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Integration into global markets can improve the efficiency of the Argentinian economy, providing opportunities for private investment to flourish and for the associated benefits to accrue to consumers. Among many policies that are important for integrating into the global economy, particularly relevant are trade, investment, and competition policies. They all share a common attribute: the capacity to shape the incentives of firms to improve resource allocation and to strengthen productivity while integrating into international markets. Once properly combined, investment, trade, and competition polices have mutually reinforcing relationships in the sense that growth dividends stemming from reforms in one policy area are reinforced when properly combined with reforms in the other two. Against this backdrop, this report follows a three-pronged approach. It presents a set of robust empirical analyses - drawing from both general and partial equilibrium exercises - to assess the potential impacts from trade, competition, and investment policy reforms. It offers a new comparative review of international experience with structural microeconomic reform programs to bring insights for Argentina's design and sequencing of such reforms. Finally, it presents individual reform recommendations for each institution in charge of the three respective policy areas in an integrated step-by-step framework from the firm perspective to illustrate the critical challenges to investment and internationalization for Argentinian firms.

Competition Policy --- Economic Growth --- Global Value Chain --- International Trade --- Investment --- Investment Policy --- Microeconomic Reforms --- Policy --- Trade --- Trade Policy

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This paper analyzes the factors determining the payment on outstanding debt in the presence of partial defaults, and the feasibility of renewed investment. We show that a higher relative size of sectors with lower substitutability between domestic and foreign products will increase the resource transfer ceiling. Even with a partial default, investment in highly trade dependent sectors with high productivity may be warranted. This investment can be implemented by a marginal relief of the present debt service, in exchange for investment in the proper sector. A way to partially overcome some of the monitoring problems associated with renewed investment is through direct investment.

Exports and Imports --- Investments: General --- International Investment --- Long-term Capital Movements --- Investment --- Capital --- Intangible Capital --- Capacity --- Finance --- Macroeconomics --- Foreign direct investment --- Private investment --- Investment policy --- Investments, Foreign --- Saving and investment

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Many developing countries are unable to provide their industrial sector with reliable power and many enterprises have to contend with electricity that is insufficient and of poor quality. Because of these constraints, firms in developing countries opt for self-generation even though it is widely considered a second best solution. This paper develops a theoretical model of investment behavior in remedial infrastructure when physical and credit constraints are present. It then tests econometrically some implications from this model using a large sample of enterprises from 87 countries from the World Bank Enterprise Survey Database. After showing that these constraints interact and have non-linear effects depending on the industrial sector's degree of reliance on electricity and size of firms, the paper draws differentiated policy recommendations. Credit constraints appear to be the priority in sectors very reliant on electricity to spur entry and convergence to the technological frontier, while in other sectors, firms would benefit more widely from marginal improvements in electrical supply.

Access to Finance --- Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases --- Developing countries --- Economic change --- Energy Production and Transportation --- Investment patterns --- Investment policy --- Microfinance --- Power outages --- Private Participation in Infrastructure --- Private Sector Development --- Urban Development

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The overwhelming number of contributors that have been allocated into the default option is one of the main characteristics of the Russian second pillar. This finding confirms that the level of financial literacy for most of the participants is not sufficient to make informed portfolio selections. The authors argue that the current system is perfectly consistent with a solid second pillar, but the authorities should focus their attention in the strategic asset allocation of pension funds. Since in the short and medium term it is unlikely to see improvements in financial literacy of individuals that may overcome the complexity of these decisions, the authorities can play an important role in designing default investment portfolios that can be aligned with expected replacement rates for the contributors. The current investment regulation of the default option induces investment in inefficient portfolios that are unlikely to bring returns above inflation, and probably will result in very low replacement rates for contributors. Further liberalization of the investments of the pension portfolio; improvements in the governance and supervision of the pension system; and greater certainty about the ownership of the funds are necessary steps to complete the pension reform launched in 2002.

Access to Finance --- Debt Markets --- Emerging Markets --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Literacy --- Financial services --- Good governance --- Governance --- Investment policy --- Pensions & Retirement Systems --- Rates of return --- Share of investment

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The overwhelming number of contributors that have been allocated into the default option is one of the main characteristics of the Russian second pillar. This finding confirms that the level of financial literacy for most of the participants is not sufficient to make informed portfolio selections. The authors argue that the current system is perfectly consistent with a solid second pillar, but the authorities should focus their attention in the strategic asset allocation of pension funds. Since in the short and medium term it is unlikely to see improvements in financial literacy of individuals that may overcome the complexity of these decisions, the authorities can play an important role in designing default investment portfolios that can be aligned with expected replacement rates for the contributors. The current investment regulation of the default option induces investment in inefficient portfolios that are unlikely to bring returns above inflation, and probably will result in very low replacement rates for contributors. Further liberalization of the investments of the pension portfolio; improvements in the governance and supervision of the pension system; and greater certainty about the ownership of the funds are necessary steps to complete the pension reform launched in 2002.

Access to Finance --- Debt Markets --- Emerging Markets --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Literacy --- Financial services --- Good governance --- Governance --- Investment policy --- Pensions & Retirement Systems --- Rates of return --- Share of investment