The little data book on financial development 2013 is a pocket edition of the global financial development database published as part of the work on the global financial development report 2013: rethinking the role of the state in finance. The global financial development database is an...

Recent developments in the way financial services are delivered have provided both opportunities for economic development and prompted fears of their attractiveness for crimes such as terrorist financing. This paper explores four innovations, value cards, mobile financial services, online...

The reality of climate change associated with anthropogenic emissions is now widely acknowledged by the scientific community. Its potential devastating future harms are equally well perceived and as stated in the Copenhagen Accord major nations agree on the need to jointly and urgently combat...

The rapid and oft en unplanned expansion of cities is exposing more people and economic assets to the risk of disasters and the effects of climate change. For city governments, increased climate variability imposes additional challenges to effective urban management and the delivery of key...

This book is about Magda and Jacek and millions of others like them, who earn a living working full- or part-time in Europe's untaxed markets for goods, services, and labor. Magda was certified as a hairdresser years ago, and she's very proud of the salon apprenticeship she did shortly after....

The commission on growth and development was established in April 2006 as a response to two observations. While the author felt that the benefits of growth were not fully appreciated, the author recognized that the causes of growth were not fully understood. Growth is often overlooked and...

The study on the sources of rural growth in Burundi results from a meticulous work carried out by eminent experts of the World Bank in response to a request of the Government of Burundi. It describes the global environment, which explains poverty aggravation and builds proposals to overcome most...

International Debt Statistics (IDS) presents data and analysis information on the external debt of developing countries for 2011, based on actual flows and debt related transactions reported to the World Bank Debtor Reporting System (DRS) by 128 developing countries. It replaces Global...

The little data book on external debt, a pocket edition of Global Development Finance (GDF) 2009, volume two, summary and country tables, contains statistical tables on the external debt of the 128 countries that report public and publicly guaranteed external debt under the debtor reporting...

Technological innovation drives economic progress. Information and communication technologies (ICT) can be leveraged for development, but harnessing this potential depends on an enabling environment for their production, diffusion, and use. Otherwise, technology can widen rather than narrow...