-data huggingface dataset:
Township, village, and private
            industry in China's economic reform
Next to the decollectivization of
            agriculture, the most striking economic transformation in
            China since 1978 has been the rapid growth of rural nonstate
            industry. Firms in this sector (referred to as TVPs) are
            owned by a hierarchy of local government units below the
            county level: towns, villages, and production teams. TVPs
            owned by township or village governments (that is, not
            privately owned) are termed TVCEs. Important both to
            industry and the rural economy, TVPs have been at the
            forefront of economic reform. They are market-oriented in
            terms of output and input and, because of their tiny home
            markets, outward-oriented. There appears to be a close
            relationship between individual incomes and firm/community
            economic performance. Most individuals expect to stay in
            their firms for relatively long periods. Community
            incentives for promoting TVPs are strong, but their
            community orientation leads to certain problems. Even if
            resources are used efficiently within rural communities, the
            immobility of factors of production can lead to increasingly
            serious misallocations and inequalities between communities.
            A gradual opening of capital and labor markets is a priority
            task in the next stage of reform. National government policy
            should be to minimize discrimination by government, legal,
            and regulatory apparatus against TVPs and, within the TVP
            sector, against private enterprise. The long-term goal
            should be elimination of differential treatment.
Macroeconomic constraints for medium
            term growth and distribution : a model for Chile
The recovery of the Chilean economy
            since the mid 1980s, has certainly been successful in
            macroeconomic terms. In fact, the restoration of growth and
            the correction of external imbalances after the severe
            economic crises of 1982 -83 has taken place in a
            macroeconomic environment of moderate inflation, without
            major fiscal imbalances, exports have expanded significantly
            and foreign debt burden indicators have improved. However,
            distributive and poverty related indicators point to pending
            problems. The major challenge, therefore, is to maintain
            sustainable rates of economic growth, address the social
            issues of poverty reduction and improve income distribution
            patterns, while preserving macroeconomic and financial
            stability. The paper is organized as follows : Section I is
            an introduction. Section II presents a formal macroeconomic
            model that identifies major constraints ( external, savings
            and fiscal ) that shape the scope for growth. In Section III
            the model is numerically calibrated with parameters of the
            economy and three policy exercises are explored : i) an
            increase in public spending; ii) a reduction of interest
            payments of 3 of potential GDP; and iii) a reduction of the
            markup rate of 4. Section IV reviews various policy
            excercises and the conclusions are summarized in Section V.
Ethical approaches to family
            planning in Africa
Africa has historically provided the
            geographical flashpoint of ethical issues relating to family
            planning programs. Until recently in Sub-Saharan Africa,
            advocacy of family planning by non-Africans was unacceptable
            and by Africans politically inadvisable. This has changed in
            the 1980s. The health rationale for family planning is
            backed by strong evidence, especially in Africa, where
            infant and maternal mortality and morbidity rates are high.
            Population growth in many African countries impedes
            development, which cannot keep up with needs. Earlier
            attempts to offer family planning aid were often politically
            inept and endangered the needed partnership between donor
            and developing countries. Theoretical arguments and abstract
            demographic projections are less persuasive than carefully
            designed programs geared to the health and well-being of
            communitities that help plan them. Increased cooperation
            between donor and developing countries has helped resolve
            some of the ethical difficulties that beset family planning
            programs. This report summarizes many of the practical,
            ethical and cultural considerations in making family
            planning aid acceptable.
Evaluating global macroeconomic
            models : a case study of MULTIMOD
This paper is a contribution to the
            understanding of global interconnections through the
            evaluation and validation of the capabilities and properties
            of MULTIMOD, a multiregional macroeconomic model, developed
            and maintained at the International Monetary Fund. The
            author finds the model relatively small and simple in its
            theoretical specification, but advanced in its modeling
            techniques, exemplified by its "forward looking"
            features. This property allows faster adjustment of all
            prices, including exchange rates and interest rates, than do
            conventional macro models. A major strength of the model is
            the effective transmission of policy changes across
            countries. MULTIMOD can also be used to discuss North-South
            issues. Simulation examples are presented for monetary and
            fiscal policy scenarios in the North (with their impacts on
            the developing economies), oil price shocks, and debt relief schemes.
