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Crime and violence impede development and disproportionally impact poor people in many countries across the world. Though crime and violence represent serious problems in many countries, less-developed countries experience particular concentrations, especially those that are characterized by fragile or less-trusted government institutions and pervasive insecurity. Under such circumstances, human, social, political, and economic development suffers. Research across the globe has shown that holistic approaches that focus on the entire spectrum of a government's crime response chain, ranging from crime prevention to enforcement, tend to have better outcomes than isolated interventions involving only the police or other individual government agency. To date, most of the Bank's investment in efforts to reduce crime have focused on crime prevention in the form of urban and social development programs. Investment and policy lending that support the improvement of police operations to reduce crime and develop stronger neighborhoods are more limited. To assist country teams and client counterparts in their efforts to develop effective, holistic responses against crime that include the police, justice reform staff in the Governance Global Practice teamed up with internationally recognized experts to compile evidence-based good practice information for developing effective police responses to crime. The resulting three part publication, titled Addressing the Enforcement Gap to Counter Crime: Investing in Public Safety, the Rule of Law and Local Development in Poor Neighborhoods outlines the impact of crime and violence on development and the poor in particular and explains a proven three-pronged approach to creating police agencies that work in collaboration with communities and other government and private service providers to identify crime problems, develop holistic and inclusive solutions the apply a restorative justice approach. The publication also outlines how such approach can be integrated into Bank projects and client country reform plans.

Over the past five years, the World Bank has made significant progress supporting governance as a core element in operations to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. To help its clients, the Bank strives to deepen its understanding of the environment through the design and implementation of its projects. Since the inception of the Governance and Anticorruption (GAC) Strategy in 2008, the Governance Partnership Facility (GPF) has played a vital role in the success of its implementation.

The numerous tectonic shifts that have shaken the foundations of the development paradigm over the last halfcentury have had far-reaching implications for development policy formulation and implementation.

This study investigates the impact of World Bank development policy lending for public sector governance on the quality of public sector management and institutions. The World Bank’s Country Policy and Institutional Assessments (CPIA) are used to measure the latter, the study considers only policy conditions targeted at improvements in those areas. The analysis uses a comprehensive country-year panel data set of aid receiving-countries and finds a significant and inverse U-shaped effect of public sector conditions on the quality of public sector governance. For most observed values in the data, the impact is positive, but it turns negative beyond a value of 80 conditions. At that point, the predicted CPIA score is about 0.25 point (0.3 standard deviation) higher than with zero conditions. For most observations, the number of cumulative conditions is below 80, so the estimated effect of more conditions is generally positive. The analysis corrects for potential endogeneity and shows that the results are robust to sample restrictions, the use of an alternative governance measure, and the inclusion of an extended set of control variables. Falsification tests are also consistent with a causal interpretation from conditions to quality of public sector governance. The paper shows that conditions related to public financial management and tax reforms are more effective than those related to anti-corruption or civil service and administrative reform, where progress requires changing the behavior of a larger set of “deconcentrated” actors. The paper concludes by describing some innovative ideas in the Bank’s ambitious new public sector management strategy that could improve the effectiveness of its support for public sector governance reform.

The policies and regulations governing the practice of state asset management have emerged as an urgent question among many countries worldwide for there is heightened awareness of the complex and crucial role that state assets play in public service provision. Indonesia is an example of such country, introducing a ‘big-bang’ reform in state asset management laws, policies, regulations, and technical guidelines. Indonesia exemplified its enthusiasm in reforming state asset management policies and practices through the establishment of the Directorate General of State Assets in 2006. The Directorate General of State Assets have stressed the new direction that it is taking state asset management laws and policies through the introduction of Republic of Indonesia Law Number 38 Year 2008, which is an amended regulation overruling Republic of Indonesia Law Number 6 Year 2006 on Central/Regional Government State Asset Management. Law number 38/2008 aims to further exemplify good governance principles and puts forward a ‘the highest and best use of assets’ principle in state asset management. The purpose of this study is to explore and analyze specific contributing influences to state asset management practices, answering the question why innovative state asset management policy implementation is stagnant. The methodology of this study is that of qualitative case study approach, utilizing empirical data sample of four Indonesian regional governments. Through a thematic analytical approach this study provides an in-depth analysis of each influencing factors to state asset management reform. Such analysis suggests the potential of an ‘excuse rhetoric’; whereby the influencing factors identified are a smoke-screen, or are myths that public policy makers and implementers believe in, as a means to ex-plain stagnant implementation of innovative state asset management practice. Thus this study offers deeper insights of the intricate web that influences state as-set management innovative policies to state asset management policy makers; to be taken into consideration in future policy writing.

