Countries at the Crossroads: An Analysis of Democratic Governance evaluates government performance in seventy strategically important countries from across the globe, including emerging market countries and at-risk states. The in-depth comparative analyses and quantitative ratings_examining Accountability and Public Voice, Civil Liberties, Rule of Law, and Anticorruption and Transparency_serve as a valuable tool for public analysts, educators and students, government officials, and the business community.

Vietnam: Rethinking the State offers an exciting and up-to-date look at the politics of this fascinating country as it seeks to make the transition from war-torn economic backwater to a dynamic and modern society. The book argues for a move away from the commonly associated idea of 'reform', arguing for a deeper understanding of the concept and questioning the idea of state-retreat. The result is a path-breaking book which gets beneath the surface of Vietnam's politics in a way which few outsiders otherwise could.

The terms of debate on the role of institutions in economic development are changing. Stable market institutions, in particular, secure private property rights and democratically accountable governments that uphold the rule of law, are widely seen to be a pre-requisite for economic transformation in low income countries, yet over the last thirty years, economic growth and structural transformation has surged forward in a range of countries where market and state institutions have differed these ideals, as well as from each other. Turbulence and Order in Economic Development studies the role of the state in two such countries, examining the interplay between market liberalization, institutions, and the distribution of power in Tanzania and Vietnam. Tanzania and Vietnam were two of the poorest countries in the world in the early 1980s but over the last thirty years, both have experienced significant changes in the pace and character of economic development. While both countries experienced faster rates of GDP growth, their paths of economic transformation were very different as Vietnam experienced rapid poverty reduction associated with the expansion of manufacturing while Tanzania's path of industrialization was characterized by the rise of mining and a much slower pace of poverty reduction. Employing a political settlements approach, this book considers the comparative role of the state in driving economic transformation. In both countries, the experiences of socialism continued to shape the role of the state in the economy even after extensive market liberalization, however, the distribution of political and economic power was very different. This had important consequences for the overlapping role of the state in generating political order and in driving economic transformation. Turbulence and Order in Economic Development studies the formal and informal ways that the state influenced economic transformation through its role in public financial management, land and industrial policy.

With the increasing recognition across the world of the damaging effects of corruption on economic growth and social stability. This report seeks to unpack the varied practices of corruption to identify and compare different patterns of the transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It then draws out lessons for tailoring anticorruption strategies to address the variation across the region in an effort to target reforms more effectively. The report draws on many sources of ongoing research and lessons of experience, including the World Bank's work in this area. It is intended as a contribution to the growing policy dialogue on developing practical strategies for reducing corruption.

This 2019 Article IV Consultation with Vietnam highlights that gradual fiscal consolidation, strict limits on government guarantees and robust growth in recent years have led to declining government debt, expected to continue under current policies. But while there is some fiscal space, fiscal needs are large, for infrastructure, social spending and to deal with population aging. The tightening of credit growth continued in 2018; however, liquidity remained ample, aided by the strong balance of payments and tight fiscal policies. The State Bank of Vietnam has initiated plans to modernize its monetary framework with IMF technical support. The authorities’ efforts to improve economic institutions and governance continue and the fight against grand corruption has resulted in significant sentences in recent high-profile cases. Improvements in transparency and statistical systems are underway, with support from the IMF and the Financial Action Task Force’s Asia Pacific Group.