rafmacalaba/datause-encoder-data huggingface dataset:
The fiscal framework and urban
            infrastructure finance in China
China has experienced more than 25 years
            of extraordinary economic growth. Underlying this growth has
            been a decentralized fiscal system, in which provinces and
            large cities are given the freedom to make infrastructure
            investments to stimulate local development, and are allowed
            to retain a large part of the fiscal revenues that are
            generated from economic activity. Although successful as a
            growth strategy, this policy created two problems for
            national fiscal management. First, it significantly reduced
            the central government's share of fiscal revenues,
            which fell from 34.8 percent in 1980 to 22 percent in 1992.
            Second, it widened economic and fiscal disparities between
            the rapidly growing urban coastal region and the rest of the
            country. Rapid growth in subnational debt (which rose
            23-fold in a decade) and subnational nonperforming loans
            (estimated by the authors to range between US$100 billion
            and US$150 billion) has placed pressure on China's
            financial system. Traditionally, China has favored bank
            lending as a source of finance because the banking system
            has provided a vehicle for central political control over
            local debt. But as China's financial system matures,
            creditworthiness standards must become more important. The
            authors recommend greater use of the revenue streams from
            infrastructure assets as a financing source, and gradual
            relaxation of central political control over subnational
            debt. One step in this direction would permit leading cities
            to issue municipal bonds based on objective financial standards.
Corporate governance in institutions
            offering Islamic financial services : issues and options
This paper reviews institutions offering
            Islamic financial services (IIFS) corporate governance
            challenges and suggests options to address them. It first
            points out the importance of corporate governance for IIFS,
            where it would require a distinct treatment from
            conventional corporate governance and highlights three cases
            of distress of IIFS. It then dwells on prevailing corporate
            governance arrangements addressing IIFS' needs to
            ensure the consistency of their operations with Islamic
            finance principles and the protection of the financial
            interests of a stakeholders' category, namely
            depositors holding unrestricted investment accounts. It
            raises the issues of independence, confidentiality,
            competence, consistency, and disclosure that may bear on
            pronouncements of consistency with Islamic finance
            principles. It also discusses the agency problem of
            depositors holding unrestricted investment accounts. The
            paper argues for a governance framework that combines
            internal and external arrangements and relies significantly
            on transparency and disclosure of market relevant information.
Corporate governance and
            stakeholders' financial interests in institutions
            offering Islamic financial services
This paper focuses on the corporate
            governance arrangements of institutions offering Islamic
            financial services (IIFS) aimed at protecting
            stakeholders' financial interests. Many IIFS corporate
            governance issues are common with those of their
            conventional counterparts. Others are distinctive. In
            particular they offer unrestricted investment accounts that
            share risks with shareholders but without a voting right.
            This paper first reviews internal and external arrangements
            put in place by IIFS to protect stakeholders' financial
            interests. It discusses shortcomings notably in terms of
            potential conflict of interest between shareholders and
            holders of unrestricted investment accounts. It then
            suggests a corporate governance framework that combines
            internal and external arrangements to provide safeguards to
            unrestricted investment account holders without
            overburdening IIFS' financial performance. The paper
            uses a review of 13 IIFS and regulatory information from
            countries where IIFS have developed the most.
The investment climate in
            post-conflict situations
This paper is a policy review of the
            role of investment climate in post-conflict situations. It
            summarizes the broad range of ways in which conflict
            negatively affects the investment climate, from
            macroeconomic instability to a degraded regulatory
            framework. It stresses that attention needs to be paid to
            the broader "enabling environment," including
            institutions, governance, capacity, and social capital. It
            suggests that a vibrant private sector underpinned by a good
            investment climate is particularly important in the
            post-conflict recovery phase for three reasons: it generates
            employment, provides public services where the state has
            retrenched, and builds social capital. By addressing these
            important "greed and grievance" factors, the
            private sector helps reduce the likelihood of a return to
            conflict. The paper concludes by distilling key lessons
