This report provides a brief review of recent trends and key policies in strengthening national agricultural research systems. Chapters provide a brief overview of the recent evolution of national research systems and a synthesis of policy issues and good practices for developing these systems including the involvement of universities and the private sector. They also focus on key policy and institutional reforms for strengthening public research institutions including funding, research management, and client orientation. Finally they discuss implications for the World Bank in its ongoing efforts to strengthen national research systems.

This report addresses the most important challenges facing the Latin America and Caribbean region as it attempts to replace its traditional economic and social structures, including populist institutions, with a modern, efficient, administrative state. The analysis focuses on the political economy of pending reforms and their ramifications. The report discusses (1) recent economic and political developments; (2) systemic issues such as high real interest and unemployment rates and declining export growth; (3) social policies and the need to consolidate macroeconomic stability; and (4) how to define and build the new Latin American state. An appendix provides detailed information on selected country performance.

This study examines the impact of paddy irrigation investments, operations, and maintenance in Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as the conclusions of a performance audit of flood control schemes at three sites in Bangladesh. Findings from the review contradict the dominant model for government-operated, gravity-fed irrigation schemes in the humid tropics. The irrigation schemes are performing less well than expected at appraisal, mainly because of falling paddy prices, overoptimism about the crop area served, and project design faults. Results emphasize the value of co-production, involving pragmatic approaches to operation and maintenance under which public irrigation agencies, local authorities, and farmers work together to address specific problems and strengthen appropriate incentives.

World Bank Discussion Paper No. 360. Over the last two decades banking systems in Latin America have been subject to considerable banking distress and numerous crises. This conference looked at proposals for preventing such episodes. The discussions covered the genesis and implications of deposit insurance cum fractional reserve requirements; the experience with market-based regulations in Chile and in New Zealand and the narrow banking proposal (100 percent reserves on demand deposits), with a discussion of how Argentina's path towards this type of banking system helped this country weather its 1995 banking crisis. Contributors include central bank presidents (Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica and Nicaragua) and directors (Colombia); heads of regulatory agencies and banking centers (Bolivia and Mexico); rating agencies (Brazil), private bankers, World Bank economists, and academics.

Education is a basic condition for economic and social development. Working in conjunction with the National Primary Education Commission, the World Bank supported consultations among teachers, parents, educational administrators, and community leaders to develop a strong foundation for primary education in Nigeria. The innovative work documented in this publication illustrates the potential not only for partnership between the users and providers of primary education but also between the World Bank and its clients.

World Bank Technical Paper No. 383.This paper summarizes the findings of a multisector study designed to examine the efficacy and importance of various technology policies, technology-support institutions, incentive measures, and other sources of technological know-how. It examines how various firms in different sectors and countries improve their technology to increase productivity and product quality and develop new products and processes. Economies studied in this report included Canada, China, Hungary, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico and Taiwan (China).