Description: The Afghanistan Investment Climate in 2008 : Growth Despite Poor Governance, Weak Factor Markets, and Lack of Innovation

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The Afghanistan Investment Climate in 2008 : Growth Despite Poor Governance, Weak Factor Markets, and Lack of Innovation

This survey report will help the government of Afghanistan think through its approach to private sector development. Historically, there has been a dearth of information and reliable statistics about Afghanistan's economy. This report reviews...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	World Bank
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank 2012
Subjects:	ACCESS TO FINANCE ACCESS TO FINANCING ACCESS TO FORMAL FINANCE ACCOUNTING ATM CARDS AVAILABILITY OF FINANCE BANK ACCOUNT BANK ACCOUNTS BANK CREDIT BANKING SERVICES BANKS BARRIER TO ENTRY BRIBE BRIBES BUSINESS ACTIVITIES BUSINESS ACTIVITY BUSINESS ASSOCIATION BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS PROBLEMS BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS COLLATERAL COLLEGE EDUCATION COMMERCIAL BANKS COMPANY CORRUPTION CREDIT CARD CREDIT CARDS CURRENCY DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT BANK DIVERSIFICATION DOMESTIC MARKET EARNINGS EARNINGS EQUITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT ELECTRONIC BANKING EMERGING MARKET EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES ENROLLMENT ENTREPRENEURS EQUIPMENT EQUITY FINANCING EXCHANGE RATE EXPANSION EXPORTER EXPORTERS FINANCE ACCESS FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FINANCIAL SECTOR ASSESSMENT FIRM SIZE FIRM SIZES FIRMS FIXED ASSETS FOREIGN COMPANIES FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT FOREIGN FIRMS FORMAL CREDIT FORMAL FINANCIAL SECTOR GENDER GOVERNANCE ISSUES GOVERNMENT POLICIES GOVERNMENT POLICY GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS HANDICRAFTS HOUSEHOLDS HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN RESOURCE INDICATORS OF ACCESS INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL BANK INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL FINANCE INTERNATIONAL MARKETS INVESTING INVESTMENT CLIMATE INVESTMENT CLIMATES INVESTMENT DECISIONS ISSUANCE JUDICIAL REFORM JUDICIAL SYSTEM LABOR MARKETS LAND AS COLLATERAL LAND REGISTRATION LICENSING LOAN LOAN SIZE MACROECONOMIC INSTABILITY MANUFACTURERS MARKET ECONOMIES MARKET ECONOMY MEDIUM ENTERPRISE MONETARY FUND MONEYLENDERS NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS OUTPUT LOSSES OVERDRAFT OVERDRAFT FACILITY PAYMENT SERVICES PERSONAL ASSETS POLICY DESIGN PRIVATE INVESTMENT PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PROFITABILITY PROPERTY RIGHTS PUBLIC POLICY REGISTRATION PROCESS REGISTRATION SYSTEM REGULATORY BURDENS RETURNS RULE OF LAW SALES GROWTH SANITATION FACILITIES SMALL FIRMS SME SOURCES OF FINANCE STATE BANKS TAX TAX RATES TELECOMMUNICATIONS TRADING TRANSPARENCY TRUST FUND UNION WARRANTS WATER CONNECTION WATER SUPPLY WOMAN WORKING CAPITAL
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000333038_20091202233609 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3143

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Summary:	This survey report will help the government of Afghanistan think through its approach to private sector development. Historically, there has been a dearth of information and reliable statistics about Afghanistan's economy. This report reviews the constraints that firms currently operating in Afghanistan face and provides a basis for possible policy recommendations to address these constraints. It is hoped that the report will be a useful tool to support investment climate reforms and enhance the private sector dialogue in Afghanistan. The report also identifies a group of emerging issues that include the interlinked issues of competitiveness, innovation, and diversification. Despite strong growth, policymakers should be concerned about the lack of entry of new firms, especially foreign firms, and the lack of innovative behavior. These two factors indicate a lack of competitiveness and warrant further research. An undiversified manufacturing sector that is overwhelmingly linked to the agriculture and agro-processing sectors are also of concern. The strong growth trend itself needs more evaluation. A country that has weak governance, poor factor markets, and firms that are not innovative is unlikely to achieve sustainable long-term growth. The report discusses the issues noted above, summarizes the status of reforms, and suggests some next steps, including further analytic work on a number of topics, public private dialogue on certain issues, and stronger government reform efforts.