Limited competition hinders the optimal use of telecommunication services in the Dominican Republic, which lags peer countries in mobile subscriptions and internet penetration. Despite recent reforms designed to enhance competition, the telecommunications sector remains dominated by a small...

Despite decades of impressive economic growth, tax revenues in the Dominican Republic (DR) remain well below the regional average. The DR's tax base is extremely narrow, with extensive exemptions, deductions, zero-ratings, and allowances across all major tax categories. Tax expenditures amounted...

This policy note outlines key challenges and identifies specific recommendations for improved, inclusive, and sustainable development of Ukraine's water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector, which is important for the health and well-being of the country's people, the economy, and the environment....

Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is in the early stages of a transition to a greener, more resilient economy. The country has embarked on an ambitious reform agenda for the forestry sector including with respect to progressing sustainable forest management (SFM). To support the reform...

Successive national socio-economic development plans have identified the private sector as the main engine of growth and the government of Lao PDR (GoL) is committed to fostering a transition to a private-sector-led market economy. In line with that approach, the GoL has pursued an increased...

School closures and learning loss during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic can have a long-term negative impact on the current cohort of school children. Global evidence from past health and disaster-related emergencies show that the impact extends well beyond the period of the disaster or...

Across the world, small-scale lenders - including microfinance institutions (MFIs), community-based financial institutions, and other nonbank financial institutions - have grappled with uncertainty through the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as portfolio quality deteriorated and...

The science, technology, and innovation (STI) report provide analytical support for Vietnam's upcoming ten-year STI strategy 2021-2030 and the socio-economic development strategy (SEDS) 2021-2030. The STI report and the accompanying policy brief have been prepared in response to a request from...

The report is organized as follows. After a brief description of the analytical framing and methodology in section two, section three presents the history and demographics of the labor market in Sudan, focusing on indicators by gender and age across the three main sectors of employment:...

Investing in children's human capital is one of the most critical investments a country can make to break the cycle of poverty and reap the demographic dividend. It can support the productivity and competitiveness of the future workforce and thus affect the growth trajectory of the country....