            relating to the management of the post-conflict reform
            process. Despite the importance of a good investment
            climate, greater effort is needed to ensure that private
            sector development reforms are included in the first round
            of post-conflict policymaking. Local ownership of reforms
            and enhanced local capacity to implement them is key to
            sustainable improvements in the investment climate.
            Development partners have an important role to play in
            facilitating dialogue and promoting partnerships between
            public and private sector stakeholders. At the same time,
            development partners need to ensure that their presence in
            fragile post-conflict economies does not damage the very
            sector they are trying to support.
Deposit insurance and banking reform
            in Russia
The objective of this paper is not to
            review the pros and cons of deposit insurance systems, but
            to focus, rather narrowly, on the recent adoption of a
            deposit insurance system (DIS) in Russia, the rationale
            offered, and the potential impact it might have on the
            stability and development of the Russian banking system. An
            attempt is made to draw some lessons from the implementation
            experience in Russia. The paper starts with a brief
            description of the Russian DIS, followed by an overview of
            the banking system's structure and some observations on
            the sequencing followed for adopting the DIS and the
            political economy of its adoption. It concludes with a
            discussion of areas requiring attention.
The impact of policies to control
            motor vehicle emissions in Mumbai, India
This paper examines the impact of
            measures to reduce emissions from passenger transport,
            specifically buses, cars, and two-wheelers in Mumbai. These
            include converting diesel buses to compressed natural gas
            (CNG), as the Indian Supreme Court required in Delhi, which
            would necessitate an increase in bus fares to cover the cost
            of pollution controls. The authors model an increase in the
            price of gasoline, which should affect the ownership and use
            of cars and two-wheelers, as well as imposing a license fee
            on cars to retard growth in car ownership. The impact of
            each policy on emissions depends not only on how the policy
            affects the mode that is regulated, but on shifts to other
            modes. The results suggest that the most effective policy to
            reduce emissions from passenger vehicles-in terms of the
            total number of tons of PM10 (particulate matter that
            measure less than or equal to 10 micrometers in aerodynamic
            diameter) reduced-is to convert diesel buses to CNG. The
            conversion of 3,391 diesel buses to CNG would result in an
            emissions reduction of 663 tons of PM10 a year, 14 percent
            of total emissions from transport. The bus conversion
            program passes the cost-benefit test. In contrast, the
            results suggest the elasticities of emissions from transport
            with respect to a gasoline tax and a tax on vehicle
            ownership are -0.04 and -0.10 respectively. As a
            consequence, it would take substantial increases in the
            gasoline tax or vehicle ownership tax to produce reductions
            in emissions similar to the bus conversion program. These
            results, however, reflect the low shares of cars and
            two-wheelers in the Mumbai emissions inventory and need not
            apply to cities, such as Delhi, where these shares are higher.
Distributional effects of WTO
            agricultural reforms in rich and poor countries
Rich countries' agricultural trade
            policies are the battleground on which the future of the
            WTO's troubled Doha Round will be determined. Subject
            to widespread criticism, they nonetheless appear to be
            almost immune to serious reform, and one of their most
            common defenses is that they protect poor farmers. The
            authors' findings reject this claim. The analysis uses
            detailed data on farm incomes to show that major commodity
            programs are highly regressive in the United States, and
            that the only serious losses under trade reform are among
            large, wealthy farmers in a few heavily protected
            subsectors. In contrast, analysis using household data from
            15 developing countries indicates that reforming rich
            countries' agricultural trade policies would lift large
            numbers of developing country farm households out of
            poverty. In the majority of cases these gains are not
            outweighed by the poverty-increasing effects of higher food
            prices among other households. Agricultural reforms that
            appear feasible, even under an ambitious Doha Round, achieve
            only a fraction of the benefits for developing countries
            that full liberalization promises, but protect U.S. large
            farms from most of the rigors of adjustment. Finally, the
            analysis indicates that maximal trade-led poverty reductions
            occur when developing countries participate more fully in
            agricultural trade liberalization.
Access to financial services in Zambia
Despite the deep financial sector
            reforms undertaken in Zambia in the early 1990s, the
            expected benefits of establishing a market-based banking