Macroeconomic performance before and
            after disinflation in Israel
The Israeli stabilization program of
            1985 is generally considered one of the most successful such
            programs in years. Under it, the inflation rate plummeted
            from about 400 percent a year to about 15-20 percent a year.
            This paper examines how stabilization affected other key
            economic variables after 1985. The authors particularly
            struck by the immediate, abrupt reduction in the rate of
            inflation and the timing and impact of disinflation on other
            real variables. For more than two years after the program, a
            private consumption boom was accompanied by increased
            economic activity, relatively high real wages and real
            interest rates, and a low real exchange rate. The recent
            rise in unemployment seems to reflect the beginning of a
            process of structural adjustment whereby resources are
            reallocated across the economy. This process will allow an
            increase in long term growth after adjustment is completed.
            In reducing inflation, the program seems to have had the
            same effectiveness as other shock treatment programs; a
            sharp and immediate disinflation. In terms of the real costs
            of disinflation, the program may seem more gradualist. The
            real costs, in terms of increased unemployment, were
            postponed for several years and in the transition there was
            actually a boom in economic activity.
School effects and costs for private
            and public schools in the Dominican Republic
Using statistical methods to adjust for
            a bias in selectivity, this paper analyzes the relative
            effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of public schools and
            two types of private schools - elite and non-elite - in the
            Dominican Republic.  Controlling for selection, it found
            that students in eighth grade mathematics achieve more in
            both types of private school than they do in public schools,
            and achieve more in elite than in non-elite schools.
            Differences in teachers' backgrounds and teaching
            practices account for some of this difference in
            achievement, but differences in the students' peer
            background characteristics are substantially more important.
            Both types of private schools appear to be more
            cost-effective than public schools.
The consistency of government
            deficits with macroeconomic adjustment : an application to
            Kenya and Ghana
Sustainable medium-term debt strategies
            are essential to adjustment programs committed to high
            growth and should be integrated into a consistent
            macroeconomic framework that encompasses debt, growth and
            strategies. This paper develops an analytical model that
            takes 2 steps. Its purpose is to analyze the relationship
            between the fiscal deficit, the real interest rate, the real
            growth rate and the real exchange rate - and to indicate
            what conditions would be necessary to stabilize a
            country's debt-to-GDP ratio in the long run. The
            authors analyze three fundamental concepts of deficit: cash
            (or observed), primary and operational. Applying the model
            to the empirical data for Kenya and Ghana, the author's
            reach the following conclusions. First, the fiscal effort in
            Kenya should have been somewhat stronger between 1980 and
            1987. For the period 1988-91, the projected fiscal balance
            is broadly consistent with stabilization, and the same goal
            can be achieved with a lower inflation or growth rate.
            Secondly, in Ghana the average fiscal performance between
            1980 and 1987 was only slightly weaker than it should have
            been. Projections for 1988-91 suggest that the government
            has substantial room to maneuver in its stabilization.
Two irrigation systems in Colombia :
            their performance and transfer of management to users' associations
Two Colombian irrigation projects are
            studied in this report, the Coello and RUT projects.
            Management of the RUT project is going to be transfered soon
            from public managers to farmers. The Coello project has been
            farmer managed for about 13 years. The keys to its success
            have been: 1) the dynamism of the private farming sector and
            support services in Colombia, 2) the high level of farmer
            training, 3) patterns of land tenure - with farms an average
            size of 15 hectares, 4) regular maintenance, 5) continuity
            of medium and low level staff, 6) availability of
            communication and transportation facilities, and 7) some use
            of hydraulic engineering in the design of irrigation
            facilities, to simplify operations and reduce maintenance costs.
