Africa Development Indicators 2012/13 is the most detailed collection of data on Africa. It contains macroeconomic, sectoral, and social indicators for 53 countries. A companion CD-ROM has additional
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region is one of the most water stressed regions in the world. Water scarcity has already become a challenge to development in many of the countries. Due to inc
This volume reviews the experience of cooperation in five international river basins, focusing on the perceptions of risks and opportunities by decision makers in countries responding to a specific pr
This book explores the issues and challenges involved in public sector reform in the Middle East and North Africa region by examining ten case studies of the most successful and/or interesting reforms
One of the most important functions governments perform is that of mobilizing and deploying financial resources to achieve their objectives. According to the most recent World Bank data, governments t
The Telecommunications Regulation Handbook is essential reading for anyone involvedor concerned by the regulation of information and communications markets. In 2010the Handbook was fully revised and u
Global Development Finance 2012:External Debt of Developing Countries isa continuation of the World Bank’s publicationsGlobal Development Finance, Volume II (1997through 2009) and the earlier World De
Global Development Finance 2012 on CD-ROM provides:- More than 200 time series indicators for 129 countries plus regional and income groups - Data retrieval in popular spreadsheet and database formats
The government of the Republic of Congo is taking a system approach to reorganizing its health system. It is endeavoring to create a political, juridical, and regulatory environment to foster the deve
Urban flooding is a significant challenge which today increasingly confronts the residents of the expanding cities and towns of developing countries, as well as policymakers and national, regional and
The positive contribution of tertiary education is increasingly recognized as not limited to middle-income and advanced countries, since it applies equally to low-income economies. Tertiary education
The book provides evidence on the role of infrastructure in accelerating growth and progress toward the Millennium Development Goals, and on the financing needs for the sector to play this role. It al
Health care in India has shown remarkable improvement since the country 's independence in 1947. Doubling of longevity from 32 to 64 years, a steep fall in infant mortality and maternal mortality rate
World Bank Group support to West Bank and Gaza covered four broad areas: governance, private sector development, infrastructure, and human and social development. The tension between the long-term dev
Interest in access to finance has increased significantly in recent years, as growing evidence suggests that lack of access to credit prevents lower-income households and small firms from financing hi
This report provides the most comprehensive and rigorous analysis of Iraqi income and expenditure in several decades. The report makes extensive use of the Iraq Household Socio-Economic Survey, the f
In the absence of a bottom-line (profitability test), efficient and equitable delivery of public services requires that public sector interventions must be subjected to rigorous pre- and postevaluatio
Investment in infrastructure is critical to economic growth, quality of life, poverty reduction, access to education, good quality healthcare and achieving many of the goals of a robust and dynamic ec
Across a range of country settings, the resource paradox refers to the association of significant resource wealth in oil, gas, and minerals with poor economic growth and development outcomes. The puz
Urbanization is a defining phenomenon of this century and the developing world is where this demographic transformation is taking place. Over 90 percent of urban growth is now occurring in the develo
'Managing Risk and Creating Value with Microfinance' brings together the latest information on microfinance institutional sustainability from leading international experts and microfinance practitione
In many World Bank client countries, droughts present a significant challenge to rain-fed and irrigated agriculture and pose a barrier to investments for producers in the rural space. In addition, gl
The objective of this book is to show that sustained investment in sustainable land management (SLM) practices is good business for adaptation to and mitigation of climate change. SLM is local, and ef
Access to water, sanitation and electricity is as critical to social development as education and health services. Many developing countries continue to suffer from lack of access, affordability and s
Despite decades of effort to strengthen public institutions, good governance remains one of the most vexing challenges of development. The past decade has resulted in a frenzy of efforts by donors and
The World Bank's 'World Trade Indicators' (WTI) database on the CD-ROM included in this book provides more than 300 performance indicators measuring at-the-border and behind-the-border country trade p
This volume collects and summarizes some of the most interesting recent studies about international migration from World Bank researchers. The selected works - varying from descriptive to technical to
Violent conflict adds daunting challenges to social and economic analysis in poor countries: weak data, difficult access, fluid demographics, unsettled social patterns, insecurity, and political sensi
Global Development Finance- the World Bank's annual report on the external debt of developing countries-includes comprehensive data for 128 countries, as well as summary data for regions and income gr
What are the effects of alternative development strategies on growth, poverty, and human development, including the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals)? For a series of countries in sub-Saharan Africa
This book reviews taxing choices to protect the local and global environment and to preserve and sustain natural resources. Alternative economic instruments such as carbon taxes and tradable permits t
Early childhood development (ECD) outcomes play an important role throughout a person's life, affecting one's income-earning capacity and productivity, longevity, health, and cognitive ability. The de
The performance of tertiary educational institutions is heavily influenced by their governance arrangements, management structures, accountability mechanisms, and regulatory environments. 'Legal Frame
There is an increasing consensus in the scientific community that climate change is a real and present threat. Despite the large uncertainty on the timing, magnitude and even the direction of some of
This study focuses on the recent transformation of the urban fringe in East Asia, drawing on examples from China, Vietnam and the Philippines. It identifies the key dimensions of the land conversion p
The World Bank finances about US$720 million in training every year, through both its lending projects and its in-house World Bank Institute (WBI). The evaluation found that while most of the training
Knowledge and its application are now widely recognized to be key sources of growth in the global economy. Putting knowledge to work allows countries to improve everyday life for their people, opening
Questions of equity and inequality have moved to the center of debates on development and poverty reduction. This reflects growing awareness that even countries with high rates of growth can experien
The 'Municipal Scorecard' is a benchmarking tool that provides comparative information on the quality and efficiency of municipal-level private sector regulation. It measures the burden of private sec
There is an emerging consensus in Papua New Guinea (PNG)—both at the governmental level and among civil society more generally—that human development outcomes are far less than provision of basic serv
