The circular economy has become a priority in recent decades as policy makers seek to facilitate a transition from linear production systems to closed systems that reuse resources, reduce energy consumption and avoid the exploitation of nonrenewable resources. This regional gap analysis reveals...

Plastic pollution is a worldwide environmental challenge. In coastal West Africa, about 80 percent of plastic waste is mismanaged, posing escalating challenges to people, the economy, and the coastal and marine environment. This Synthesis Paper was prepared to inform decision-makers from the...

Rapidly growing, unregulated plastic litter has created a multitude of environmental and economic problems worldwide. With an estimated lifetime of centuries, plastic waste has become a major stressor in marine ecosystems. In West Africa, the use of plastic products has proliferated with...

More than three years after the first COVID-19 case was discovered in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region, it is time to take stock of the lasting effects-and opportunities-of the pandemic and identify which policies may have helped stem the economic losses suffered by households and firms....

The Rwanda Economic Update No. 21 reviews the country's macroeconomic performance and prospects and includes a special section focusing on the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the domestic economy. After growing by 8.2 percent in 2022, Real GDP expanded by 9.2 percent in the first...

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been developing rapidly and has attracted significant attention in recent years, with numerous advances and breakthroughs. The generative AI market is expected to grow from 1.5 billion dollars in 2021 to 6.5 billion dollars by 2026 - a compound annual...

An identification card that proves a person's identity is essential in modern society. It allows individuals to access various online and in-person public services by verifying their identity. Through an identity (ID) card, government services such as civil complaints, taxation, health care,...

The Metaverse, widely regarded as a successor to today's internet, is a concept embodying a unified digital world that is tightly connected to the physical world. In the Metaverse, people can interact without physical or geographic constraints and enjoy a compelling sense of social presence....

Edge computing increases energy efficiency, reduces latency, and provides context awareness for compute-intensive applications far from data centers, increasing the viability of technologies such as autonomous transport and augmented and virtual reality. The emerging technologies curation series...

Emerging technology curation series aims to capture and share Korea experience and lessons learned in regard to exploration and adoption of emerging technologies like blockchain, AI, edge-computing, internet of things (IoT), 5G, et cetera Korea blockchain ecosystem is the first of the series and...