Performance Auditing Best Practice

Climate Engineering: Technical Status, Future Directions, and Potential Responses;

Climate engineering technologies do not now offer a viable response to global climate change. Experts advocating research to develop and evaluate the technologies believe that research on these technologies is urgently needed or would provide an insurance policy against worst case climate scenarios--but caution that the misuse of research could bring new risks. Government reports and the literature suggest that research progress will require not only technology studies but also efforts to improve climate models and data. The technologies being proposed have been categorized as carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and solar radiation management (SRM). CDR would reduce the atmospheric concentration of CO2, allowing more heat to escape and thus cooling the Earth. For example, proposed CDR technologies include enhancing the uptake of CO2 in oceans and forests and capturing CO2 from air chemically for storage underground. SRM technologies would place reflective material in space or in Earth's atmosphere to scatter or reflect sunlight (for example, by injecting sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere to scatter incoming solar radiation or brightening clouds) or would increase the planet's reflectivity (for example, by painting roofs and pavements in light colors). GAO found these technologies currently immature, many with potentially negative consequences. Some studies say, for example, that stratospheric aerosols might greatly reduce summer precipitation in places such as India and northern China. Many experts advocated research because of its potential benefits but also recognized its risks. For example, a country might unilaterally deploy a technology with a transboundary effect. Research advocates emphasized the need for risk management, envisioning a federal research effort that would (1) focus internationally on transparency and cooperation, given transboundary effects; (2) enable the public and national leaders to consider issues before they become crises; and (3) anticipate opportunities and risks. A small number of those we consulted opposed research; they anticipated major technology risks or limited future climate change. Based on GAO's survey, a majority of U.S. adults are not familiar with climate engineering. When given information on the technologies, they tend to be open to research but concerned about safety.

PFM in MENA- what's the value for money of 407 billion dollars

A new report from the World Bank "Public Financial Management Reform in the Middle East and North Africa: An Overview of Regional Experience" surveys the experience of the region on the topic of public financial management reform.

According to the most recent World Bank data, governments throughout the MENA region spent approximately $407 billion dollars in 2007 in delivering their policy, regulatory and service functions.

Related:
Executive Summary
Country Cases

Effective Habits of Budget Advisors

The role of the budget advisor is a complex and challenging one. Developing countries have become much more discerning and demanding in their requirements for technical assistance. More and more they rely on their neighbours and peers to fulfil this role. At the same time, competition among providers of assistance has increased. Against this background, an effective advisor needs to have not only outstanding technical skills and broad international experience but also patience, persistence, resilience, balanced judgment, and diplomatic skills.

- Reforming Fiscal Institutions: The Elusive Art of the Budget Advisor

OECD vs Fund's Relationship Management

OECD (2008) compares OECD peer reviews with IMF Board discussions and describes differences in focus, in methods of analysis and consequently, in the nature of interactions. The IMF process is characterized as a higher frequency exercise with a shorter-term focus and notes that the country is not necessarily expected to endorse the policy recommendations of a surveillance report, nor does it have much latitude to change or remove topics from a Staff Report. The OECD, on the other hand, engages in a much more intensive exchange with country authorities, both in missions and at headquarters when finalizing its Economic Surveys. It engages in a full day of discussions with the authorities joined by officials from other countries who contribute to the debate with their policy experience, after which the Secretariat works with the country subject to peer review over the course of a full day to finalize the document for publication. Thygesen acknowledges that this buy-in may result in a reduction of clarity in issues or key messages in the report. He also suggests that the peer review process only works well if there is a high and matched level of expertise brought by country representatives around the table so that the authorities undergoing the peer review can truly benefit from the discussion. OECD (2007) discusses the prerequisites of value sharing, mutual trust and credibility in the process adding that the peer review is as effective as the “peer pressure” stemming from the reviewer countries, and the willingness of the reviewed country to accept it

-A Comparative Study on Relationship Management

Recently from World Bank

Malaysia economic monitor : repositioning for growth

Syrian Arab Republic - Electricity sector strategy note

Azerbaijan - Country economic memorandum : a new silk road - export-led diversification

Lithuania - Social sectors public expenditure review

Tanzania - Public expenditure review of the water sector

Mexico - Agriculture and rural development public expenditure review

Doing privatization right

Public-Private Partnership units : what are they, and what do they do

Reform teams

Seychelles - Public expenditure review

Legal frameworks for tertiary education in Sub-Saharan Africa : the quest for institutional responsiveness

Comparing European and U.S. securities regulations : MiFID versus corresponding U.S. regulations

Accounting for growth in Latin America and the Caribbean : improving corporate financial reporting to support regional economic development

Uzbekistan - Assessment of the primary health care reform : transparency, accountability, and efficiency

Organization of Eastern Caribbean States - Increasing linkages of tourism with the agriculture, manufacturing, and service sectors

The Afghanistan investment climate in 2008 : growth despite poor governance, weak factor markets, and lack of innovation

Costa Rica - Competitiveness diagnostic and recommendations

PFM Books

The Many Faces of Public Management Reform in the Asia-Pacific Region;

During the past decade, globalization and democratization have been the major forces that helped transform the structures, functions, and processes of Asian public sectors. Nevertheless, these transformation efforts of Asian countries vary considerably depending on local context, and have met with different degrees of success. Some countries experienced smooth transformations. For others, the reform process has been more volatile. These issues were explored at a conference July 7-9, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand, hosted by the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, and co-sponsored by the International Public Management Network, the Asia-Pacific Governance Institute, and Thailand Democracy Watch. This book presents some of the works contributed by participating scholars and practitioners at the conference. The contents fall into three categories: corruption and anti-corruption initiatives, public financial management reforms, and public management reforms with emphasis on performance and results.

Editor are Clay Wescott, Bidhya Bowornwathana, L.R. Jones,

Highly recommended:
World Bank, 2008. Public Sector Reform: What Works and Why? An IEG Evaluation of World Bank Support.

Book Recommendation- for Predictioneers

The Predictioneer’s Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future

F & D is out

Finance and Development June 2009