Aymo Brunetti

Gregory Kisunko

Beatrice Weder

Evidence from a Worldwide Survey of the Private Sector

Credibility of Rules and Economic Growth

This paper presents the results of a survey of almost 4,000 entrepreneurs in 69 countries who were asked to judge what constituted a major obstacle for business operations. Among the numerous findings in the report, corruption, crime and theft, and tax regulations were found to be important obstacles to doing business. OECD countries, six transition countries, and twelve developing countries were represented in the survey.

Responses from Private Sector Surveys in 69 Countries

How Businesses See Government

Looking decades ahead into the future, many informed observers see China moving steadily to the top of the world's economic league. Several sources, including the OECD, forecast that the country will be the world's largest economy by 2020. China's urban economy has been the driving force behind the country's recent trends of accelerated growth. By the same token, deterioration in the urban centers could constrain future growth. The Dynamics of Urban Growth in Three Chinese Cities looks at the interplay between geography, size, and industrial structure that determines the industrial vigor of cities. Their conclusions, abundantly illustrated through the experience of the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangzhou, is that each of these factors must be made to work for the city through effective policymaking. The authors compare these cities with each other in the context of the changes sweeping China's economy, review their history and their reform programs from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, and examine their infrastructure and human capital. The volume includes maps of the cities and their outlying areas and of China's road and rail system, as well as figures depicting the industrial structure of each city. Published for the World Bank by Oxford University Press.

A Comparative Study of Different Uncertainty Measures

Investment and Institutional Uncertainty

Silvio Borner

Why have the economies of some developing countries fallen back while others have advanced? Why have so many stabilization and structural adjustment programs failed to deliver growth dividends? This book shows that there is a common and valid answer: political credibility defined as the predictability of the institutional rules of the game. This case is not only argued theoretically but also found to be confirmed by empirical analysis. Ten case studies pitting Latin American countries against Southeast Asian ones reveal the sources of political credibility. Economic openness is the necessary precondition, long-term reputation or democratic participation the sufficient one. Despite the seemingly superior strength of authoritarian reputation democratic control is the more successful road.

Political Credibility and Economic Development

Caroline van Rijckeghem

This paper develops and tests two efficiency wage models of corruption in the civil service. Under fair wage models, civil service wages are an important determinant of corruption. Under shirking models, the level of wages is of secondary importance, as potential bribes dwarf wage income. The empirical evidence points to a negative relationship between corruption and wages across developing countries. Tests as to the validity of the two different efficiency wage models are inconclusive.

Do Low Wages in the Civil Service Cause Corruption?

Corruption and the Rate of Temptation

Region-by-region Results from a Worldwide Survey of the Private Sector

Institutional Obstacles to Doing Business

Beatrice Weder

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