Economic and social progress requires a diverse ecosystem of firms that play complementary roles. Making It Big: Why Developing Countries Need More Large Firms constitutes one of the most up-to-date assessments of how large firms are created in low- and middle-income countries and their role in...

This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the short-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses worldwide with a focus on developing countries. The results are based on a novel data set collected by the World Bank Group and several partner institutions in 51 countries covering...

The East Asia and Pacific region is helping the world decarbonize and is encouraging the domestic adoption of renewables. But there is an imbalance: while the region's innovation and investment improve global access to green technologies, its own emissions continue to grow because of the...

Around the world, women face persistent barriers in seeking to enter the labor force, attain leadership positions, and launch businesses. Gender inequality not only prevents women from achieving their full potential and gaining economic independence, but also inhibits the growth of national...

Large firms pay higher wages. In developing economies, the large-firm wage premium is comparable to the average gap between male and female wages, or two-thirds of the gap between urban and rural wages. There is substantial variation across countries in the share of the premium that is explained...

Large firms pay higher wages. In developing economies, the large-firm wage premium is comparable to the average gap between male and female wages, or two-thirds of the gap between urban and rural wages. There is substantial variation across countries in the share of the premium that is explained...

Around the world, women face persistent barriers in seeking to enter the labor force, attain leadership positions, and launch businesses. Gender inequality not only prevents women from achieving their full potential and gaining economic independence, but also inhibits the growth of national...

Firms of different sizes play different roles in organized markets and societies. This report focuses on the particular role that larger firms - firms with 100 employees or more - play in this ecosystem. It shows that larger firms in developing countries have distinct features that set them...