This policy paper is motivated by the Government's 'Pakistan: framework for Economic Growth (FEG) 2011' which places weak corporate governance at the top of the 'software' constraints to growth. The efforts to reform the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) have stalled in Pakistan for almost five years with significant negative implications not only in terms of fiscal losses, but also deteriorated and cost-ineffective service delivery. The paper suggests a number of urgent policy measures designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of SOEs. These include basic governance reforms, revamped commercialization processes and enhanced market regulations. The paper also provides some perspectives on international experience on SOE reforms combined with some suggestions on how the Government can move forward.

Azerbaijan is a secular, majority-Shiite, oil and gas-rich country whose per-capita income quadrupled in real terms during the period 2004-10. While rising incomes have reduced poverty, steps towards a more secure, diversified economy are held back by a public sector that rests on vested interests, patronage-based incentive structures, and ingrained patterns of behavior that include significant rent extraction, particularly from the non-oil economy, with minimal checks and balances from Parliament, the private sector, and civil society. Bank engagement in Azerbaijan at the country level focused on areas which had government support. Some modest results have been achieved, even though in many cases modern laws and practices were adopted without adequate plans for implementation. At the project level, the Bank has supported the strengthening of project implementation units (PIUs) and tools for monitoring, and governance and institutional filters have signaled that Governance and Anticorruption (GAC) processes need to be embedded in the Bank projects. At the sector level, the Bank's work was highly relevant in supporting oil revenue transparency, primary education, roads, and the development of safeguards. It was substantially relevant in public financial management, and private sector development and procurement. Bank engagement was moderately relevant in decentralization, civil service reform, and accountability institutions.

This case study summarizes the findings of desk reviews and a field visit carried out in January 2011 as part of IEG's evaluation of the 2007 Governance and Anticorruption (GAC) strategy. The case study sought to evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of Bank support for GAC efforts over the FY2004-10 period, to assess the contributions of 2007 strategy implementation, and to identify early outcomes and lessons. This Background Paper is based on findings of the mission that visited Liberia in January 2011. The team is particularly grateful for informative meetings with officials from the Government of Liberia, Bank staff, and members of civil society. The evaluation aims to help enhance the Bank's approach to governance and anticorruption and to improve its effectiveness in helping countries develop capable and accountable states that create opportunities for the poor. Pursuant to this objective, the evaluation assessed the relevance of the 2007 GAC strategy and implementation plan, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of implementation efforts in making Bank engagement with countries and other development partners more responsive to GAC concerns. It also sought to identify early lessons about what works and what does not in helping to promote good governance and reduce corruption. The Liberia case study is based on an extensive desk review as well as a field visit to Monrovia from January 17-22, 2011. It evaluates the relevance and effectiveness of Bank support for governance and anticorruption efforts since the launch of the Bank's GAC strategy in 2007. It elaborates on a desk review of the GAC responsiveness of the Bank's Liberia program and reviews the following GAC entry points: core public sector reform (public financial management and decentralization); demand for good governance (including social accountability issues); GAC in the road sector; and the investment climate. The case study also examines the extent to which the Bank's GAC Strategy has made a difference in staff attitudes toward addressing GAC issues in their operational work. The mission interviewed government, Bank, donor, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) staff based in Washington and in Monrovia.

This paper develops a framework to assess organizational performance in the delivery of social safety nets. Specifically, it provides guidance to task teams and program managers for identifying indicators of governance and service quality in targeted cash transfer programs. The paper identifies governance issues along the results chain of service delivery and suggests policy and performance indicators for assessing program inputs, human resources, financing and resource management; and program activities, operational procedures, Management Information Systems (MIS) and control. It also suggests indicators of organizational performance and the quality of outputs, including demand-side accountability mechanisms.