            system has not materialized. In 2005 the banking system
            continued to be small and underdeveloped. Credit to the
            private sector by banks represented only 8 percent of GDP in
            2005, which is slightly lower than the level registered in
            1990. As in the early 1990s, only large corporations and a
            few small- and medium-size enterprises have access to credit
            in 2006. Moreover, less than 8 percent of Zambia's
            adult population had a bank account in 2005. And despite the
            open door policy to foreign financial institutions, which
            has been in place since Zambia's independence, only a
            few new banking products have been introduced by foreign
            banks to serve the needs of households and firms. This paper
            analyzes the factors that have prevented the development of
            a large and inclusive banking system in Zambia and
            highlights possible actions that may help improve access to
            finance in Zambia in both the short and long terms.
Growth before and after trade liberalization
The empirical study of the impact of
            trade liberalization has not convinced the skeptics about
            the economic gains after trade reforms. Some have even
            argued that trade reforms have led to economic collapse and
            to deindustrialization. Using a sample that excludes
            countries that were subject to major exogenous disruptions,
            the authors note that post-reform economic growth was 1.2
            percentage points higher than before the reforms. This is
            remarkable considering that pre-reform periods were
            characterized by highly expansionary state policies and
            large external borrowing, and the crisis years that preceded
            trade liberalization in the comparisons are eliminated.
            Through multivariate fixed effects estimations the authors
            calculate that annual per capita GDP growth rates increased
            by up to 2.6 percentage points after the trade reforms,
            compared to a counterfactual that takes into consideration
            the evolution of several growth determinants. Moreover,
            trade liberalization has been followed by an acceleration of
            growth in investment, exports of goods and services, and
            manufacturing exports, and as opposed to common belief,
            outward orientation did not lead to significant
            deindustrialization and actually seems to have increased
            export diversification. Growth acceleration occurred
            irrespective of income per capita level and was quite
            significant in Sub-Saharan Africa. As expected, small
            countries benefited most from the reforms.
Beyond trade : the impact of
            preferential trade agreements on foreign direct investment inflows
The author investigates the effects of
            preferential trade agreements (PTAs) on the net foreign
            direct investment (FDI) inflows of member countries using a
            comprehensive database of PTAs in a panel setting. He finds
            that PTA membership is associated with a positive change in
            net FDI inflows, and the FDI gains are increasing in the
            market size of the PTA partners and their proximity to the
            host country. The author identifies several different
            channels through which preferential trade liberalization may
            affect FDI, and confirms that both threshold effects
            (signing the agreement) and market size effects (joining a
            larger and faster-growing common market) are important
            determinants of net FDI inflows, although the latter seem to
            dominate. The estimated relationship is largely driven by
            North-South PTAs, and is most pronounced in the late 1990s
            and early 2000s, the period when the majority of "deep
            integration" PTAs had been advanced.
A dime a day : the possibilities and
            limits of private schooling in Pakistan
This paper looks at the private
            schooling sector in Pakistan, a country that is seriously
            behind schedule in achieving the Millennium Development
            Goals. Using new data, the authors document the phenomenal
            rise of the private sector in Pakistan and show that an
            increasing segment of children enrolled in private schools
            are from rural areas and from middle-class and poorer
            families. The key element in their rise is their low
            fees-the average fee of a rural private school in Pakistan
            is less than a dime a day (Rs.6). They hire predominantly
            local, female, and moderately educated teachers who have
            limited alternative opportunities outside the village.
            Hiring these teachers at low cost allows the savings to be
            passed on to parents through low fees. This mechanism-the
            need to hire teachers with a certain demographic profile so
            that salary costs are minimized-defines the possibility of
            private schools: where they arise, fees are low. It also
            defines their limits. Private schools are horizontally
            constrained in that they arise in villages where there is a
            pool of secondary educated women. They are also vertically
            constrained in that they are unlikely to cater to the
            secondary levels in rural areas, at least until there is an
            increase in the supply of potential teachers with the
            required skills and educational levels.
A dime a day : the possibilities and
            limits of private schooling in Pakistan
WPS4066

