Human Capital Policy in Southern Sudan in the Post-Second War Period
Benaiah Yongo-Bure,
Associate Professor of Social Science, Kettering University (Flint, Michigan)
PB No. 53
(April, 2007)
Abstract: The knowledge and skills that people in the labor force possess constitute their human capital. Human capital accumulation, like the accumulation of physical capital, requires investment in people. Education is the primary means of developing human capital. Education is crucial to raising productivity and self-sustaining economic growth and development. People acquire human capital mainly through education, on-the-job training, and self-teaching. A poorly educated and trained workforce cannot be highly innovative and productive. The paucity of human capital in Southern Sudan is among the greatest challenges to the territory’s rehabilitation and development. In the short-run, many technical personnel will have to be imported. Another short-run to medium-term strategy is to help those Southerners who acquired some sort of education during the war to consolidate their knowledge of core subjects before training. Simultaneous with the remedial programs should be the founding of a long-term educational system.
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Current Privatization Policy in Sudan
Osman Suliman,
Professor of Economics, Chair of the Economics Department, Millersville University of Pennsylvania
PB No. 52
(April, 2007)
Abstract: This paper examines current privatization policy in Sudan. Evidence indicates that, with few exceptions, the observed profitability of privatized firms comes at the expense of the rest of society as measured by three channels for social losses (three hypotheses): (1) increased prices as firms capitalize on market power, (2) increased inequality through accelerated self-dealing by the National Congress Party (NCP), and (3) profit incentives to restructure privatized business swamped by official corruption and bureaucracy and a punitive tax system. A prerequisite for successful privatization in Sudan is the establishment of institutions which control self-dealing and mitigate inequality.
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A New Paradigm in Developing Country NGO Financial Sustainability
Caesar Layton,
Organizational Development Specialist
PB No. 51
(June, 2006)
Abstract: This overview on NGO financial sustainability outlines a new paradigm shift in financial sustainability that is seeing developing country NGOs looking themselves increasingly in the mindset of for-profit companies, where executive staff and shareholders are not as concerned with profit and loss rather than with long-term growth and community/social impact. This brief will discuss current trends in financial sustainability methodologies used worldwide to promote operational and financial sustainability and hopefully will highlight models and best practices that will better secure a bright financial future for developing country NGOs in any developing country context.
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The Colombian Social Security System
B. Piedad Urdinola ,
Asst. Professor, Department of Statistics, Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Bogota
PB No. 50
(March, 2006)
Abstract: This brief will present the main problems confronting the Colombian social security system today. Many current problems result from past decisions, and this document will emphasize the largest change since the system’s creation, Law 100 of 1993 (Ley 100, 1993), and its implications.
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Evaluation of Mass Privatization in Bulgaria
Jeffrey Miller,
Professor of Economics at the University of Delaware
PB No. 49
(March, 2005)
Abstract: Two aspects of the mass privatization in Bulgaria are explored: (1) How well have the firms that were privatized through the program performed since privatization? Did they perform better or worse than firms that were privatized through other programs i.e. cash privatization, management – employee buyouts, etc.? (2) Did the program succeed in passing wealth to the public in the form of stock shares as the program intended?
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Trade Policy in Colombia
Jorge Tovar,
Assistant Professor at Los Andes University, Bogotá - Colombia
PB No. 48
(January, 2006)
Abstract: This policy brief explores Colombia’s current trade policy. The brief opens with a necessary explanation of the most significant economic reforms in the nation’s recent history. These reforms took place in the early 1990s and went well beyond trade policies, shaping much of today’s economic and political views in Colombia.
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Strategic Partnership In The Face Of Scarce Resources: Social And Microenterprise Development At The U.S.-Mexico Border
Bill McElnea,
Graduate Student, Gerald Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan
PB No. 47
(March, 2006)
Abstract: This brief looks at the microenterprise, social enterprise, and small business development efforts of the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB). The institution’s recent efforts to promote entrepreneurial activity in the region serve as a valuable case study for similar efforts along the U.S.-Mexico border and other developing areas of the world. In a region facing considerable infrastructural shortages, UTB’s approach to pooling existent resources while strategically partnering with key community stakeholders has made it an example of “what works” in regions with similar development challenges.
