After decades of stagnation, the size of Latin America's middle class recently expanded to the point where, for the first time ever, the number of people in poverty is equal to the size of the middle
The gradual acceleration of growth in developing countries is a defining feature of the past two decades. This acceleration came with major shifts in patterns of investment, saving, and capital flows.
The East Asia and Pacific region has an international emigrant population of over 21 million people, who remitted more than USD 90 billion to their home countries in 2010. The region also hosts more
In a world where half of the population lives in cities and more than 90 percent of urban growth is occurring in the developing world, cities struggle to modernize without completely losing their uniq
The lives of women around the world have improved dramatically, at a pace and scope diffi cult to imagine even 25 years ago. Women have made unprecedented gains in rights, education, health, and acces
The end of the MFA was followed by rising apparel exports, falling prices, and a reallocation of production and employment between countries. There were also significant changes within countries. The
Public Works as a Safety Net: Design, Evidence, and Implementation reviews the conceptual underpinnings and operational elements of public works programs around the world. Drawing from a rich evidence
In the Arab countries, climate change is a risk to poverty reduction and economic growth, threatening to unravel many of the development gains that have been achieved. The Arab Region is already suffe
How does the social and political context in which decision-makers find themselves in affect their ability to realize their reform goals? How does this context facilitate or inhibit specific reform ag
Comprehensive reform of China’s pension and social security system is an essential element of achieving its objectives of a harmonious society and sustainable development. Over the past few years, the
China should complete its transition to a market economy through enterprise, land, labor, and financial sector reforms, strengthen its private sector, open its markets to greater competition and innov
Sub-Saharan Africa has only 12 percent of the global population, yet this region accounts for 50 percent of child deaths, more than 60 percent of maternal deaths, 85 percent of malaria cases, and clos
The current distribution of power markets around intermediate structures between full integration and unbundling suggests that there has not been a linear path to reform in practice. Instead, many dev
Poorly implemented energy subsidies are economically costly to taxpayers and damage the environment. This report aims at providing the emerging lessons form a representative sample of case studies in
For the past two decades, experiments in decentralization and federalization havebeen developing in Africa, Asia, and the formerly communist states of EasternEurope. Many of the powers previously in t
Tenth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 185 economies, Doing Business 2013 measures regulations affecting 11 areas of everyday business activity:? Starting a business? Dea
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
This book presents research findings on India’s major central and state government-sponsored health insurance schemes (GSHISs). The analysis centers on the GSHISs launched since 2007. These schemes ta
Jobs provide higher earnings and better benefits as countries grow, but they are also a driver of development. Poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empowering women lead
The past two decades have witnessed a convergence between human rights and development, particularly at the level of international political statements and policy commitments. This phenomenon is capt
Toward Gender Equality in East Asia and the Pacific examines the relationship between gender equality and development and outlines an agenda for public action to promote more effective and inclusive d
The book describes the findings of a study to develop an open-access crop-climate impact modeling platform (Agroecological Zone Simulator - AZS) for the Latin American region and the use of the AZS pl
The vast majority of rental housing around the world is unsubsidized and in private hands. Everywhere there are great needs for safe, decent, and affordable housing at the lowest income levels. A few
Today's world is changing at breakneck speed, shaking the very foundations of many societies. Increased mobility through massive urbanization and migration allows people unprecedented access to differ
The Extractive Industries Sourcebook aims to provide developing countries with a technical understanding and practical options around oil, gas, and mining sector development issues. A central premise
Nepal: Urban Growth and Spatial Transition carries out an initial assessment of Nepal’s urban growth and spatial transformation, with a focus on spatial demographic and economic trends, economic growt
This book provides insights into infrastructure sector performance by focusing on the links between key indicators for utilities, and changes in ownership, regulatory agency governance, and corporate
For the goals of Education for All (EFA) to be achieved, children must be healthy enough not only to attend school but also to learn while there. Because school health and nutrition programs specific
Public debate in Nigeria on the country's progress since its return to democracy in 1999 has been dominated by two seemingly opposite themes. The first theme is the strong growth performance of the n
Despite global progress in understanding the epidemiology of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), knowledge about the epidemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remains very limited and s
This paper provides an overview of remittances and migration between Honduras and the United States and analyzes the remittance regulatory and market environment, including financial inclusion strateg
‧ What has been the evolution of poverty and equity during the recent globalizing decades?‧ How have poor countries fared on the Millennium Development Goals?‧ What role does wealth inequality play in
The expectation is that the book will serve as a resource guide for risk professionals in public institutions, although it could be of use to anyone working in the area of fixed income. While our foc
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
'Managing Risk and Creating Value with Microfinance' brings together the latest information on microfinance institutional sustainability from leading international experts and microfinance practitione
For those seeking the latest available data on World Bank member countries and other sizable economies, this pocket edition of World Development Indicators 2010 provides information on some 800 indica
This pocket-sized reference on key environmental data for over 200 countries includes key indicators on agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, energy, emission and pollution, and water and sanitation. T
