Structural change is a key driver of rapid growth: countries diversify into new industries, firms learn new things, people move to new locations. Anything that slows this structural change is also likely to slow growth. Because urbanization is one of the most important enabling parallel...

This evaluation aims to inform the implementation of the most recent the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) health, nutrition, and population (HNP) strategies to enhance the effectiveness of future support. It covers the period since fiscal year 1997 and is based on desk...

This study assesses the development effectiveness of World Bank assistance in addressing constraints to agricultural development in Africa over the period of fiscal years 1991-2006. This Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) review of World Bank assistance to agriculture in Africa has a twofold...

This report is comprised of two volumes. Global Development Finance 2005 I: Analysis and Statistical Appendix addresses two key challenges in development finance: first, how to raise resources flowing to low-income countries, which are heavily constrained in their access to market-based finance....

This report presents the findings of a first-ever, comprehensive study of how Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region airports have evolved during a notable period of transition in airport ownership. It is an unbiased, positive analysis of what happened, rather than a normative analysis of...

The Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) brings together the world s leading scholars and development practitioners for a lively debate on state-of-the-art thinking in development policy and the implications for the global economy. The 17th conference was held in Dakar,...

The Reader in International Corporate Finance offers an overview of current thinking on six topics: law and finance, corporate governance, banking, capital markets, capital structure and financing constraints, and the political economy of finance. This collection of 23 of the most influential...

Africa Development Indicators 2006 is the latest annual report from the World Bank on social and economic conditions across the continent. It was revamped this year to better report and monitor the challenges and transformations in Africa. Africa Development Indicators has evolved from a single...

One decade remains to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that the international community set out in 2000. Yet the world is still far from achieving the MDGs. This Global Monitoring Report (GMR) reviews the efforts under way to strengthen mutual accountability. Greater resource flows...

Haiti made good progress over the past three years but major challenges remain to accelerating growth and reducing poverty. After the lost decade 1994-2004, marked by political instability and economic decline, Haiti reformed significantly and revived growth, especially in the past three years....