Norms in development are typically established at the global level to solve complex development challenges on the ground. These norms are standards of expected behavior about how things ought to be conducted and are deemed crucial for societies to flourish. Global norms, however, often fail to successfully diffuse to local contexts. The author intend to argue in this report that many initiatives are effective in putting norms on the global agenda, but few of these norms lead to transformational change on the ground because of cultural and political economy challenges that were not considered in the norm formation or in the advocacy campaign process. Nonetheless, there are lessons to consider that could lead to more successful outcomes. This report explores the journey of norms in development, from emergence to implementation. Specifically, it seeks to identify effective strategies for norms to take root and make part of the global and domestic agendas and limits. It also identifies challenges to the implementation of norms and some possible strategies and tools to overcome these challenges. The report draws from various global policy advocacy campaigns with a particular focus on governance; it also includes notable historic campaigns, such as Britain's antislavery campaign.

The purpose of this issues note is to review the experience in and outside the World Bank of using different diagnostic tools in fragile state situations. It will identify trends in the use of such tools, lessons learnt, and arrive at suggestions for the future. Because governance has continued to be a major concern in the international community, over the years this has led to a growing diversity in the application of the concept. With this diversification the types of assessment in use have also increased, a process that reflects two things. First, each agency tends to design an assessment to meet its own program needs. Second, diagnostic tools have often fallen short of expectations leading agencies to develop new ones, including more recently political economy studies that go beyond what was at least until recently mainstream types of assessing governance. Accepting the diversity of definitions and assessments, this note does not intend to review the whole field. A diagnostic tool here refers to the approach and methodology used in assessing governance. Choice of tool has a direct bearing on how an activity is designed and carried out. Making the right choice, therefore, is important. A tool may become 'main stream' and the original rationale for its use disappears. It is applied because everyone else is using it or there is pressure to use the same tool as others. A shift to other tools, however, may become necessary because existing tools do not deliver. Such a shift is occurring in the governance field where a focus on institutions is being increasingly complemented, if not replaced, by a studies of underlying political economy factors. This Note tries to trace this process by highlighting both specific and more general experiences with tools used to assess governance. Fragile states or situations are not typical but they give rise to governance challenges that more than other contexts test the limits of particular tools. This becomes an especially important issue given that what works in countries that are not fragile seems to fall short of the same achievement in fragile situations.

A key driver of Liberia's re-emergence from utter destruction, between 2004 and 2008, was the willingness of international actors to accept the responsibility and risks associated with stabilization. This was accomplished by confronting these risks directly, even at the cost of temporarily filling institutional voids and sharing sovereignty with the Liberian transitional authorities. The main international diplomatic representations and aid agencies on the ground came to accept from their varying perspectives that peace in Liberia was fragile and that the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement (ACPA) of September 2003 was only the beginning of a protracted stabilization effort. The domestic market for consultants and goods did not exist, requiring the World Bank to innovate with new modes of delivering assistance. Thus, peace consolidation compelled international partners to simultaneously (i) prevent full state capture by corrupt elites in advance of elections and (ii) secure a peace dividend to vulnerable groups which could most directly threaten peace (young ex-combatants and refugees). Building on a solid UN-World Bank partnership, the international community found the internal consensus to address each of the two complementary peace consolidation challenges, adopting two highly innovative instruments: (i) an anti-corruption scheme labeled Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP), involving such robust measures as expatriate co-signing authority, and (ii) a short-term employment-generation scheme now known as roads-with- United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), centered on a rare direct collaboration between the Bank and the engineering units of the UN's military peacekeeping force on the ground. This paper examines these two instruments more closely, in their successes and failures as well as from the perspective of temporary shared sovereignty and co-production.

Developing a diagnostic and action framework for donor-assisted governance reform in conflict-affected countries and fragile states was the objective of a program implemented by the World Bank's Social Development Department (SDV) and funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first phase of the program developed lessons and outcomes based upon a review of international experience of governance reform in fragile and conflict-affected states. A major objective was to identify specific approaches and activities that will be most effective in strengthening institutions, promoting transparency and accountability, and enhancing capacity at local and national levels. This phase also derived lessons on the utility and shortcomings of governance-related diagnostic tools in designing and evaluating country strategies and programs in fragile states. A key issue concerns methodology. What type of analytical method provides a more useful assessment: country-specific analyses of the political economy, indicators designed for purposes of cross-country comparison, indices that rank state fragility, or some combination of diagnostic tools? The second phase of the program also was in two parts. Cote d'Ivoire's poverty reduction strategy process was used as an entry point for an initiative that facilitated process and method-oriented exercises for local stakeholders on the how rather than the what of policy development in an effort to build governance capacity. One result is a model that may serve for future engagement in other fragile and conflict-affected countries. The second part of this phase is an ongoing effort to work with local partners in the Central African Republic and Chad to identify strategies that could strengthen access to justice at the local level. Activities include assessing the strengths and weaknesses of formal and informal justice systems and mapping community-based practices and informal justice systems, including some under the aegis of NGOs, as well as identifying possible linkages to state justice systems. The paper will first examine the concepts of state fragility and governance in terms of donor engagement. Part two will discuss the lessons (opportunities and constraints), diagnostic tools and entry points for governance reform. Part three will offer conclusions.

