China And The World Bank Promoting Capacity Development

The book China and the World Bank: Promoting Capacity Development summarizes the experience of China’s capacity development under the support of the World Bank through the detailed analysis of China’s 50 loan projects. Professor Yifu Lin, former chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank wrote the foreword of the book. And he recommends the book as filling the gap of the research field in China’s capacity development under the help of the World Bank. Capacity development usually refers to a dynamic and perfecting process, that the recipient countries’ public sectors allocate and use available resources for promoting the development capacity to achieve the expected goals of economic and social development in a more effective, efficient, appropriate and sustainable way. This book is divided into five parts: the first part is "economic management and system reform", which discusses the experience of capacity development in economic reform, finance, taxation and industry sectors; the second part is "poverty alleviation and rural development", which analyzes the experience of capacity development in poverty alleviation and development, agricultural comprehensive development and rural water supply and environmental sanitation; the third part is "infrastructure", which refines water conservancy and hydropower experience in capacity development of expressways and urban transportation. The fourth part is "human development", which describes the experience of capacity development of basic education and medical health. The fifth part is "environmental protection", summarizing the experience of environmental management and urban water industry capacity development.

African countries need to improve the performance of their public sectors if they are going to achieve their goals of growth, poverty reduction, and the provision of better services for their citizens. Between 1995 and 2004, the Bank provided some $9 billion in lending and close to $900 million in grants and administrative budget to support public sector capacity building in Africa. This evaluation assesses Bank support for public sector capacity building in Africa over these past 10 years. It is based on six country studies, assessments of country strategies and operations across the Region, and review of the work of the World Bank Institute, the Institutional Development Fund, and the Bank-supported African Capacity Building Foundation.

This important volume provides a source of information on the key issues, including constraints and capacity building, necessary to implement participatory approaches in China today. A wealth of case studies are provided by principal Chinese academics and practitioners in forestry, natural resource management, rural development, irrigation and poverty alleviation. At the core, the book is about strengthening local government as a key player in the development of participatory initiatives. It is an invaluable text for development practitioners, donors, researchers and students seeking to understand the opportunities and constraints for participation in China, and for those working to institutionalize participatory processes in a complex rural context.

In the last 30 years, China’s record economic growth lifted half a billion people out of poverty, with rapid urbanization providing abundant labor, cheap land, and good infrastructure. While China has avoided some of the common ills of urbanization, strains are showing as inefficient land development leads to urban sprawl and ghost towns, pollution threatens people’s health, and farmland and water resources are becoming scarce. With China’s urban population projected to rise to about one billion – or close to 70 percent of the country’s population – by 2030, China’s leaders are seeking a more coordinated urbanization process. Urban China is a joint research report by a team from the World Bank and the Development Research Center of China’s State Council which was established to address the challenges and opportunities of urbanization in China and to help China forge a new model of urbanization. The report takes as its point of departure the conviction that China's urbanization can become more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable. However, it stresses that achieving this vision will require strong support from both government and the markets for policy reforms in a number of area. The report proposes six main areas for reform: first, amending land management institutions to foster more efficient land use, denser cities, modernized agriculture, and more equitable wealth distribution; second, adjusting the hukou household registration system to increase labor mobility and provide urban migrant workers equal access to a common standard of public services; third, placing urban finances on a more sustainable footing while fostering financial discipline among local governments; fourth, improving urban planning to enhance connectivity and encourage scale and agglomeration economies; fifth, reducing environmental pressures through more efficient resource management; and sixth, improving governance at the local level.

The rapid pace of economic growth in China has been unprecedented since the start of economic reforms in late 1970s. It has delivered higher incomes and made the largest single contribution to global poverty reduction. Measured by international poverty lines, from 1978-2004, the absolute poor population in rural areas has dropped from 250 million to 26.1 million. Such gains are impressive and have been driven largely by a set of market-oriented institutional reforms, strong investment, and effective adoption and application of various knowledge and technologies, especially foreign ones through trade and foreign direct investment. While enjoying tremendous success, China also faces many challenges that need to be addressed to sustain its long-term development. These include weak institutions, low overall educational attainment, weak indigenous innovation capacity, poor links between research and development and industries, and so on. This paper provides an analysis of some strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges to China's knowledge economy in the areas of economic incentives and institutional regime, human capital, innovation system, and information infrastructure.

After more than three decades of average annual growth close to 10 percent, China's economy is transitioning to a 'new normal' of slower but more balanced and sustainable growth. Its old drivers of growth -- a growing labor force, the migration from rural areas to cities, high levels of investments, and expanding exports -- are waning or having less impact. China's policymakers are well aware that the country needs new drivers of growth. This report proposes a reform agenda that emphasizes productivity and innovation to help policymakers promote China's future growth and achieve their vision of a modern and innovative China. The reform agenda is based on the three D's: removing Distortions to strengthen market competition and enhance the efficient allocation of resources in the economy; accelerating Diffusion of advanced technologies and management practices in China's economy, taking advantage of the large remaining potential for catch-up growth; and fostering Discovery and nurturing China's competitive and innovative capacity as China approaches OECD incomes in the decades ahead and extends the global innovation and technology frontier.

Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development makes the case that greening growth is necessary, efficient, and affordable. Yet spurring growth without ensuring equity will thwart efforts to reduce poverty and improve access to health, education, and infrastructure services.

Work is constantly reshaped by technological progress. New ways of production are adopted, markets expand, and societies evolve. But some changes provoke more attention than others, in part due to the vast uncertainty involved in making predictions about the future. The 2019 World Development Report will study how the nature of work is changing as a result of advances in technology today. Technological progress disrupts existing systems. A new social contract is needed to smooth the transition and guard against rising inequality. Significant investments in human capital throughout a person’s lifecycle are vital to this effort. If workers are to stay competitive against machines they need to train or retool existing skills. A social protection system that includes a minimum basic level of protection for workers and citizens can complement new forms of employment. Improved private sector policies to encourage startup activity and competition can help countries compete in the digital age. Governments also need to ensure that firms pay their fair share of taxes, in part to fund this new social contract. The 2019 World Development Report presents an analysis of these issues based upon the available evidence.