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South African Foreign Policy: The Return of the Prodigal
Jan van Vollenhoven ,
Visiting Lecturer, Modern Diplomacy, University of Stellenbosch
PB No. 46
(March, 2006)
Abstract: This paper illustrates that South Africa’s path to prosperity, stability and a peaceful future can not be secured if that of the region and the Continent can not be secured.
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Restructuring of State Assets versus Privatisation in South Africa: What’s in a Name?
Reg Rumney,
Director, Business Map Foundation, Johannesburg
PB No. 45
(March, 2006)
Abstract: This paper examines the the difference between true privatization and the restructuring of State-owned enterprises in South Africa. It also illustrates some of the obstacles to the privatization process in this country.
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South Africa’s New Agribusiness and Land Reform Policy Regime: A Case Study of the Wine Industry
Norma Tregurtha ,
ComMark Trust
PB No. 44
(March, 2006)
Abstract: The paper begins by describing the main agricultural policy reforms that have been implemented in recent years and then goes further to document their impact on South Africa’s wine industry. The analysis is concluded with the list of recommendations as to how the industry can best be supported to amplify or ameliorate, if necessary, the business impact of these changes.
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Changes in Policy and Practice in the HIV Arena in South Africa
Erika van Vollenhoven ,
Private Practice Educational Psychologist
PB No. 43
(March, 2006)
Abstract: Southern Africa is the region worst-affected by the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Several factors are contributing to this human tragedy, including: poverty and social instability, high levels of sexually transmitted infections caused by unsafe sex, marginalized status of women; sexual violence, high mobility (particularly migrant labour), overcrowded prisons, rites of marriage, rites of death and lack of political leadership.
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The Micro Finance Sector Internationally and in South Africa
Sharda Naidoo,
Independent Consultant, Johannesburg, South Africa
PB No. 42
(December, 2005)
Abstract: This paper discusses the history of financial sector development internationally and locates the South African context in that process.
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The Importance of Narratives in South African Policy Work: How to Hear the Voices in a Participatory Democracy
Kirsten Trotter ,
Lecturer, Policy & Development Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal
PB No. 41
(December, 2005)
Abstract: The article suggests that increased use of narratives (as a means of bringing in the “voices” of the mass public) by technocrats and policy experts may serve to close the increasing gap between the mass public and decision makers in positions of power. The intention of the article is simply to expose the particular value this technique could have for South African policy processes.
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South Africa’s Changing Position in the International Economic Environment
Dr. Meenal Shrivastava,
Senior Lecturer, Department of International Relations, Wits University, Johannesburg
PB No. 40
(December, 2005)
Abstract: This paper tries to assess South Africa's trajectory of economic development by analyzing local, regional and global contexts within which its economy operates.
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Introducing Opportunity-Based Entrepreneurship
Zoran Perunovic,
Researcher, Technical University of Denmark
PB No. 39
(December, 2005)
Abstract: This paper confronts necessity-based and opportunity-based entrepreneurial concepts in the transition of developing economies. The author constructs a research model and conducts field research (using Serbia as a case study) to explore how different personal and regional characteristics can favour either a necessity- or opportunity-based entrepreneurial environment.
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Serbia’s Competitiveness Strategy Under Macro-economic Reforms and Privatisation
Dragan Djuricin,
Professor for Strategic Management / Project Management, School of Economics, University of Belgrade
PB No. 38
(September, 2005)
Abstract: This brief highlights the importance of Serbia’s competitiveness strategy formulation and implementation. It looks at various international indexes which measure competitiveness and analyzes the factors affecting Serbia's competitiveness as well as its position vis-a-vis other economies. It then explains methodology for effective formulation and implementation of a competitiveness strategy and concludes with policy recommendations specific to Serbia.
