In the last two decades, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has closed many critical gender gaps, especially in ensuring equal access for girls and boys to education and healthcare. Today,
This paper conducts a review of the World Bank’s financed operations and selected interventions by other institutions on household energy access in an attempt to examine success and failure factors to
This book presents the findings and recommendations of the evaluation of the World Bank's Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Pilot Program. It shows that SEA can contribute to improving developm
This volume is the first of its kind to present a comprehensive assessment of the health sector in Afghanistan. Although health outcomes here are some of the worst in the world, the sector has made co
The microfinance sector in Bangladesh has matured rapidly in the past 30 years and now boasts the largest number of clients in the entire world. Despite these successes, the day-to-day operations of m
To investigate whether the weak creation of productive jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean is the result of a lack of dynamism in the economy, this report looks at the behavior of firms and how re
More than 1 billion people around the world live without access to safe, potable water, in part because of poor governance and corruption. Illegal connections and substantial losses caused by deferred
Participatory development and government accountability depend in part on the existence of media that provide broad access to information from varied sources and that equip and encourage people to rai
Although the importance of infrastructure sectors in achieving economic growth and poverty reduction is well established, raising debt and equity capital for infrastructure development and service pro
'Recruiting, Retaining and Retraining Secondary School Teachers and Principals in Sub-Saharan Africa' is based on country studies in Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Madagascar, Tanzania and Uganda and an ext
The two volumes of 'Understanding Civil War' build upon the World Bank's prior research on conflict and violence, particularly on the work of Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler, whose model of civil war o
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
This study provides a basic diagnostic of access to safe water and sanitation in Uganda and their relationship with poverty. The analysis relies on a series of nationally representative household surv
The Migration and Remittances Factbook 2015 attempts to present numbers and facts behind the stories of international migration and remittances, drawing on authoritative, publicly available data. It p
Based on forecasts of global population growth, food security will remain an important economic development issue over the next several decades. In addition, real food prices have risen in recent year
Over the last three decades, the concepts of Islamic finance and Islamic economics have captured the attention of researchers. The growing market for transactions compatible with Islamic law (Shari-ah
Creating jobs and increasing productivity are at the top of agenda for policymakers across the world. Knowledge accumulation and skills are recognized as central in this process. More-educated worker
The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) have called attention to deficiencies in the quantity and quality of water supply and sanitation (WSS) globally. Although most of the world is on track to meet
This factbook presents numbers and facts behind the stories of international migration and remittances, drawing on authoritative, publicly available data. It provides a comprehensive picture of emigr
The Berlin Workshop Series 2009 presents selected papers from meetings held from September 30 – October 2, 2007, at the tenth annual forum co-hosted by InWEnt and the World Bank in preparation for the
'Handbook on Poverty + Inequality' was originally designed to support training courses in poverty analysis and inequality. The 'Handbook' begins with an explanatory text that includes numerous example
Given the lack of adequate universal social welfare for those unable to find jobs in the salaried formal sector, the livelihoods and well-being of most poor people depends heavily on their asset base.
'The Migration and Remittances Factbook 2008' attempts to present the numbers and facts behind the stories of international migration and remittances, drawing on authoritative, publicly available data
The Berlin Workshop Series 2007 presents selected papers from discussions held September 12-13, 2005, at the eighth annual forum co-hosted by InWEnt and the World Bank in preparation for the Bank's 'W
'South-South Migration and Remittances' reports on preliminary results from an ongoing effort to improve data on bilateral migration stocks. It sets out some working hypotheses on the determinants and
International migration has become acentral element of international relations and global integration due to its rapidly increasing economic, social, and cultural impact in both source and destination
The contributors of these 13 articles agree that dealing with corruption on a case-by-case level may be fruitless, and that creating governance that ensures the integrity and efficiency of public mana
The importance of international technology diffusion (ITD) for economic development can hardly be overstated. Both the acquisition of technology and its diffusion foster productivity growth. Developin
How effectively has the World Bank Group assisted its clients in enhancing the contribution of the extractive industries to sustainable development?This evaluation finds that with its global mandate a
Future growth in the countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA) will increasingly depend on innovation. And innovation requires skills. This makes it important, as countries plan for recovery,
While adoption of new technologies is understood to enhance long-term growth and average per-capita incomes, its impact on lower-skilled workers is more complex and merits clarification. Concerns abou
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
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
Despite efforts made by the international development financing organizations, the structure of intervention through multi-country projects with regional development goals has not been easy to design
Over the coming decades, the supply of electric power will need to expand to meet the growing demand for electricity, but how the production and use of electricity develops will have broad ramificatio
Small and medium enterprise (SME) support programs are a common feature of industrial policy in developing countries, but one whose effectiveness is not well known. Governments are motivated to suppo
The report assesses the World Bank Group’s support for growth and productivity in the agriculture sector. Enhancing agricultural growth and productivity is essential to meeting the worldwide demand fo