Venture capital and entrepreneurial development
Venture capital is a temporary-equity or
            quasi-equity investment in a growth-oriented, usually small
            or medium-size business managed by a highly motivated
            entrepreneur. Management assistance often comes with the
            investment. For the investment, the investor expects either
            a minority share in the company or the irrevocable right to
            acquire it. The paper notes that venture capital cannot be
            expected to grow in the developing countries at the same
            pace as it did in its early years of development in the
            United States and Canada. But there is no reason to believe
            that conditions cannot be improved so that it can contribute
            to industrial and entrepreneurial development in the Third
            World. Governments can create an enabling climate for
            venture capital by improving the macroeconomic environment,
            trying to change attitudes about risk and entrepreneurship,
            improving information and infrastructure, and providing and
            promoting the availability of venture capital funds.
Hospital management staffing and
            training issues
Hospitals dominate health care in most
            parts of the world and for a variety of reasons are likely
            to continue being a key factor in the overall performance of
            the health care system. Any efforts to improve this
            performance must therefore give greater hospital efficiency
            the highest priority. After discussing key issues of
            managerial, clinical, and production efficiency, this paper
            suggests an agenda for the most useful areas of research.
Financing urban services in Latin
            America : spatial distribution issues
This paper discusses urban services
            finance in the Latin American context of rapid urbanization,
            severe fiscal constraints and democratization of
            administrative systems.  Analyzing the situation in thirteen
            different countries, it draws several conclusions which may
            be helpful in the design of new lending operations.  The
            report's main theme is that the World Bank's
            approach to the urban sector needs to be re-directed.  The
            structure of the report is as follows:  first it reviews the
            rising demand for urban services, noting the positive
            correlations of rapid urban growth with national
            development, but also the corresponding, incremental fiscal
            pressures.  The macro-economic constraints to urban
            expenditures are summarized and the adverse circumstances
            limiting new capital formation and service provision in
            Latin American cities is mentioned.  The report also
            discusses whether Latin American governments are truly
            decentralizing and reviews the strategies to relieve the
            fiscal gap of subnational governments, including changes in
            the existing systems of revenue sharing, reassignment of
            public service functions, pricing adjustments, deregulation
            or privatization of certain services, technical assistance,
            and restructuring of institutional credit.  The main
            findings and recommendations are organized according to
            three main groups: country concerns; theoretical concerns;
            and operational concerns.  The text is accompanied by three
            case studies in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
The treatment of companies under
            cash flow taxes : some administrative, transitional, and
            international issues
The paper begins by outlining the major
            administrative and compliance issues of a cash flow tax.
            There are problems with the system because of the numerous
            possibilities for gaming the system. The paper goes on to
            discuss the problems involved in the transition from a
            corporate income tax to a cash flow tax. There are ways
            around these problems but they cause further problems. The
            paper outlines these secondary problems and possible
            solutions to them, but concludes that there is no easy way
            to orchestrate a totally smooth transition. The
            international aspects of imposing a cash flow tax are most
            troublesome. After a summary of the major international
            income tax rules, the paper discusses how the cashflow tax
            treats inbound investment, outbound investment, and exports
            and imports. The paper concludes by proposing one way to fix
            up the income tax. It suggests that the tax base be defined
            in terms of financial income with certain specific
            adjustments, such as for depreciation and extraordinary
            items. The proposal is of some depth, including a simplified
            system of tax depreciation.
CGE models for the analysis of trade
            policy in developing countries
The use of computable general
            equilibrium (CGE) simulation models for policy analysis has
            become widespread. However, such techniques are not well
            suited to economywide analysis in developing countries.
