This book proposes a simple framework for understanding the political economy of subsidy reform and applies it to four in-depth country studies covering more than 30 distinct episodes of reform. Five key lessons emerge. First, energy subsidies often follow a life cycle, beginning as a way to...

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 abound that advanced technologies developed in high-income countries would inexorably lead to job...

Urbanization is occurring at a rapid pace in Bangladesh, accompanied by the proliferation of slum settlements, whose residents have special health needs given the adverse social, economic, and public environmental conditions they face. Over the past 45 years, the country's health and nutrition...

Front Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- About the Authors -- Executive Summary -- Chapter 1 Study Background, Motivation, and Approach -- Introduction -- Conceptual Framework for Examining Women's Labor Market Outcomes in Sri Lanka -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 2 Summary of Descriptive...

Government strategies for setting energy prices are not uniform across the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region—or even across fuels. Instead, they cover a full spectrum, ranging from discretionary price-fixing at one end to pure market-based approaches at the other. In between is a...

Named peril index insurance has great potential to address unmet risk management needs for agricultural insurance in developing economies, potentially contributing to increased agricultural sustainability and improved food security. However, the development and appraisal of index insurance...

Front Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- About the Editors and Contributors -- Executive Summary -- Abbreviations -- Chapter 1 Overview -- Key Findings -- Policy Directions -- Organization of the Study -- Summary of Results, by Country -- Annex 1A: Relevant Literature on...

Front Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- About the Authors -- Executive Summary -- Abbreviations -- Overview -- Stagnation following Independence -- The Importance of Skills in Boosting Employment and Productivity -- Employer Demand for Advanced Cognitive, Socioemotional, and Technical...

Front Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- About the Authors -- Glossary -- Abbreviations -- Overview -- Context -- Scope and Methodology -- Innovative Country Systems: Brazil -- Relocation of Informal Urban Settlements: India and Mauritania -- Livelihood Restoration for Informal...

Front Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- About the Editors and Authors -- Abbreviations -- Introduction: What Contribution Can Survey Data Make toward Evidence-Based Policy Making in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Contexts? -- Part 1 General Theory and Principles of...