Pension systems in Europe and Central Asia are facing unprecedented demographic change. While many of the countries in the region have undertaken reforms when the economy faces difficult times, these reforms are frequently reversed when the economy improves. The demographic challenges that the...

Since the early 1980s, the structure of arrangements to provide retirement income has gradually moved from defined benefit (DB) systems to various types of arrangements in which the provision of pensions is backed by assets, either in individual accounts or in collective schemes. This change has...

This book examines recent changes in the landscape of retirement products and annuity markets in five countries. All the selected countries (Australia, Chile, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland) have mandatory or quasi-mandatory savings schemes. But they also exhibit significant differences in the...

The work of the World Bank Group (WBG) in helping reduce poverty supports four core goals at both global and country levels: expanding economic opportunities, enhancing human development, mitigating socioeconomic and environmental risks, and improving governance and public sector effectiveness....

In the changing global environment of development cooperation, trust funds have emerged as a significant pillar of the global aid architecture, used to address limitations in bilateral aid and fill perceived gaps in the operations of existing multilateral institutions. They currently account for...

The World Bank Group (WBG) commends the independent evaluation group's (IEG) evaluation of the Group's support to public-private partnerships (PPP). Under its new strategy, the WBG intends to work with the public and private sectors to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity and seeks...

The main finding of this review is that the Multi-Donor Trust Fund-Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (MDTF-EITI) program is in the process of achieving its objective of increasing transparency of revenues in resource-dependent countries. Given the resilience and pervasiveness of the...

This is the Global Program Review (GPR) of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). The objectives of the Facility are: (a) to assist eligible Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) countries in their efforts to achieve emission reductions from deforestation...

The global extreme poverty rate has fallen by half since 1990, but progress within the developing world has been uneven. Extreme poverty remains widespread in most low-income countries while many middle-income countries also continue to have substantial levels with many people there who have...