BLOGS
Infrastructure maintenance: Among G20 top priorities
Submitted by : Luisa M. Mimmi, World Bank
Though it went almost unnoticed by the media, something remarkable occurred at the July G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Venice: the endorsement of a G20 Policy Agenda on Infrastructure...
Scaling up PPPs by engaging impact investing charities and foundations
Submitted by : Patricia Sulser, World Bank
Unfortunately, once due diligence is under way, it becomes apparent that the lifecycle costs of some highly beneficial infrastructure public private partnerships (PPPs) in developing countries are simply too high or returns too low or uncertain (vis-à-vis project risk) to attract enough capital from private investors and...
GovTech in the age of COVID: Urgent need and uneven progress
Submitted by : Kimberly Johns, Cem Dener, World Bank
GovTech – the use of the latest technology to modernize the public sector -- has great potential to deliver on the promises of the digital age by improving core government systems and services to citizens...
Tackling corruption in governments’ COVID-19 health responses
Submitted by : Aneta Wierzynska, David Clarke, Mark Dibiase, Anga R. Timilsina, Srinivas Gurazada, World Bank
When the World Bank expressed concern that “prices have gone up by 20 times—or 2,000%—for some items during COVID-19”, the question arose of whether market demand and supply alone had produced such an extraordinary result. Or was the situation compounded by elite capture of resources, manipulation of markets, and...
How Indian State of Odisha is using efficient procurement to combat COVID-19
Submitted by : Yamini Sarangi & Shanker Lal, World Bank
COVID-19 has impacted almost all countries around the globe including India, which at the end of July 2020 had the world’s third-highest number of documented cases. As the pandemic continues to evolve, the medicines and treatment protocols required are constantly changing. This is compounded by the disruptions in the supply chain, posing...
How can mobile government (mGov) work in developing countries?
Submitted by : Khuram Farooq & Peter Kustor, World Bank
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started last year, many digitally advanced governments such as Austria have stepped up access to public services via mobile phones. Their experience provides an opportunity for other less digitally advanced countries to leapfrog and rethink their approach to service delivery given the phenomenal growth of mobile...
How large is public procurement?
Submitted by : Erica Bosio & Simeon Djankov, World Bank
Public procurement — the process by which governments purchase goods, services and works from the private sector. The regulation of public procurement is relatively new. With the exception of Japan in 1947 and the United States two years later, most countries adopted procurement laws in the 1990s or...
Re-booting public procurement to revitalize the 'social contract' of governance
Submitted by : Vinay Sharma & Felipe Goya, World Bank
Governance in any democratic society is the effective result of a social contract between the state and the citizen – sometimes explicit, but more often implied. This mutually beneficial agreement is predicated on trust, legitimacy, and consent....