This study is a part of the collaborative work program of the Africa Region Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Department (ESSD) and the Regional Integration and Cooperation Department, actively supported by the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Department (PREM) and the Finance, Private Sector, and Infrastructure Department (FIPS). The study was financed by a grant from the Norwegian-Finnish Trust Fund for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (TFESSD), under the overall guidance of Laura Tlaiye (ENV Sector Manager) and by the Africa Region Chief Economist ESW Fund. The concept for the study was initiated under James Bond, then ESSD Africa Region Director, and carried out under the overall guidance of World Bank management, including Richard Scobey (Sector Manager); Frank Byamugisha (Acting Sector Manager); John McIntire (Director) of the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Sector Department; Mark Tomlinson (Director) African Regional Integration and Cooperation Department; as well as Ritva Reinikka (Country Director for Botswana and Namibia), Michael Baxter (Country Director for Mozambique and Angola), Hart Schafer (Country Director for Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), and Judy O'Connor (Country Director for Tanzania).