Twenty years of rapid economic development in Ghana has done little, if anything, to reduce the historical North, South divide in standards of living. While rural development and urbanization have led to significant poverty reduction in the South, similar dynamics have been largely absent from...

This study, a draft of which was shared with the Government of Ghana in November 2009, provides a basic diagnostic of the benefit incidence and targeting performance of a large number of social programs in Ghana. Both broad-based programs (such as spending for education and health, and subsidies...

This note provides an overview of demographic changes in Azerbaijan and their policy implications. Azerbaijan's population is younger than the populations of most countries in the region. It is estimated that the population in Azerbaijan will increase from about 7.2 million in 1990 to 10.6...

This note provides an overview of demographic changes and their policy implications in Armenia, with particular reference to the poor. Armenia is currently experiencing a significant aging of the population and decrease in the size of the population, these changes have far-reaching implications....

"This report by World Bank economists and Colombian consultants maps out a strategy for poverty reduction in Colombia by concentrating efforts on rural development, social and infrastructural services, and decentralization strengthening. Expenditures would be financed by revenues generated by...

The report is based on analysis of the main facets and dynamics of poverty in Russia since 1997. The analysis was conducted over the past two years by Russian and international experts in the framework of the first stage of the program on "enhancing the measurement, monitoring, and analysis of...

The experience of the 1990s suggests that economic growth has been - and will continue to be - a key feature of El Salvador's accomplishments in reducing poverty. This means that there will be high returns for poverty reduction when the Government of El Salvador takes the necessary measure to...

In recent years, the Government of Liberia launched efforts to develop a coordinated strategy for social protection. Indeed, social protection will be one of the key policy issues addressed within the Human Development pillar of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) II. This strategy development,...

This report aims to inform the discussion by summarizing recent World Bank analysis on the performance of the social safety net on the basis of the 2007 Multi-Topic Household Survey. It reviews the effectiveness of the main social safety net transfer programs in reducing poverty and assesses how...

The Uruguay Non-lending Technical Assistance (UY NLTA) for Uruguay was undertaken at the request of the Government of Uruguay's Ministry of Social Development (MIDES). Following a devastating financial and macroeconomic crisis in 2002, MIDES was established with a view to coordinating social...