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 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
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
For millennia, the Mediterranean has been one of the most active trading areas, supported by a transport network connecting riparian cities and beyond to their hinterland. The Mediterranean has comple
Cities across the globe are looking to develop affordable, environmentally friendly, and socially responsible transportation solutions that can meet the accessibility needs of expanding metropolitan p
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
Over centuries, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been the birthplace of some of the world's greatest civilizations. Despite recent setbacks, the region once again can become an engin
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
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 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
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
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
Electricity shortages are among the biggest barriers to South Asia’s development. Did you know that 30 percent of households in South Asia are not connected to the power grid? Even households and firm
Renewing the social contract, one of the pillars of the new World Bank Group strategy for the Middle East and North Africa, requires a new development model built on greater trust; openness, transpare
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
Developing East Asia has led the way in showing how rapid and broadly shared growth can lift millions out of poverty. And, as this report shows, the region has achieved even more: the wave of prosperi
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
Globalization and new technologies are impacting the desirability and feasibility of what has historically been the most successful development strategy. Manufacturing has been seen as special, promis
'Measuring the Effectiveness of Social Protection: Concepts and Applications' provides the conceptual and analytical framework for assessing social protection (SP) programs, as well as provides a prac
While the Philippines has achieved remarkable progress in raising the education level of its labor force, the standard proxy for educational attainment—years of formal schooling—is increasingly inadeq
Economists have long argued that developing countries have the potential for high productivity growth if they adopt existing technologies and apply them to the local context. This report brings to bea
The 21st century will witness the collision of two powerful forces - burgeoning population growth, together with a changing climate. With population growth, water scarcity will proliferate to new area
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
The World Bank has partnered with the Commitment to Equity Institute at Tulane University to implement their diagnostic tool—the Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Assessment—designed to assess how taxation a
Despite a spectacular expansion of the higher education sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, the supply of tertiary education has generally failed to keep pace with demand and the region continues to lag all
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) does not have the infrastructure it needs, or deserves, given its income. Many argue that the solution is to spend more; by contrast, this report has one main mes
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
Urbanization in East Asia and the Pacific has created enormous opportunity for many. Yet the rapid growth of cities can also create challenges as national and local governments try to keep up with the
The Little Green Data Book 2017 is based on World Development Indicators 2017 and its online database. Defining, gathering, and disseminating international statistics is a collective effort of many pe
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
The Dominican Republic stands out as a fast growing economy that has not been able to generate a commensurate reduction in poverty. Three reasons have been raised before to explain this conundrum: (i)
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
From East to West, the economies of Europe and Central Asia (ECA) are not taking full advantage of the internet to foster economic growth and job creation. The residents of Central Asia and the South
Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) 2017, the third report in the EBA series, offers insights into how laws and regulations affect private sector development for agribusinesses, including produ
The recent past has witnessed phenomenal growth in MFIs around the world. Today as many as 200 million people are beneficiaries of microfinance. Given its worldwide attention, microfinance has recei
An Investment Framework for Nutrition: Reaching the Global Targets for Stunting, Anemia, Breastfeeding, and Wasting estimates the costs, impacts, and financing scenarios to achieve the World Health As
