Export Competitiveness: Institutions for Reform

An effective advocacy process is key to help set and promote the right reform agenda as well as to help maintain the reform process on track and honest. Focusing advocacy efforts around an export competitiveness agenda has two key benefits. First, there are relatively few political economy issues associated with an export growth agenda that would benefit most stakeholders in the country. Second, such an agenda invariably leads to the need to resolve tough domestic issues which can be much more effectively tackled in the name of export competitiveness. There are two crucial interfaces in the export competitiveness advocacy process. First between the private and the public sector to ensure the key constraints on existing activities encountered by the private sector are addressed by the government as well as to help identify the coordinated pro-active measures required to unleash new export industries. The second interface is within the government where there is the need for an independant entity to advocate and support reforms by the line administrations. Good practice countries actually combine both interfaces within a single government agency connected to the top level of the government. Such economic development agencies are also often in charge of donor coordination and/or of a specific economic development budget, which gives them additional leverage and resources over line administrations to get the job done.

PPD Handbook
Author: Benjamin Herzberg, Andrew Wright
Source:  The World Bank

In recent years there has been growing interest in the potential for dialogue between the public and private sectors to promote the right conditions for private sector development and poverty reduction. This handbook collated and presented the knowledge in an accessible and comprehensible way.

The Five Requirements of a Good Policy Advocacy Process in the Government
Source: The World Bank Group

Based on the insights accumulated through FIAS and MIGA advisory services projects, there are five requirements of a Good Policy Advocacy Process: 1) Independence and access to the top level of government; 2) Access to information; 3) Analytical skills; 4) Financial resources to help line administrations implement reforms advocated; 5) Monitoring.

Competitiveness Partnerships: Building and Maintaining Public-Private Dialogue to Improve the Investment Climate

Author: Benjamin Herzberg, Andrew Wright

Source: World Bank-IFC Private Sector Development Vice-Presidency

 

Competitiveness partnerships consist of structured dialogue between the public and private sector to improve the investment climate. In this paper, the authors investigate the experience of some countries with competitiveness partnerships and seek to identify common and replicable strategies and success factors.

Consultation with Stakeholders in the Shaping of National and Regional Policies Affecting Small Business

Source: Final Report of the Best Procedure Project, October 2005, European Commission

 

Better quality regulations and well formulated policies are of a crucial importance for the successful operations of European companies. This project gives out some insights about how the consultation process is structured and conducted, what consultation methods are used and how small business opinions are taken into account by policy makers across European countries.

 

Institutional Innovation and Private Investment in Taiwan

Author:  Stephan Haggard and Yu Zheng

The effort to increase investment requires a difficult combination of credible policy and the ability to respond flexibly to changing circumstances. During the period prior to transition to democratic rule, decision-making bodies and foreign participators played an important role in the successful reform process of Taiwan.

Briefing Note: Botswana
Author: Alberto Criscuolo
Source:  The World Bank

In Botswana, clever minerals policy initiated and stimulated growth, and well-thought long-term development planning was crucial in channeling budget surpluses from diamond revenues into public investments that promoted growth and human development while maintaining fiscal discipline.