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Trade and Investment Policy Reform in Vietnam: Integration to the World Economy and Accession to the World Trade Organization
Bao Anh Thai,
Managing Partner of Bao & Partners
PB No. 37
(September, 2005)
Abstract: This paper discusses the necessary steps for effective investment and trade policy reforms in Vietnam: improved administrative procedures, removal of restrictions, improvement of legal transparency, and the harmonization of Vietnamese law with international law and practices. It also analyzes the existing problems and challenges to the government’s efforts to date and concludes with several policy recommendations.
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Corporate Governance In Vietnam
Dinh Cung Nguyen,
Director of the Department for Macroeconomic Policy of the Central Institute for Economic Management; Scott Robertson,
Economic Researcher
PB No. 36
(August, 2005)
Abstract:
This paper highlights the central role Corporate Governance plays in the development of Vietnam's economy. Private sector development, financial market development, and state owned enterprise reform all require dramatic improvements in the state of corporate governance to overcome new growth impediments. Limitations on instruments for financing long-term projects have been identified as a major constraint to firm growth. An equities market is considered a critical next-step in reforms. This advancement, however, necessitates a corporate structure with distributed equity and ownership separated from management. To achieve this end, Vietnam will require vast improvements in the regulation, standards, and culture of corporate governance.
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The Vietnamese Microfinance Sector
Daniel Zook,
Former Chair of the Microfinance Working Group (Hanoi)
PB No. 35
(September, 2005)
Abstract: This brief provides an overview of the microfinance sector in Vietnam and describes how the recent changes in the regulatory environment and new legislation allowing for the creation of independently licensed, professionally managed, and commercially funded microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Vietnam will affect future opportunities for the development of the sector. It also outlines key constraints to further growth and policy recommendations to overcome those constraints.
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Domestic Companies in Vietnam: Challenges for Development of Vietnam’s Most Important SMEs
Markus Tausig
PB No. 34
(September, 2005)
Abstract: This paper concentrates on the challenges facing further development of Vietnam’s most important subset of SMEs: domestic private companies. First, the paper briefly justifies its focus on ownership form rather than firm size through a limited review of the role of SMEs in various countries and a looks at what so-called “pro-SME” policies in Vietnam have meant in practice. Second, it sketches out the current state of Vietnamese private companies before suggesting that the number one priority for sustained, long-term development in the domestic private sector is the evolution of predictable rule of law. Quick fixes simply do not exist and can actually prove counterproductive when they lose focus of this core long-term goal. From this perspective, pro-SME policies may be antithetical to the development of rule of law. Finally, the paper concludes with some basic recommendations on how government and donors might more constructively approach the enterprise component of Vietnam’s economic development.
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Vietnam – The Long March To Equitization
Vu Thanh Tu Anh
PB No. 33
(September, 2005)
Abstract: This policy brief provides an overview of the equitization program in Vietnam. It assesses the progress of the equitization program, analyzes the remaining problems and discusses the lessons learned.
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A Framework For Supporting Sustained Economic Development
Steven Radelet,
Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development
PB No. 32
(July, 2005)
Abstract: This paper explores, at a very broad level, some of the similarities across low-income countries that have achieved success in economic development since 1960.
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Restructuring The Banking Sector: Slovakia’s First Major Economic Reform
Michal Pinter,
Senior Economic Specialist US Embassy (Slovakia)
PB No. 31
(September, 2005)
Abstract: Between the end of the World War II and the 1989 Velvet Revolution, the then Czechoslovakian financial sector was fundamentally different from the standard economic model taught in Western universities. After the fall of communism, the establishment of a standard financial sector was seen as a basic precondition for restructuring from a “Soviet-like” economic system to an open market economy. This paper aims to describe this process, highlight its pros and cons, and present analysis to help others that may face such a transition in the future.
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Privatization in the Slovak Republic
Martin Chren,
Director of the F.A. Hayek Foundation, Bratislava
PB No. 30
(February, 2005)
Abstract: This policy brief outlines the various periods and methods of privatization in Slovakia. It discusses the successes as well as failures of the process including the high price tag and the lack of transparency. Finally, it talks of the future of the privatization process in the country.
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Pension Reform in Slovakia – Why and How?