November 2003

The monthly Newsletter contains latest information on International Development Cooperation. Edited by Karsten Weitzenegger, currently at Siquijor Island, Philippines. Please send comments and suggestions by e-mail to

1. Global Competitiveness Report 2003-2004
2. New WTO report focuses on questions of development
3. Developing countries in international negotiations
4. Book: Front line stories from international aid workers
5. PACA to address market failure in local economic development
6. Information for World Bank Bidders and Consultants
7. The Latest World Bank Thinking on Development
8. Public-Private Partnerships in Education
9. Gender resource websites have merged
10. tyzo.com Online Travel Guide
11. assortis.com offers a 10 days free trial

The World Economic Forum -- http://www.weforum.org -- launched The Global Competitiveness Report 2003-2004 on October 30, 2003. It provides an authoritative and thorough assessment of the comparative strengths and weaknesses of 102 industrialized and emerging economies. Since its first release in 1979, the Report has assessed the comparative strengths and weaknesses of national economies worldwide. Geographic coverage this year has increased significantly from 80 to 102 economies, which translates to 97.8 percent of the world's GDP. Particular efforts this year were made to increase our coverage of Africa, increasing from 8 to 25 the number of African countries now featured in the Report. The Global Competitiveness Report combines publicly available data with survey data that capture the perceptions and observations of business leaders operating in a given country to calculate the country rankings.
http://www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/Content/Global+Competitiveness+Programme%5CGlobal+Competitiveness+Report%5CGlobal+Competitiveness+Report+2003-2004

The WTO Secretariat launched today the first edition of a new annual publication known as the World Trade Report. This report, conceived and developed by Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi, is intended to make a contribution to the public debate on trade policy and the multilateral trading system. The 270-page report gives extensive examination to the Doha Development Agenda round of global trade negotiations and states clearly that these talks hold significant potential for raising levels of development in impoverished countries. This is particularly true with respect to negotiations on agriculture and non-agricultural market access.
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres03_e/pr348_e.htm

A new paper from Gapresearch.org questions how developing countries can effectively participate in international negotiations as they become an increasingly important part of the international system. The author S. Page concludes that participation is working best in the longest established negotiations such as the WTO (with the exception of climate change), with the broadest range of allies and less obvious dependency. It works best when and where developing countries can perceive their interests most clearly. Available online at:
http://www.odi.org.uk/iedg/publications/dev_countries_web.pdf

Edited by Carol Bergman. Published by Earthscan. Another Day in Paradise is a powerful anthology of first-person stories by international aid workers. From Afghanistan to Cambodia, Rwanda to Vietnam, Ecuador to Bosnia, international aid workers tell it like it really is on the ground in the world's hot spots. Covering natural disaster, war, and all-too-fragile peace, these emotionally raw stories open an uncensored window onto the lives of aid workers and the triumphs and tragedies of the people they are trying to help. This is authentic and powerful reading in these times of turmoil. Save 10% on-line today:
http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=4027

Research showed that in their effort to promote businesses governments often crowded out private, forprofit providers of services. How can we create conditions thata private business can come in and take up this opportunity? In the latest PACA-News, Jörg Meyer-Stamer introduced market failure as analytical moment of PACA, a local economic development tools. PACA® is a methodology to kick-start local economic development initiatives. It is designed as an alternative to approaches such as strategic planning and sequential approaches which put a lot of effort into awareness-raising and mobilization without anything practical happening for a while.
http://www.paca-online.de/news/PACA-News_2003Oct.pdf

This newly revised site offers information for pursuing business opportunities related to projects financed by the Bank. The average annual lending commitments of $10-15 billion a year are used by recipient countries to purchase goods and equipment, construct civil works and obtain consulting services needed to implement these projects. Each can involve many separate contracts and business opportunities for suppliers, contractors and consultants worldwide. The site offers guidelines to understanding the responsibilities for the implementing agencies in recipient countries, as well as the Bank's role in making sure the work is done properly and according to procurement procedures.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/PROCUREMENT/0,,contentMDK:20060540~menuPK:84282~pagePK:84269~piPK:60001558~theSitePK:84266,00.html

Economic research, working papers that explore new ideas, policy documents and much more are available on this database-driven site. Visitors to the site can view and download a variety of publications and studies, as well as data and statistics. Each type of resource is available by topic, type of publication, or related program, and new material appears regularly.
http://econ.worldbank.org/

A new World Bank paper assesses the comparative advantages of three models for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in secondary education: * Model 1: a private sector firm adopts a school or schools * Model 2: the private sector firm provides a specific product to a school or the entire system * Model 3: the private sector firm actually operates public schools. This paper was developed for the First Regional Conference On Secondary Education In Africa (SEIA). Theme VII: Developing Partnerships: The Role of the Private Sector in Secondary Education. Available online at:
http://www.worldbank.org/afr/seia/conf_0603/ps_se_vdrryck.doc

To make the search for gender materials easier and faster, the Genie donor-focused website merged with the Siyanda website. Siyanda aims to assist busy gender practitioners with locating essential gender mainstreaming resources, quickly and easily. As a result of this merger you can now enjoy the following new features and improved tools: Combined keyword and donor search functions: Words" field, Annotated bibliography, Enhanced results page, Improved Gender Experts and Consultants Database, Merged Genie and Siyanda updates.
http://www.siyanda.org

Whether you're planning a vacation or a business trip, you can save money by visiting Tyzo.com. This site has lots of tips and ideas for getting the best deals on airfare, hotels, car rentals, and other facets of your trip. You'll also find useful information about currency conversion, international dialing codes, electricity requirements, holidays around the world, and similar travel issues. Tyzo has over 6,000 pages of information to help you research and plan your trip down to the smallest detail.
http://www.tyzo.com

assortis.com offers a cost effective and unique service to companies and experts active in the international development aid field. assortis.com provides you with prior information notices, calls for expression of interest and calls for tender, as well as shortlisted and contracted companies from more than 10 international funding agencies*. assortis.com informs you according to your choice of sectors and countries. Try this service now!
http://www.assortis.com/en/members/bsc_register.asp?act=trial&from=mail&org=1899

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