The role of communication in Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) processes has evolved since 2000. The introduction of new communication channels for public policy debate has empowered a wide array of stakeholders who previously were absent or marginal in the development agenda. Initially, consultations were mainly a donor-led requirement, often done to access Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) funding quickly. This experience led to the recognition that more can be gained by working in partnership with other stakeholders. This publication updates a 2005 review of communication in PRSs. It includes four country case studies (Ghana, Tanzania, Moldova, and Nepal) and a regional analysis of Latin America and the Caribbean. It explores how the use of strategic communication has expanded beyond the PRS and is now being integrated into national development planning and implementation. Many of these strategies are shifting their focus from a 'dissemination and publicity strategy' to a 'communication program' that emphasizes information intervention beyond the traditional campaign, workshop or seminars. Compared with the 2005 review, the main difference is the institutionalization of communication, moving beyond the one-time experience for the first set of PRSs to broader, deeper sustained communication in support of poverty reduction and national development strategies. A second major difference is expanding beyond communication and participation in PRS formulation to PRS implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. The challenges of communication in national development strategies both within and between government, civil society, and donors correspond to some of the key challenges of the PRS initiative, how to create a genuinely participatory, and comprehensive process. Donor harmonization and aid coordination have improved government-donor relations, but both parties need to forge a new relationship with civil society for the more ambitious agenda to promote good governance.

This synthesis paper is based on a review of three countries in West Africa-Burkina Faso, Mali, and Mauritania where state owned enterprises (SOEs) continue to play an important role and Governments have embarked on a number of public sector reforms are intended to have a positive impact on SOEs. SOE governance practices and problems are having strong similarities in all of the countries reviewed. These commonalities can be ascribed to the fact that all of the countries are transitioning from centrally controlled economic and political traditions to more liberal economies and to a more democratic government. All are facing challenges with implementing the legal structures left behind from colonial times. The data that is available shows that wholly-owned and state controlled SOEs under perform. Many are technically insolvent and survive only through government support. Their performance is not only poor in the financial area but also in the provision of needed social services. The country studies link the poor performance of SOEs, in particular wholly-owned SOEs, to their governance practices. Long-lasting reforms are not simply a matter of plugging holes in the legislative or institutional framework. Corporate governance is the result of a complex interplay of law, practice, institutions and culture. Action plans need to take into account incentives and the political, social and cultural context of corporate governance in the country in addition to the legal framework. Indeed, SOE governance is a system and making it work better requires a systems approach. Most reform plans in the past have focused on one or another element of SOE governance, which might explain why many have fallen short of hopes and expectations. Systems approaches, on the other hand, are important in complex organizations (such as SOEs) whose success depends upon the interaction and cooperation of other organizations and institutions. This synthesis paper presents the objectives and the methodology used in carrying out the reviews followed by a discussion of the features and importance of SOEs in each of the countries studied. It then segues into a discussion on the performance of SOEs which is supplemented by case studies of both successful and unsuccessful SOEs and key lessons learned the paper then presents the current Government initiatives for reform and the remaining challenges and recommendations. The paper concludes with suggestions on how to implement the recommendations based on examples from other countries that have embarked on comprehensive governance reforms for the SOE sector.

