This urbanization review "Connecting the Greater Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica" focuses on the South Corridor, a lagging (sub)region within Costa Rica's Greater Metropolitan Area (Gran Area Metropolitana, GAM), and the challenges facing the subregion as a result of rapid and unplanned...

The share of Uganda's population that lives below the poverty line has fluctuated over the last seven years, greatly influenced by shocks that have tested the resilience of the people. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed both urban and rural residents into poverty. Inequality, which reflects the extent...

Nature-based tourism (NBT) plays an important role in sustainable development. It can support poverty alleviation, economic growth, and biodiversity conservation and contribute to key global agreements and frameworks, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. NBT's singular...

The potential benefits from supporting early childhood development range from healthy development to a greater capacity to learn and increased productivity in adulthood. Despite undertaking various preschool education reforms and initiatives, issues of access and quality remain and continue to...

The recent positive policy directions embodied in the New Thinking and One DA agenda have not yet fully translated into a shift in public expenditure patterns in the Philippine agriculture sector. One result is that agricultural growth remains low, and poverty in rural areas, where farming...

Additionality is a core feature of private sector development finance institutions (DFIs). It is the unique contribution that a DFI or a multilateral/ bilateral bank brings to a private investment project that is not offered by commercial sources of finance. The key idea is that the investment...

This evaluation, requested by the Committee on Development Effectiveness of the Executive Board of the International Development Association (IDA), is intended to provide input and insight into the upcoming World Bank-International Monetary Fund (IMF) review of the Low-Income Country Debt...

Lebanon's long economic contraction continued in 2022, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. The deceleration in economic contraction in 2022 is largely owed to a base effect (referred to as a technical deceleration in economic contraction). Following a cumulative four-year contraction...

The Government of Indonesia's (GoI) National Plan of Action on Marine Plastic Debris (NPOA-MPD 2017-2025) outlines the ambitious objective to reduce marine plastic debris by seventy percent by 2025. Abandoned, Lost and Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) is considered to be a major component of...

Niger is a fragile country, marked by a poorly diversified economy and extreme poverty. Climate change, rapid demographic growth, and weak governance are major threats to Niger's growth. These changes have led to human losses, decreased soil productivity, and increased competition for access to...