In the second of two review papers on the World Bank’s series of World Development Reports (WDRs; 1978 to 2000/2001) we track some key themes and issues: North and South; state, market and civil society; and people, participation and values. Identifying clear trajectories in the series is...

This paper investigates the effect of business regulations on various measures of entrepreneurship. Using data for a sample of countries participation in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor between 2002 and 2005, we estimate a two-equation model explaining the nascent and the actual...

This case follows Sethu Sethunarayanan, Director of the non-profit Center for the Development of Disadvantaged People (CDDP), which is dedicated to the improvement of the Irula tribe in rural villages of southeast India. The Irulas specialize in catching rats, an activity which provides the bulk...

Confronted with a new wave of criticism on the in effectiveness of its development programs, the World Bank embarked on a revitalization process, turning to private investors to finance International Development Association projects and widening its mandate. To explain these adaptation...

What began as a single COVID-19 case in China in late 2019 quickly spread around the globe in the first quarter of 2020. While the impact on the world\'s health systems is unknown, the economic toll remains also remains unknown as the world grapples with an unprecedented global recession. This...

This book is a historical review of international food and agriculture since the founding of the international organizations following the Second World War, including the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and into the...

The structure of multilateral financial partnerships has many relationship challenges, which need to be solved to positively impact sustainable human development. There is a lack of understanding in the development relationship between the so-called developed and developing countries, and...

In response to surging immigration pressure in Europe and the United States, Western policymakers advocate foreign aid as a means to fight the 'root causes' of irregular migration. This article provides the first global evidence of the effects of aid on migration preferences, migration flows,...

This study is an attempt to determine whether the need to get hydropower project appraisals perfectly right during the pre-construction phase so as to prevent significant overruns along with benefit shortfalls should supersede the need to deliver projects at the earliest possible time so as to...

The definitive account of the history of poverty finance' - Susanne Soederberg Finance, mobile and digital technologies - or 'fintech' - are being heralded in the world of development by the likes of the IMF and World Bank as a silver bullet in the fight against poverty. But should we believe...