New Blogger: Penelope Brook
If you hadn't heard, Doing Business 2009 is out. And now we can get some extra insight into the countries that have been reforming. Penelope Brook, Director of the Indicators Analysis Department, is...
View ArticleDoing Business in Azerbaijan
Doing Business 2009 launched last Wednesday. So Friday found us in Baku to celebrate Azerbaijan's place as DB09's top reformer. We determine top reformers by looking at countries that have reformed in...
View ArticleCell phone vs. HIV
While telemedicine is nothing new, improvements in telecommunications are creating the possibility of previously unthinkable innovations. The text message, as I've commented before, is becoming widely...
View ArticleCreative destruction on Wall Street
Get ready to hear it ad nauseum: creative destruction! If you're an ardent supporter of the free market, there is little else to fall back on in the face of today's events on Wall Street. In fact, one...
View ArticleHow to fight a banking crisis
The world has undergone enough banking crises that some useful lessons might be gleaned from past experience. A working paper from the IMF attempts to do just that with a database of all systemic...
View ArticleDani Kaufmann, anti-corruption expert and blogger
After more than two decades of service, Dani Kaufmann will be leaving the World Bank. If you didn't catch his farewell lecture last week, you can still see a video of it here. I highly recommend it -...
View ArticleThe World Bank disclosure policy review
Editor's Note: Larisa Smirnova is a consultant at the World Bank and is currently working with the Transparency Indicator team.
View ArticleWhat can the London Underground tell us about PPPs?
If you’ve ever been to London, then you’ve almost certainly seen the emblematic red circle and blue stripe with the word UNDERGROUND emblazoned on it. The Underground is a huge operation, made up of...
View ArticleBlackbeard's co-op on the high seas
If you are looking for something a little different to read at the beach, then Peter Leeson’s new book on economics and piracy might fit the bill. In The Invisible Hook, Leeson applies an “economic way...
View ArticleA multiplying bottom line?
The passing of a decade provokes an inevitable reflection on the state of all things. Looking at the corporate responsibility (CSR) space, it has now been over 15 years since John Elkington coined the...
View ArticleGood principles are not enough
That is the one of the main contentions of a new Crisis Response Policy Brief from the World Bank on Bank Governance. Jumping right to the conclusion:
View ArticleThe “L” Word: Is lobbying actually a sign of progress in developing countries?
Conventional wisdom holds that bribery is the preferred means of influencing government policy in less developed countries, while lobbying is more common in developed countries. Perhaps due to this...
View ArticleFrom Deals to Development: A snapshot from Monrovia
Once a concession agreement or any large-scale public procurement contract is signed, who can ensure that the terms are met? How to turn commitments into development on the ground? This is the puzzle...
View ArticleCorporate governance creeps into Mongolian business education programs
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that a company interested in attracting investment might want to improve its corporate governance. The link between good governance and investor comfort is...
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Corporate Governance Reforms Pay Dividends in Thailand
Read this in Thai Thailand is a clear leader in corporate governance among Asian and emerging economies. But the recently launched 2013 Corporate Governance Report on Standards and Codes (ROSC) finds...
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