An appropriate rural investment climate (RIC) is essential for rural businesses to be successful and generate employment and income in their communities. Improving the investment climate could facilitate income-generation activities in both farm and nonfarm sectors, thus reducing rural poverty....

This paper is a distillation of the findings of the work undertaken by the World Bank. It is deliberately not a collation of case studies, but rather a practical overview of the subject. The purpose of this paper is to introduce task managers and development professionals, who are not insurance...

Nonfarm sector development in rural Ethiopia is central to generating employment and income and thereby reducing poverty. The improved investment climate could facilitate investments in farm and nonfarm sectors by contributing directly and indirectly to the generation of additional employment...

The significance of secondary education emerges from its critical role in promoting economic growth by determining the quality of those who enter labor market after schooling as well as those who pursue higher education. Secondary education is also important due to the positive externalities on...

This discussion paper, an input to the South Asia region's Social Protection and Hazard Risk Management Strategies, describes the cash transfer instruments supported by the Bank in South Asia, evaluates their design and implementation, and suggests improvements to increase their effectiveness....

This paper explores whether any investment products or strategies in South Africa take environmental sustainability into account. By looking at how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are used in investment decision making, we found that most socially responsible investment...

This paper examines the impact of CSR initiatives upon democracy and upon good governance. I argue that firms need to learn how to collaborate with citizens, policiymakers and other firms in helping build governmental capacity

Floods are a major source of risk for the agricultural sector. Flood risk in the agricultural sector primarily arises from river flooding, flash floods, and coastal flooding. The impacts of floods can result in sizable agricultural damages at the local level. Floods in agricultural zones expose...

This study seeks to identify and estimate the relative importance of supply - versus demand - side constraints on Ethiopia's exports. Ethiopia has tried radically different trade strategies in the past, including a strategy of import replacement/protection for infant industries during the...

This case study describes the history and business model of the Rural and Community Bank (RCB) network in Ghana, analyzes its performance, identifies key issues, and makes recommendations on the way forward. The study analyzes the service delivery and financial performance of the RCBs. Before...