# **A Dime a Day**

# **The Possibilities and Limits of Private Schooling in Pakistan**

Tahir Andrabi (Pomona College)<sup>1</sup> Jishnu Das (World Bank) Asim Ijaz Khwaja (Harvard University)

**Abstract:** This paper looks at the private schooling sector in Pakistan, a country that is seriously behind schedule in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Using new data, we document the phenomenal rise of the private sector in Pakistan and show that an increasing segment of children enrolled in private schools are from _rural_ areas and from middle-class and poorer families. The key element in their rise is their low fees-- the average fee of a rural private school in Pakistan is less than a dime a day (Rs.6)! They hire predominantly local, female and moderately educated teachers who have limited alternative opportunities outside the village. Hiring these teachers at low cost allows the savings to be passed on to parents through very low fees. This mechanism—the need to hire teachers with a certain demographic profile so that salary costs are minimized—defines the possibility of private schools—where they arise, fees are low. It also defines their limits. Private schools are _horizontally_ constrained in that they arise in villages where there is a pool of secondaryeducated women. They are also _vertically_ constrained in that they are unlikely to cater to the secondary levels in rural areas, at least until there is an increase in the supply of potential teachers with the required skills and educational levels.

World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4066, November 2006 _The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the view of the World Bank, its Executive Directors, or the countries they represent. Policy Research Working Papers are available online at http://econ.worldbank.org._

> 1 Corresponding author: Tahir Andrabi (tandrabi@pomona.edu). We thank Mehnaz Akber for early discussions and Safi Qureshey Foundation for initial financial support. We thank Tara Vishwanath, Michelle Riboud, Harold Alderman and Elizabeth M. King for useful comments. This research was funded by grants from the Poverty and Social Impact Analysis and Knowledge for Change Program Trust Funds and the South Asia region of the World Bank.

1
Forests, biomass use, and poverty in Malawi
In this paper, the authors seek to
            answer three questions about poverty and forests in Malawi:
            (1) What is the extent of biomass available for meeting the
            energy needs of the poor in Malawi and how is this
            distributed? (2) To what extent does fuelwood scarcity
            affect the welfare of the poor? (3) How do households cope
            with scarcity? In particular, do households spend more time
            in fuelwood collection and less time in agriculture in
            response to scarcity? The authors attempt to answer these
            questions using household and remote-sensing data. They find
            that 80 percent of rural poor households in Malawi are
            likely to benefit from an increase in biomass per hectare in
            their community. Rural women respond to biomass scarcity by
            increasing the time they spend on fuelwood collection. But
            the actual decrease in consumption expenditure and increase
            in time in fuelwood collection are small and biomass
            scarcity is not associated with a reduction in agricultural
            labor supply.
Partially awakened giants : uneven
            growth in China and India
The paper examines the ways in which
            recent economic growth has been uneven in China and India
            and what this has meant for inequality and poverty. Drawing
            on analyses based on existing household survey data and
            aggregate data from official sources, the authors show that
            growth has indeed been uneven-geographically, sectorally,
            and at the household level-and that this has meant uneven
            progress against poverty, less poverty reduction than might
            have been achieved had growth been more balanced, and an
            increase in income inequality. The paper then examines why
            growth was uneven and why this should be of concern. The
            discussion is structured around the idea that there are both
            "good" and "bad" inequalities-drivers
            and dimensions of inequality and uneven growth that are good
            or bad in terms of what they imply for both equity and
            long-term growth and development. The authors argue that the
            development paths of both China and India have been
            influenced by, and have generated, both types of
            inequalities and that while good inequalities-most notably
            those that reflect the role of economic incentives-have been
            critical to the growth experience thus far, there is a risk
            that bad inequalities-those that prevent individuals from
            connecting to markets and limit investment and accumulation
            of human capital and physical capital-may undermine the
            sustainability of growth in the coming years. The authors
            argue that policies are needed that preserve the good
            inequalities-continued incentives for innovation and
            investment-but reduce the scope for bad ones, notably
            through investments in human capital and rural
            infrastructure that help the poor connect to markets.