The diaspora of developing countries can be a potent force for development for their countries of origin, through remittances, but also, importantly, through promotion of trade, investments, research, innovation, and knowledge and technology transfers. This book brings relevant experience from...

This book, finance for all, presents first efforts at developing indicators illustrating that financial access is quite limited around the world and identifies barriers that may be preventing small firms and poor households from using financial services. Based on this research, the report...

Infrastructure industries and services are crucial for generating economic growth, alleviating poverty, and increasing international competitiveness. Safe water is essential for life, and health. Reliable electricity saves businesses and consumers from having to invest in expensive backup...

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), in its 50th year, is the largest provider of multilateral financing for private sector projects in the developing world. In fiscal 2006, it committed $6.7 billion in funds from its own account and mobilized an additional $1.6 billion through...

Based on a sample of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, this book sets out areas in which governments could focus to improve the quality of public expenditures. It seeks to identify, from a regional perspective, first, the cross-cutting strengths and weaknesses of public financial...

This report presents the findings of a study of functions carried out by Central Finance Agencies (CFAs) that was financed jointly by the Bank Netherlands Partnership Program (BNPP), the Korean Trust Fund (KTF) and the World Bank over a three-year period from July 2008 to mid-2011. CFAs are not...

This Public Expenditure Review (PER) examines and explains some of the constraints facing the government in public resource management and allocation, and offers recommendations for improvements in six critical areas: fiscal space, education, health, infrastructure, public financial management,...

The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) is a leading forum for advanced, forward-looking research on important development issues. Each year, the ABCDE brings policy makers and politicians together with researchers from academe, international organizations, and think...

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), in its 50th year, is the largest provider of multilateral financing for private sector projects in the developing world. In fiscal 2006, it committed $6.7 billion in funds from its own account and mobilized an additional $1.6 billion through...

The Arab Republic of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and the Republic of Yemen are recovering after a period of economic growth decelerations accompanying the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. Economic recovery was relatively quick, with industrial production recovering in a matter of months and, in the...