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A Guide to the World Bank
summarizes good practice and key policy findings. The website is http://www. worldbank.org/prem/. The e-mail address is premadvisory@worldbank.org. World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development and its related background research papers can be found at http://www.worldbank.org/wdr2012/.
Governance The Bank Group works to promote effective governance in the public sector and high standards of corporate governance in the private sector.
Public Sector Governance A fundamental role of the Bank Group is to work with the governments of client countries to improve their functioning. Although this goal is simple to define, it is both complex and difficult to accomplish. The Bank Group has a number of initiatives dealing with governance issues, including its Public Sector Group activities, public services research, and WBI governance and knowledge-sharing programs. The Public Sector Group is the lead unit in this area and is responsible for the World Bank’s governance and public sector strategy. The unit focuses on building efficient and accountable public sector institutions rather than simply providing policy advice, and it also maintains the website on governance and public sector reform at http://www.worldbank.org/publicsector/. Several units of IFC work with governments to strengthen institutions, laws, and regulations related to the private sector. The Foreign Investment Advisory Service, a joint unit of IFC, MIGA, and the World Bank, focuses specifically on working with governments of developing countries to attract and retain foreign direct investment. For more information, see http://www. wbginvestmentclimate.org/.
Corporate Governance The joint IFC–World Bank Corporate Governance Group collaborates with companies and countries to improve standards of governance for corporations, focusing on shareholders’ and stakeholders’ rights, board members’ duties, disclosure, and effective enforcement. The Bank Group provides technical assistance on such governance issues to a wide range of government and financial institutions. IFC has developed a methodology for assessing corporate governance, which it uses in its own risk analysis and investment decisions as well