International trade in services is affected by a variety of domestic regulations, ranging from qualification and licensing requirements in professional services to pro-competitive telecommunications r
The story of independent evaluation in the World Bank is more than 30 years in the making. However, it is a story that has never been fully told. The Operations Evaluation Department (OED) of the Worl
Over the last few decades the quality of many international water bodies has deteriorated, resulting in economic losses from declines in the fishing industry and in tourism, as well as a loss of biodi
'State-Owned Banks in the Transition: Origins, Evolution, and Policy Responses' reviews the experience with state banking over the last decade in the transition economies of Europe and Central Asia.
The paper illustrates the constraints that have limited action towards improving nutrition in the developing world. The understanding of how to best promote the needed changes in policies, programs, a
Rapid and sustained growth, in excess of 5% per annum, is key for sustained poverty reduction in Yemen. However, the achievement of such a target is challenging and necessitates aggressive changes in
The economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are diverse in many ways, making it difficult to develop a common social protection strategy. Countries differ in size and per capita in
The rural populations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region depend, in good part, on forest resources for income generation, fuel-wood for energy, and grazing for livestock, among other us
The development of industrial relations in different countries can be essential in their efforts to balance competitiveness with equitable wages and improved working conditions. Consequently, a well-f
This book analyzes the cultural heritage sector in the Middle East and North Africa region and the World Bank's policy and operational experiences in this sector over the past six years—1996 to 2001.
"The past three decades have seen impressive advances in development in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region. Gains in income and education have been accompanied by reductions in high levels of infa
Poverty is a large and growing problem in Africa resulting in an immense amount of avoidable suffering, foreshortened lives, frustrated potentials, and joyless existences. The poverty trap is more tha
Although growth of infrastructure services in Vietnam since the late 1980s greatly facilitated rapid growth in exports and gross domestic product (GDP), Vietnam's infrastructure still suffers from a n
Health indicators in developing countries have shown significant improvement in the last 50 years. People are living longer, fewer children and their mothers die in childbirth, and many diseases have
"Decentralization is transforming the structure of governance in Latin America. Since 1983, all but one of the largest countries in the region have seen a transfer of power, resources, and responsibil
More than one billion people around the world still live in acute poverty and the earth's population is likely to double in the next forty years. Therefore, far more economic development will be requi
Crime and violence have emerged in recent years as major obstacles to development objectives in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. The paper explicates an agenda for future work that may as
This handbook is designed for people with little or no training in social research who are concerned about important issues related to girls' education in Africa. The reader will learn how to gather d
Urbanization is occurring at a rapid pace in Bangladesh, accompanied by the proliferation of slum settlements, whose residents have special health needs given the adverse social, economic, and public
The report is a companion piece to WDR 2018, and examines the record of South Asian countries in the area of early childhood education, schooling, teaching, skills and higher education.
The planet is becoming increasingly urban. In many ways, the urbanization wave and the unprecedented urban growth of the last twenty years have created a state of urgency for action and impetus for ch
The stagnation of productivity in the developing world, and indeed, across the globe, over the last two decades dictates a rethinking of productivity measurement, analysis, and policy. This volume pre
The share of people living in extreme poverty, as assessed by the international poverty line (currently set at USD 1.90 a day) has become one of the most prominent indicators for assessing global econ
Work is constantly reshaped by technological progress. New ways of production are adopted, markets expand, and societies evolve. But some changes provoke more attention than others, in part due to the
A strong and widely acknowledged record of economic success -- including a three-and-half fold increase in per capita income since 1994 -- places Rwanda among the world's fastest growing economies, su
This volume summarizes a series of studies undertaken to better understand the current socioeconomic context of the Northern and Eastern provinces in Sri Lanka. Nearly a decade after the end of the Sr
Two decades after its original publication, The Analysis of Household Surveys is reissued with a new preface by its author, Sir Angus Deaton, recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Th
Natural resources have the transformational potential to support economic and political stability as well as contribute to national prosperity and economic development. However, in countries dependent
With growing water scarcity in many parts of the world and projections that indicate the need to increase agricultural production and, concurrently, agricultural water use, it is increasingly advocate
Building a capable public service is fundamental to postconflict state building. Yet in postconflict settings, short-term demands typically outweigh this long-term objective. To ensure peace and stabi
Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report. Published semiannually, the report includes analysis of topical policy challenges faced by developing countries through in-depth resear
Budget literacy is defined as 'the ability to read, decipher, and understand public budgets to enable and enhance meaningful citizen participation in the budget process'. It is comprised of two main p
Very few studies focus on the growth of labor market opportunities that follow from exports. Entangled is one of the first to systematically examine the localized effects of long-run export growth in
'Fair Progress? Economic Mobility Around the World' will focus on an issue that has gotten much attention in the developed world, but will present new data and analysis covering most of the developing
The Global Findex database is the world's most comprehensive set of data on how people make payments, save money, borrow and manage risk. Launched in 2011, it includes more than 100 financial inclusio
How can governments ensure that women have the same employment and entrepreneurship opportunities as men? One important step is to level the law so that the rules for operating in the worlds of work a
This book lays out a range of policy and implementation actions that are needed for countries in sub-Saharan Africa to meet the challenge of improving learning while expanding access and completion of
In emerging East Asia, agricultural output has expanded dramatically over recent decades, primarily as a result of successful efforts to stimulate yield growth. This achievement has increased the avai
The report will take an innovative approach to measuring multidimensional connectivity by relying on both economic relationships and network analysis. In addition to capturing how information, people,
