World Development Report 2009

World Development Report 2009 PDF

Author: World Bank

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2008-11-04

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 9780821376089

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Rising densities of human settlements, migration and transport to reduce distances to market, and specialization and trade facilitated by fewer international divisions are central to economic development. The transformations along these three dimensions density, distance, and division are most noticeable in North America, Western Europe, and Japan, but countries in Asia and Eastern Europe are changing in ways similar in scope and speed. 'World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography' concludes that these spatial transformations are essential, and should be encouraged. The conclusion is not without controversy. Slum-dwellers now number a billion, but the rush to cities continues. Globalization is believed to benefit many, but not the billion people living in lagging areas of developing nations. High poverty and mortality persist among the world's 'bottom billion', while others grow wealthier and live longer lives. Concern for these three billion often comes with the prescription that growth must be made spatially balanced. The WDR has a different message: economic growth is seldom balanced, and efforts to spread it out prematurely will jeopardize progress. The Report: documents how production becomes more concentrated spatially as economies grow. proposes economic integration as the principle for promoting successful spatial transformations. revisits the debates on urbanization, territorial development, and regional integration and shows how today's developers can reshape economic geography.

World Development Report 2008

World Development Report 2008 PDF

Author: World Bank

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2007-10-15

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 9780821368091

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The world's demand for food is expected to double within the next 50 years, while the natural resources that sustain agriculture will become increasingly scarce, degraded, and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In many poor countries, agriculture accounts for at least 40 percent of GDP and 80 percent of employment. At the same time, about 70 percent of the world's poor live in rural areas and most depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. 'World Development Report 2008' seeks to assess where, when, and how agriculture can be an effective instrument for economic development, especially development that favors the poor. It examines several broad questions: How has agriculture changed in developing countries in the past 20 years? What are the important new challenges and opportunities for agriculture? Which new sources of agricultural growth can be captured cost effectively in particular in poor countries with large agricultural sectors as in Africa? How can agricultural growth be made more effective for poverty reduction? How can governments facilitate the transition of large populations out of agriculture, without simply transferring the burden of rural poverty to urban areas? How can the natural resource endowment for agriculture be protected? How can agriculture's negative environmental effects be contained? This year's report marks the 30th year the World Bank has been publishing the 'World Development Report'.

The Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008

The Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008 PDF

Author: Michael E. Porter

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Published: 2007-12-15

Total Pages: 608

ISBN-13: 9781403996374

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The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitiveness Report evaluates the potential for sustained economic growth of over 130 developed and emerging economies and ranks them accordingly. Since its first release in 1979, the Report has become the most authoritative and comprehensive study of its type. The 2007-2008 Report contains: • Detailed country competitiveness profiles of 131 economies • Data tables for survey and hard data variables ranking profiled economies • Global rankings: the Global Competitiveness Index and the Business Competitiveness Index, measuring growth and productivity, respectively • Exclusive data from the Executive Opinion Survey, with over 11,000 responses from business leaders worldwide. Produced in collaboration with a distinguished group of international scholars and a global network of over 130 leading national research institutes and business organizations, the Report also showcases the latest thinking and research on issues of immediate relevance for business leaders and policy-makers.

Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk

Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk PDF

Author: Suzanne H. Reuben

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2010-10

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1437934218

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Though overall cancer incidence and mortality have continued to decline in recent years, cancer continues to devastate the lives of far too many Americans. In 2009 alone, 1.5 million American men, women, and children were diagnosed with cancer, and 562,000 died from the disease. There is a growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures to cancer. The Pres. Cancer Panel dedicated its 2008¿2009 activities to examining the impact of environmental factors on cancer risk. The Panel considered industrial, occupational, and agricultural exposures as well as exposures related to medical practice, military activities, modern lifestyles, and natural sources. This report presents the Panel¿s recommend. to mitigate or eliminate these barriers. Illus.

The Global Gender Gap Report 2009

The Global Gender Gap Report 2009 PDF

Author: Ricardo Hausmann

Publisher: World Economic Forum

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 9295044282

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"The Index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education- and health-based criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparions across regions and income groups, over time"--Page 3.

Doing Business 2009

Doing Business 2009 PDF

Author: World Bank

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2008-09-10

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 9780821376102

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The Doing Business series provides research, data, and analysis on regulation in 181 economies across 10 areas of the business life cycle. Doing Business 2009 identifies top reformers in business regulation and highlights best practices and global reform trends. This year s report builds upon the five previous editions, adding new economies and updating all indicators. This year s report covers 3 additional economies, bringing the total number of economies covered to 181. Now included are the Bahamas, Bahrain, and Qatar. The report also adds a preface on Doing Business methodology, as well as in-depth analysis throughout the report on the main trends and findings of the past six years of Doing Business. Doing Business is an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs, investors, advisors, academics, professionals, and policymakers. The indicators benchmark regulation across 10 areas of a typical business lifecycle, and are used to analyze economic and social outcomes that matter such as equal opportunity, unemployment, poverty, and growth. This annually-published report gives policymakers the ability to measure regulatory performance in comparison to other economies, and learn from best practices.