This discussion paper is the first output under the umbrella of the programmatic work on social protection in fragile and conflict-affected states. This work aims to develop operational guidance to teams on the likely determinants of effective social protection programming and policy making in...

This review examines World Bank support to social safety nets between FY2007-13, including both financing and knowledge services. During this time period World Bank financing for safety nets totaled just over United States (U.S.) 12 billion dollars, 273 financing activities in 93 countries, the...

Energy is an essential production input for firms. Governments around the world have been subsidizing the production and consumption of energy for decades. By reforming energy subsidies, governments can reduce some of the distortions affecting how firms mix production inputs to generate output....

Each year, governments around the world collectively spend billions of dollars subsidizing the production and consumption of electricity, fossil fuels, or district heating. These subsidies cause economywide distortions and encourage excessive and inefficient consumption of energy. In both...

The institutions, architecture and the process of decentralization vary widely across countries. These variations have financial as well as redistributive implications when it comes to providing access to basic public services at local levels. This book is an analytical examination of financing...

Despite modest economic growth over the past decade, the Philippines have made little progress in reducing poverty. In this regard, the Philippines is an outlier in the region, seemingly unable to translate economic growth into meaningful poverty reduction. This underscores the fact that...