The Schumpeterian process of 'creative destruction' is an essential ingredient of a dynamic economy. In many countries around the world, however, this process is weakened by pervasive regulation of p
'China: Air, Land, and Water' is a further chapter in the successful and creative dialogue between the World Bank and the People's Republic of China. It focuses on how to promote both China's economic
The agriculture sector can play an important role in poverty reduction and sustained growth in Afghanistan, primarily through job creation, improved productivity, and inclusiveness. Using an 'agricult
With a population of 16 million, Karachi is the largest megacity in Pakistan. Despite being a large city that is home to many, it has seen a substantial decline in quality of life and economic competi
The Information and Communications for Development report takes an in-depth look at how information and communication technologies (ICT) are impacting economic growth in developing countries. This ne
Sixteenth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2019 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity:• Starting a
Trade has played a critical role in global poverty reduction. In harnessing the potential of trade, some of the most successful countries have developed strong trade relationships with their neighbors
Reforming public-sector organizations--their structures, policies, processes and practices--is notoriously difficult, in rich and poor countries alike. Even in the most favorable of circumstances, the
Skills and Jobs in Brazil: An Agenda for Youth is a new report focusing on the challenge of economic engagement among the Brazilian youth. In the context of a fast aging population, Brazil’s greatest
Public spending plays a key role in the economic growth and development of most developing economies. This book analyzes revenues, policy, and administration of Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM) in
Melting glaciers, loss of seasonal snow, and precipitation changes pose significant risks to the stability of water resources in the South Asia region. Glaciers help to moderate river flows in the reg
More children are going to school, staying in school for longer, and learning than ever before in East Asia and Pacific (EAP). During the past 50 years, a group of countries in EAP have successfully t
With more than 70 percent of its population living in cities, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is among the most urbanized regions in the world. Yet, although its cities are, on average, more pro
The WEB of Transport Corridors in South Asia develops a holistic appraisal methodology to ensure that economic benefits of investments in transport corridors are amplified and more widely spread, and
Nowhere in the world is skills building more vital than in Sub-Saharan Africa. While the region faces challenges similar to those faced by other regions at similar stages of development, its challenge
The Democratic Republic of Congo has the third largest urban population in sub-Saharan Africa (estimated at 43% in 2016) after South Africa and Nigeria. It is expected to grow at a rate of 4.1% per ye
The electricity sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is in the grip of an apparent paradox. The region holds the world’s largest oil and gas reserves and has been able to universalize acc
The Arab Spring protests caught most of the world by surprise and precipitated a chain of events that changed the course of history in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), ushering in a period of
Fifteenth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2018 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity: • Starting
In 2009, Sri Lanka emerged from nearly 30 years of armed conflict with more than 450,000 Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs), a North and East in need of reconstruction and rehabilitation, and a dislo
South Asia is highly vulnerable to climate change. Given that many of the poor live in areas prone to climactic shifts and in occupations that are highly climate-sensitive, such as agriculture and fis
High levels of trade costs persist in the world trading system, despite recent progress in tariff reduction, trade facilitation, and logistics. At least some of these costs can be attributed to non-t
Despite a period of strong economic growth and improvements in many dimensions of welfare, extreme poverty remains a pervasive and complex phenomenon in Sub-Saharan Africa (referred to as Africa in th
Most of the people in low and middle-income countries covered by social protection receive assistance in the form of in-kind food. The origin of such support is rooted in countries’ historical pursuit
This book brings together a set of experiences from Central American countries. In each case, behavioral insights are applied to different areas of public policy, in some cases trough randomized contr
China is aging at an unprecedented rate. Improvements in life expectancy and the consequences of the decades-old family planning policy have led to a rapid increase in the elderly population. Accordin
The Skills Toward Employment and Productivity (STEP) Survey is an initiative of the World Bank in cooperation with other development partners and nongovernmental agencies and carried out in more than
By most accounts, rural Malawi has lacked dynamism in the past decade. Growth has been mostly volatile, in large part due to unstable macroeconomic fundamentals evidenced by high inflation, fiscal def
This report seeks to explain the over-time trends in wage inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) since the mid-1990s. It explains how wage inequality has been associated with household-in
Higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean has expanded dramatically in the past 15 years, as the average gross enrollment rate has more than doubled, and many new institutions and programs h
From Compliance to Learning: A System for Harnessing the Power of Data in the State of Maryland builds on a 2015 World Bank report that assessed Education Management Information Systems (EMISs) in the
Vietnam is at a crossroads. It can grow as an export platform for GVCs, specializing in low value-added assembly functions with industrialization occurring in enclaves with little connection to the br
Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing rapid population growth. Yet their economic growth has not kept pace. Why? One factor might be low capital investment, due in part to Africa’s relative po
Ghana was, until very recently, a success story in Africa, achieving high and sustained growth and impressive poverty reduction. However, Ghana is now facing major challenges in diversifying its econo
Sustainable economic development has played a major role in the decline of global poverty in the last two decades. There is no doubt that competitive markets are key drivers of economic growth and pro
Ukraine’s economic progress since its independence in the early 1990s has been uneven, in part due to the slow pace of reforms, unfavorable demographic factors, and low productivity. One of the key fa
Doing Business 2017 is the 14th publication in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 189 economies. This year the publication addresses regulations affecting 10 areas of everyday
This study focuses on the local and regional impact of large-scale gold mining in Africa in the context of a mineral boom in the region since 2000. It contributes to filling a gap in the literature on
Investments in education across countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have transformed the lives of millions of girls and the prospects of their families and societies. Unleashing the full econ
Urbanization in Mexico, as in other countries around the world, has increased prosperity and reduced poverty. However, despite impressive economic growth and prosperity, cities in Mexico do not seem t