            Instead, simulation models relying on "borrowed"
            parameter estimates have been used for a wider range of
            applications in developing countries. This survey begins
            with a presentation of the core structure of simulation
            models for trade policy analysis. It shows that a few share
            parameters and elasticities, leading to a fourway sectoral
            classification: exportables, importables, nontradables, and
            import-dependent sectors. The rest of the survey deals with
            a range of applications relating to trade policy, internal
            and external balances, and intertemporal issues. These
            economywide simulation models are good tools for quantifying
            the tradeoffs in policy packages that the Bank discusses
            with its clients. Future modeling exercises would
            nevertheless benefit from direct econometric estimates
            rather than "borrowed" parameter estimates.
China's vocational and
            technical training
China has embarked on a series of
            reforms designed to improve the efficiency of productive
            enterprises through the introduction of elements of a
            competitive market economy. Vocational and technical
            education and training (VTE) is to be expanded and improved
            to meet the skilled labor requirements of a changing
            economy. The efficiency of the VTE system in meeting
            changing requirements for skilled labor depends in large
            part on effective planning and linkages with employment.
            This study analyzes VTE planning and labor market linkages
            in the context of the economic reforms, and in comparison
            with the vocational education and training systems in other countries.
Can we return to rapid growth
The projections for economic growth in
            the industrial countries during 1985-95 have been revised
            steadily downward - to a pessimistic 2.5 percent a year. The
            crucial element in achieving high growth rates is a rising
            rate of investment, itself a reflection of confidence in the
            economy. The conditions that stimulate higher investment can
            result from sharp changes in economic policy. Chances that
            the former will occur, while slim, depend on putting in
            place policies that favor a surge in investment led growth.
            Maintaining low inflation rates and strong demand are
            equally important. Despite the existence of many of these
            conditions for some time, growth has slowed even further.
            Expansionary government policies may be a more plausible
            route, although the pace is crucial. One possible solution
            is to strive for international policymaking and to regain
            some degree of exchange rate stability. This kind of
            international coordination could be the impulse for rapid
            growth, as it was after the Second World War.
A review of World Bank lending for
            electric power
This paper presents the result of an
            evaluation of about 300 power projects financed by the World
            Bank and IDA between 1965 and 1983. The study shows a
            declining trend in power sector performance in spite of Bank
            involvement in the sector. It recommends greater emphasis on
            : improving productive and allocative efficiency; increasing
            incentives for enhanced utility efficiency; strengthening of
            power-energy-macroeconomic linkages; improving investment
            planning to achieve a better balance between generation and
            distribution, and giving greater emphasis to rehabilitation
            and maintenance. Sector restructuring and institutional
            reform is also recommended to improve the social compact
            between government, consumers and the electric utility.
Maternal education and the vicious
            cycle of high fertility and malnutrition : an analytic survey
It has long been recognised by observers
            of public health and population policy that the nutritional
            condition of individual mothers and children, and the
            fertility histories of individual women, are strongly
            associated with the position or status of those individuals
            in their society. It is now suggested that changes in status
            induce multiple, often mutually reinforcing changes in the
            determininats of welfare. This paper is in three sections.
            The first outlines the analytical framework and discusses
            its application to the problem of maternal and child
            welfare. The second reviews a selection of the literature on
            the links between education, fertility, nutrition and
            mortality. Fertility being prior to the formation of the
            dyad and hence to the analysis of its welfare, the evidence
            and theory of fertility determination is rather extensively
            examined. Finally, the third section, addresses the
            implications for both policy and research. Taking in turn
            the relevant policy options, the paper considers their
            relative merits from research to date, and identifies the
            major gaps in current knowledge which must qualify any
            ranking of policies.
Women in development : defining the issues
Since women are half the world, every
            Government decision, and every economic process affects
            them. The definition of what constitutes a women's
            issue must be more restrictive than this. Three approaches
            are suggested. On one, policies are seen as women's
            issues to the extent that they affect women differentially.
            The report suggests that this might indeed apply to a wide
            range of policies. On a second, the report distinguishes
            problems into equity-based and efficiency based. The third,
            and most emphasized classification, is in gender specific
            processes. Four such processes are distinguished, together
            with their interactions. Women's issues then are a
            matter of understanding how these processes can be alleviated.