Foreign direct investment (FDI) is becoming increasingly critical to the economies of developing countries, in part due to a major expansion in the scope of global value chains (GVCs), whereby lead firms outsource parts of their production and services activities across complex international...

Crime and violence inflict high costs on the private sector???costs that are rising globally, according to the World Bank???s Enterprise Surveys, discussions with chambers and associations, and the Bank???s Country Partnership Strategies, which reference the losses in terms of gross domestic...

This book looks back both at how the Great Recession affected employment outcomes in developing countries and at how governments responded. The chapters bring together a unique compilation of data and analysis from very different sources, including an inventory of policies implemented during the...

The Latin American and Caribbean region has been undergoing a rapid demographic and epidemiological transition, which has had important health and economic consequences. Not only is the population aging rapidly, it is also experiencing major lifestyle changes. These changes, in turn, have...

Problem-driven political economy analysis holds considerable promise to help development practitioners identify what policies and strategies are most likely to succeed in addressing difficult and persistent development challenges. This volume is the result of a systematic effort to take stock of...

What needs to be done to enable the domestic private sector to expand its role in the provision of safe water and improved sanitation to the poor in developing countries? Is an expanded role constrained because there is limited market potential, or is the problem the fact that business models...

Based on a wide array of quantitative and qualitative techniques, Light Manufacturing in Vietnam identifies key constraints on manufacturing enterprises in Vietnam and evaluates differences in firm performance across China and Vietnam. The authors argue that, to continue on the high economic...

Most Sub-Saharan African countries try to promote rural electrification through both centralized and decentralized approaches. This guide focuses on the decentralized approach, providing practical guidance on how small power producers and mini-grid operators can deliver both electrification and...

Just as the steam engine was the driving force behind the Industrial Revolution, broadband Internet is today seen as critical to the transition to knowledge-intensive economies across the world. As a general purpose technology, broadband Internet is considered as a fundamental driver of economic...

Front Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Executive Summary -- Abbreviations -- Overview: Rethinking Ivorian Cities -- Urbanization and Economic Growth -- Cities, Growth, and Productivity in Côte d'Ivoire -- Urbanization: Dynamics and Policy Responses -- A Typology of Ivorian Cities:...