This country assistance evaluation assesses the outcomes of the World Banks program in Nigeria during the period 1998–2007. The Country Assistance Evaluation focuses on the objectives of that assistance and the extent to which outcomes were consistent with those objectives. It looks at the Banks contribution to the achievement of those outcomes and at the lessons for the Banks future activities in Nigeria and in other countries. The evaluation includes a review of relevant documents, complemented by interviews with Bank staff and other key donors, as well as with representatives of the Nigerian government, the private sector, and civil society. Overall, the outcomes of the Bank program in Nigeria are rated as moderately unsatisfactory. This reflects an improvement relative to IEG’s 2000–04 assessment, which rated the outcome of Bank assistance as unsatisfactory. The current assessment recognizes the country’s signal achievements in maintaining macroeconomic stability and laying the basis for more effective and cost-efficient performance of the central government. There are major risks associated with this, however. The earnings from Nigeria’s oil and gas resources require strong management that puts the national interest ahead of that of individuals and state governments. In the fragmented context of Nigerian politics, that is a tough proposition to maintain. If the government shows the necessary leadership and successfully leverages the resources it has to provide incentives to state governments to do a better job of delivering social services, there is the potential for real progress in reducing poverty and achieving the MDGs.

This report seeks to inform the development of a framework for addressing governance reform in fragile and conflict affected environments through are view of international experiences. The report analyzes the experience both of countries that sustained a transition to peace and those that fell back into conflict. Pertinent lessons will be drawn selectively from a range of fragile and conflict affected countries, including Haiti, Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mozambique, Liberia, Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, and Angola. No specific typologies have been adopted or formed in order to assess these lessons, because typologies can be limiting and experiences can be better assessed based on the specificity of each country's context. The first section of the report sets out broadly accepted definitions of key terms such as governance, state building, and fragility. The second section reviews experiences with diverse governance dimensions and explores the objectives, opportunities, and constraints associated with each.

On August 25, 2009, the 13th Government of the Palestinian Authority (PA) presented a program entitled "Palestine: ending the occupation, establishing the state" (hereafter referred to as the program) outlining several national goals, including the achievement of 'economic independence and national prosperity'. The program accords high priority to the development of the public institutions of the PA in order to achieve the stated national goals. It acknowledges that maintaining an efficient and effective public sector that provides citizens with high quality services and value for money is a constant challenge. No amount of well-functioning institutions, will, however, lead to economic growth in the absence of access to markets, whether within the West Bank and Gaza, in Israel, or in the rest of the world. In this regard, the recent developments in easing of movement and access restrictions by the Government of Israel (GoI) represent a welcome first step. The GoI has taken steps to ease movement restrictions in the West Bank and to allow greater access to West Bank markets for Arab citizens of Israel. In the first half of 2009, the political stalemate in Gaza continued and the economy stagnated. The West Bank economy is showing signs of new growth, so that it is possible that for the first time in years, West Bank and Gaza (WB&G) may have positive per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2009.

An Analysis of Six Case Studies in Developing and High-Income Countries This paper focuses on core aspects of the political economy of reform, drawing on case studies of three economies transitioning to stronger business environments (Hungary, the Republic of Korea, and Mexico) and three countries with well-developed business environments (Australia, Italy, and the United Kingdom). The purpose is threefold: first, to identify so-called drivers of reform among successfully reforming countries; second, to explore how a reform strategy can make optimal use of the opportunities provided by the drivers of change; and third; to suggest how these lessons can be proactively used by other reformers to design and guide reforms. The case study findings suggest that, regardless of the content of reform, success is influenced by an evolving mix of seven drivers of change: i) globalization or competitiveness; ii) crisis; iii) political leadership; iv) unfolding reform synergies; v) technocrats; vi) changes in civil society, and vii) external pressure. The case studies suggest that reformers can influence the direction and pace of change by mobilizing and exploiting drivers of it. Rather than a cause-and-effect scenario in which a single driver-such as a crisis-creates and defines the success of a body of reforms, what happens is an unfolding series of events in which various drivers become more and less important in defining phases of the reform process.

The aim of this study is to convince national and multilateral policy makers of the importance of the public sphere concept for democratic governance and strategic post-conflict assistance planning with the objective of positive and sustainable change in current post-conflict assistance policy and practice. The study introduces the conceptual thinking underlying the public sphere framework and, citing evidence from different countries, highlights its relevance and calls for its application in post-conflict environments. For practitioners the study provides a public sphere assessment toolkit and a toolbox for interventions. It also offers concrete examples and recommendations on how to address the specific governance challenges identified through a public sphere analysis in three countries: Timor-Leste, Liberia and Burundi.