Accra, June 25, - The common challenge facing industrialised and developing states in the 21st century is to create opportunities for poverty reduction, said World Development Report 1997. The report said building a more effective state to support sustainable development and reduction of poverty will not be easy. The 265-page Report, the 20th in the series published by the World Bank, deals with selected world development indicators which focus mainly on matching the state's role to its capability and improving the state's capabilities by re-invigorating public institutions. It is titled "The state in a changing world." At a time when many countries are debating whether the state should be at the centre of national life, the Report said an effective state is the cornerstone of successful economies. It added that without it, economic and social development is impossible. "History and recent experience have also taught us that development is not just about getting the right economic and technical inputs. "It is also about the underlying institutional environment; the rules and customs that determine how those inputs are used," the Report said. It stressed the role the state plays to enforce the rule of law to underpin market transactions.