In the World Bank's client countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, nearly 500 million people in 28 countries have now witnessed more than a decade and a half of profound changes in their political and economic lives. For most of the region, the aftershocks of the collapse of central planning caused a precipitous drop in output and sharp increases in poverty and unemployment. Economic policy and public sector governance play a crucial role in the pursuit of poverty reduction in the region. In this effort, the World Bank supports these countries with analysis, technical assistance,and financing for public investments and policy reform in the following areas:
| New and Noteworthy! | | November 2009 | "On the policy front, Russia faces difficult fiscal, financial, and social challenges to sustain the economic recovery and cushion the social impact in a more constrained, post-crisis world. The new environment provides an opportunity to accelerate structural reforms that can raise productivity and diversify the Russian economy." Russian Economic Report #20 (Russian) | | September 2009 | "The crisis threatens the welfare of about 160 million people in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region who are poor or are just above the poverty line. Using pre-crisis household data along with aggregate macroeconomic outturns to simulate the impact of the crisis on households, transmitted via credit market shocks, price shocks, and income shocks, this report finds that adverse effects are widespread and that poor and non-poor households alike are vulnerable. By 2010, for the region as a whole, some 11 million more people will likely be in poverty and over 23 million more people will find themselves just above the poverty line because of the crisis." "The crisis hits home: stress testing households in Europe and Central Asia. - Erwin R. Tiongson and including (in alphabetical order) Anna I. Gueorguieva, Victoria Levin, Kalanidhi Subbarao, Naotaka Sugawara, Victor Sulla, and Ashley Taylor. | | June 2009 | "The global recession has deepened, with larger than expected declines in output and employment in many countries, Russia included. Global output is now expected to decline full 2.9 percent in 2009, with high-income countries hardest hit. Real economy and social impact on Russia was also larger than anticipated just a few months ago. And Russia’s real GDP in 2009 is likely to contract about 7.9 percent in 2009..... With more constrained financing environment for the government and the private sector in the post crisis period, Russia should accelerate structural reforms aimed at raising productivity and improving diversification and competitiveness."
Russian Economic Report #19: From Crisis to Recovery ( Russian). | | April 2009 | Despite the purported surge in internal migration following the 2004 enlargement of the European Union, data from the 2006 European Union Survey of Income and Living Conditions show that internal migrants are a relatively small share of the European Union's population. --"The Foreign-born Population in the European Union and Its Contribution to National Tax and Benefit Systems. Some Insights from Recent Household Survey Data." Luca Barbone, Misha Bontch-Osmolovsky, Salman Zaidi. | | March 2009 | "The world has entered the first global recession since the Second World War. The impact of the crisis worldwide is proving far deeper and broader than previously thought. Theimpact on Russia has been accentuated by its structural vulnerabilities: dependence on the oil and gas sector, a narrow industrial base and limited small and medium-size enterprise sector. As a result, Russia’s real GDP is likely to contract in 2009 by 4.5 percent. The fiscal space for further support to the economy has shrunk but the government will be able to finance its fiscal deficit thanks to its large fiscal reserves."
Russian Economic Report #18 "(Russian). | | February 2009 | " The main objective of the Life in Transition Survey (LiTS) was to assess the impact of transition on people, and so the survey questionnaire covered four main themes. This volume presents the main findings of three studies by World Bank economists using data from the 2006 LiTS." Satisfaction with Life and Service Delivery in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union". Salman Zaidi, Asad Alam, Pradeep Mitra, Ramya Sundaram. | | January 2009 | "Present levels of income inequality in Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia remain considerably higher than their pre-transition levels, although the relative pace of change over time has varied quite a bit across countries. The paper includes an analysis of key factors that help explain observed variation across countries in the level of public support for redistribution. Main Drivers of Income Inequality in Central European and Baltic Countries. Salman Zaidi. | | June 2008 | "This report integrates an impressive array of data sets to assess the macro, sectoral, and micro underpinnings of productivity growth in the Region. It builds on aggregate estimates of productivity comparable across countries and over time." Unleashing prosperity. Productivity growth in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Asad Alam, Paloma Anos Casero, Faruk Khan, Charles Udomsaph. | | June 2008 | “Focusing on long-term growth issues in the Western Balkans, the objective of the report is to better understand the impact of a deeper integration between the region and the EU, as well as within the countries of the region, on growth. The study also recommends possible priorities for action at the country level to enable acceleration in export-led growth.” " Western Balkan Integration and the EU". Sanjay Kathuria. (Press release) |
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