This evaluation assesses the World Bank Group's contributions to supporting electricity access in Sub-Saharan Africa during 2015-24. Electricity access is an end user's ability to use an energy supply for the desired energy services. As such, electricity access includes both supply and demand...

"Making Refugee Self-Reliance Work: From Aid to Employment in Sub-Saharan Africa" advocates for the enhancement of refugee self-reliance as a strategic, humane, development approach to refugee assistance. Facilitating refugees' capacity to support themselves through gainful work not only upholds...

This paper assesses the causal relationship between central bank interest rate, inflation and GDP growth in Central African countries using a new leading-lagging method over the period 1990-2019. The results show a short-term relationship between the three variables, with strong evidence of...

Most African countries are grappling with long-term fiscal slippages and escalating debt burdens due to high levels of non-concessional and overcapitalized borrowing. At the same time, the continent is paradoxically deemed a net creditor to the rest of the world owing to excessive capital...

The CEMAC's economy lost momentum in 2023. The external position weakened, with the current account shifting to a deficit and foreign reserve accumulation slowing. While inflation continued to ease, it remained elevated. Available data indicate a deterioration in the underlying fiscal positions...

This edition of the Macro Poverty Outlooks periodical contains country-by-country forecasts and overviews for GDP, fiscal, debt and poverty indicators for the developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Macroeconomic indicators such as population, gross domestic product and gross domestic...

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly half of the world's fragile and conflict-affected states, where weak institutions and social cohesion, governance failures, and economic instability trap millions in poverty. Some countries have transitioned out of extreme fragility by implementing sound...

Historical experience suggests that stabilizing debt across sub-Saharan Africa is still achievable in most cases, even though debt levels are elevated and vulnerabilities are high. Countries in the region, over recent decades, have often been able to consolidate (stabilize or reduce) their debt...

A hard-won recovery in sub-Saharan Africa has been overtaken by recent events. The sudden shift in the global outlook has clouded the region's short-term prospects and significantly compli¬cated policy making. After four years of crisis, sub-Saharan Africa's authorities had already faced a...

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) faces growing climate vulnerability, with rising temperatures and extreme weather threatening agriculture, food security, and economic growth. These challenges worsen poverty, fiscal constraints, and limited human capital investment. To address these risks, SSA countries...

This paper takes stock of developments and policy issues related to digital payments innovations across sub-Saharan African (SSA), including central bank digital currency (CBDC), fast payments systems (FPS), mobile money, and crypto assets, which are now at the forefront of policymakers'...

This paper employs various empirical methods to test the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) hypothesis in West and Central Africa, considering countries within the WAEMU, CEMAC, CFA, and ECOWAS currency zones and four possible numeraire currencies-U.S. dollar, euro, renminbi, and the CFA franc. Using...

This paper examines the current state of the gender digital skills divide in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), drawing on a broad set of data sources to assess disparities between men and women across key dimensions of digital readiness. The analysis explores differences in educational attainment,...

The rapid expansion of the digital economy in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) presents opportunities and challenges in addressing the gender digital skills divide. This report analyzes comprehensive, gender responsive policy approaches to bridge this gender divide and promote equitable access to...

Climate-related disasters have increased over recent decades, with severe human and economic consequences. While research has examined their macroeconomic effects and impact on households' income and consumption patterns, little attention has been given to their impact on tax morale-taxpayers'...

This paper explores the impacts of politically empowering women on the connection between health occupation workforce (HOW) and inclusive growth (IG) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the period 2000-2019. Results show that: (a) HOW, women's political empowerment (WPE) and their combined effect...

This study investigates the effect of the relative size of agricultural exports on sustainable development across 46 sub-Saharan African countries between 1999 and 2020. Using data on adjusted net savings and sustainable development indices as proxies for sustainable development, the empirical...

Access to electricity is important for delivering quality healthcare. This study explores innovative and comprehensive approaches to electrifying rural health facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa by integrating renewable energy solutions and innovative financial mechanisms. It assesses funding...

With President Trump’s return to office, United States (US) trade and development policy has undergone a decisive shift – marked by sweeping cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), shifting alliances, escalating trade tensions, and a broader retreat from...

This Brief examines the challenges in implementing laws protecting women's land rights in Sub-Saharan Africa. While some progress has been made in enacting legal protections, remaining discriminatory legislation, weak enforcement mechanisms, and conflicting rules and norms, notably, those...

Sub-Saharan Africa is highly vulnerable to climate change, with rural women dis- proportionately affected due to pre-existing gender inequalities that both increase their need for adaptation and constrain their ability to adopt strategies. This paper reviews empirical evidence on key barriers to...

I evaluate the impact of abortion policies in sub-Saharan Africa to understand the potential consequences of a reduced international support for women’s rights following the overturn of Roe v. Wade. I find that decriminalizing abortion reduces fertility through two complementary channels. For...

Using a dynamic panel data analysis, we explore the factors that influence financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and other regions, using member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as a benchmark. We employ a system generalized methods of...

Marriage market imbalances have been linked to social instability, crime, and reduced welfare in both developing and developed countries. We revisit this issue in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa, where high population growth and the prevalence of polygyny shape partner availability in...

This publication provides you with a range of inspiring examples of how educational institutions are using Erasmus+ in Sub-Saharan Africa as a key instrument for building the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for one of the main transversal Erasmus+ priorities, the "Environment and fight against...

This publication provides you with a range of inspiring examples of how educational institutions are using Erasmus+ in Sub-Saharan Africa as a key instrument for building the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for one of the main transversal Erasmus+ priorities, the "Environment and fight against...

This article reviews quantitative research on unions and collective bargaining in Sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses the consequences of unions for wages, inequality, economic performance and employer-employee relations. The article also highlights the role of unions in society, a role that goes...

This article reviews quantitative research on unions and collective bargaining in Sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses the consequences of unions for wages, inequality, economic performance and employer-employee relations. The article also highlights the role of unions in society, a role that goes...

This article reviews quantitative research on unions and collective bargaining in Sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses the consequences of unions for wages, inequality, economic performance and employer-employee relations. The article also highlights the role of unions in society, a role that goes...

This study examines the determinants of female labour force participation (FLFP) and female wage employment (FWE) of urban women in four SSA countries: Benin, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia. Using extensive micro-level data and a unified empirical framework, we investigate the multitude of...

This paper explores export and import dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), both regionally and across various country groups. The findings underscore the significant associations that domestic demand and exports have with import changes, albeit the magnitude of these associations varies across...

This paper presents a fundamental reassessment of the global human resources crisis in primary health care, using nationally representative survey data from 7,915 health facilities across 10 Sub-Saharan African countries. The reassessment consists of three main parts. First, in contrast to a...

The objective of this paper is to contribute to the analysis of the relationship between banks and stock markets in sub-Saharan African countries and their impacts on economic growth. While the literature on this issue is abundant, our article focuses on disentangling the effects of banks and...