Employment and skills are at the core of Europe 2020, the European Union's (EU) competitiveness strategy, and are decisive for high productivity and sustained growth. Romania has overcome significant challenges on its path to EU membership and in the early years thereafter. However, the Romanian...

European Council approved the Europe 2020 strategy, an economic growth and wellbeing improvement plan for the European Union (EU) in the ensuing decade. The strategy includes five interrelated headline targets to be achieved by the year 2020, encompassing employment, innovation, education,...

This note reviews the challenges in Mexico s social protection system and possible options to achieve an integral and effective system that is more than the sum of its parts. Mexico s social protection system includes contributory social security schemes, social assistance programs, and labor...

The objective of this paper, besides offering insight in the regional and global development and stability issues, is to initiate a dialog with housing finance market stakeholders on the course of action appropriate for their jurisdictions. The policy options presented in the paper are practical...

The air transport sector is enjoying an optimistic growth rate while at the same time eliciting growing concern, due to its environmental impact and its vulnerability with respect to energy security. These issues have put the sector at the forefront of the tide in achieving energy efficiency....

Liberia's post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation has been successful. Peace, stability and security gradually returned and provided an enabling environment for the rebuilding of this war-torn country. Over the next five years (2013-2017), the Bank will focus on building infrastructure...

The Doing Business (DB) project measures the number of procedures, time and cost for a small and medium-size limited liability company to start up and formally operate. This DB 2014 report addresses issues such as minimum capital requirements, and the role of risk-based inspections in...

The Department for International Development (DFID)-Funded Energy Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Program was created to support SMEs by helping countries unblock the factors that prevent their potential in the delivery of energy services. With thirteen energy projects in twelve countries and...

Significant progress in carbon pricing has been made over the last ten years. In 2015, about 40 national and over 20 subnational jurisdictions, representing almost a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), are putting a price on carbon. Together, the carbon pricing instruments in these...

Over the past decade or so, the prospects of long term economic, institutional and social gains from regional and global financial and trade liberalization have become more appealing to public and private stakeholders. Indeed, since the late 1980’s both developing and advanced economies have...