Over the past two decades Vietnam has made enormous progress towards achieving universal coverage (UC) for its population. Significant challenges remain, however, in terms of improving equity with con
Over seven million teachers file into classrooms across Latin America and the Caribbean every day. These women and men represent four percent of the region’s overall labor force, over twenty percent
Europe’s pension systems –among the most celebrated features of its social welfare model— face tremendous challenges. With only 11 percent of the world’s population, Europe spends about 60 percent of
Based on a wide array of quantitative and qualitative techniques, Light Manufacturing in Vietnam identifies key constraints on manufacturing enterprises in Vietnam and evaluates differences in firm pe
The purpose of this study is to build a stronger evidence base on the role of faith-inspired, private secular, and public schools in sub-Saharan Africa using nationally representative household survey
This book argues that light manufacturing is appropriate for a resource-based country like Zambia. While Zambia's recent growth has been impressive, it has not been accompanied with adequa
'Transforming Cities with Transit' explores the complex process of transit and land-use integration in rapidly growing cities in developing countries. As one of the most promising strategies for advan
Youth employment issues are a major concern for many countries because they have negative effects on the welfare of young people, and may also adversely affect economic performance and social stabilit
This book was written in the context of new and innovative policies for customs and tax administration reform. Eight chapters describe how measurement and various quantification techniques may be used
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology could provide a technological bridge for achieving near to midterm GHG emission reduction goals. Integrated CCS technology is still under development and ha
At present, different concentrating solar thermal technologies (CST) have reached varying degrees of commercial availability. This emerging nature of CST means that there are market and technical impe
For decades, corruption in Ethiopia has only been discussed at the margins. Perhaps because many have not experienced corruption as a significant constraint to their lives and businesses, or perhaps b
What did the global food, fuel, and financial crises of 2008-11 mean to people living in the developing world? How did people cope with the crisis and how effective were they at averting major impacts
HIV/AIDS continues to take a tremendous toll on the populations of many countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries with high HIV prevalence rates, life expectancy has declined by m
Innovation and technology absorption are now firmly recognized as one of the main sources of economic growth for emerging and advanced economies alike. That is why innovation is seen as a possible cat
The power sectors in Armenia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Romania, Serbia and the Ukraine were all relying upon former Soviet infrastructure that was wearing out and/or becoming obsolete. While the global fi
Mandatory defined contribution pension markets are present in a growing number of countries around the world. But despite their popularity, policymakers continue to struggle with two key policy concer
Over the past decade, four major developments in global economic integration have shaped trade policy and the economic performance of countries within the Middle East and North Africa region: the eme
The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) is one of the world's best-known series of conferences for the presentation and discussion of new knowledge on development. The confe
Telecommunications sector policy-makers and regulators have a wide range of instruments available to them that can be used to increase access to telecommunications services in rural and low-income are
The World Bank East Asia and Pacific Economic Update 2010, Volume I, is the World Bank's comprehensive, twice-yearly review of the region's economies. In this edition. the Bank finds that, largely th
The economic empowerment of women is increasingly seen as one of the most important forces behind economic growth and the fight against poverty. Indeed, women's economic participation in an economy as
Value chain–based approaches offer tremendous scope for market-based improvements in production, productivity, rural economy diversification, and household incomes, but are often covered by literature
Climate change is arguably the most profound challenge facing the international community in the 21st century. It is as much a challenge for poverty reduction, growth and development as it is a global
'Courage and Hope' gives voice to the real life experiences of 12 HIV-positive teachers—5 of whom are women—from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia
In Africa, with the expansion of coverage of primary education in recent decades, many of the remaining out-of-school children are in hard to reach areas, with low population density and poor transpor
In high-income countries, the percent of the population covered under mandatory old-age pension programs is typically high but often incomplete; in low- and middle-income countries, coverage is low an
The Democratic Republic of Congo faces the challenge of providing universal primary education and expanding opportunities for post-secondary education and training for its youth, ages 12 to 24. This s
Why abolish school fees in Africa? The answer seems obvious: to achieve the right to education for all and thus promote equitable participation in economic growth and political action. However, moving
Transport prices for most African landlocked countries range from 15 to 20 percent of import costs. This is approximately two to three times more than in most developed countries. It is well known tha
Tunisia’s past integration policies have significantly increased FDI flows in the manufacturing sector, triggering a rise of textiles and clothing and mechanical and electrical components exports thro
This report brings together a significant amount of analytical work sponsored by the World Bank and many African and other International partners about the necessity for high quality secondary educati
The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) brings together the world's leading scholars and development practitioners for a lively debate on state-of-the-art thinking in develop
Governments in Africa and their stakeholders have been disappointed with the number of wage and salary jobs that have been created over the last decade or more. Even in countries that experienced both
'Global Development Finance'—the World Bank's annual report on the external financing of developing countries—provides monitoring and analysis of development finance, identifying key emerging trends a
Climate change is one of the key challenges of this century. At the same time, energy use—the primary source of climate-altering global greenhouse gas emissions—is increasing at unprecedented rates an
'Strategic Communication for Privatization, Public-Private Partnerships, and Private Participation in Infrastructure' reviews the experiences of the World Bank and its clients in employing public comm
Small states face special hurdles in achieving development gains. These states spend significantly more of their GDP on producing public goods and services, and they face higher connectivity costs tha
