This study examines the extent and severity of rural and urban food insecurity and compares policy-relevant characteristics of food-insecure rural and urban households in Afghanistan. We collected data from 899 rural and urban households in three provinces administering a semi-structured...

Afghanistan stands at a critical crossroads. As of early 2025, nearly 15 million people are facing acute food insecurity, with 3.1 million already in emergency conditions. These figures are not just numbers; they reflect a deepening crisis of hunger, collapsing rural livelihoods, and systemic...

This paper explores the challenges China faces with regard to its Afghanistan strategy after the US withdrawal in August 2021. Beijing has seen Afghanistan as a strategic asset in relation to China's BRI project, given the country's enormous natural resources which have gone unexploited due to...

In Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), urbanization and rising income have increased meat demand, fostering competition between traditional butcheries and emerging suppliers such as supermarkets. To remain competitive in this evolving market, it is essential to understand consumer...

Over the past two decades, Afghanistan experienced three main periods of deflation, with the lastest being the longest. This paper investigates the macroeconomic factors influencing inflation dynamics in the short and long run, considering both domestic and external factors. Utilizing quarterly...

The number of immigrants to Sweden has increased significantly in the last two decades. In 1990, 9 percent of the population was born abroad. Just over 60 percent of them were born in Finland, Norway and Denmark. Thirty years later, the corresponding figure of foreign born is 20 percent. The...

How domestic constituents respond to signals of weakness in foreign wars remains an important question in international relations. This paper studies the impact of battlefield casualties and media coverage on public demand for war termination. To identify the effect of troop fatalities, we...

This paper critically examines the shortcomings of post-conflict reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021, arguing that an overemphasis on measurable results and causal inference led to overly narrow, community-driven development interventions that failed to appreciate the complex...

The increasing impact of natural disasters (floods, earthquakes, landslides, and avalanches) in Afghanistan, notably flooding and similar climate shocks, poses a growing concern as vulnerability to climate change intensifies the potential severity of these impacts in future. This paper uses two...

This paper uses microdata from the Labor Force and Household Surveys conducted in Afghanistan to show the wage premium differences for education between men and women, documenting a significantly larger premium for women. This sharp distinction is causal as demonstrated by analysis of the...

This study investigates men's attitudes toward women's education in Afghanistan, focusing on primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, as well as studying in another province or abroad, through the lens of identity theory and the intra-household bargaining framework. We use data from Afghan...

This paper uses microdata from the Labor Force and Household Surveys conducted in Afghanistan to show the wage premium differences for education between men and women, documenting a significantly larger premium for women. This sharp distinction is causal as demonstrated by analysis of the...

Since the Interim Taliban Administration (ITA) assumed control of the country in August 2021, Afghanistan's economy has experienced a significant contraction that affected all sectors. The declines in international aid, economic output, and employment during this period have been compounded by...

Affirmative action is a promising solution to the crucial challenge of bridging the gap in women's access to higher education in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This paper uses public universities' matriculation data from 2013-2018 and difference-in-differences estimators to examine...

We examine the factors behind Afghanistan's persistent underdevelopment. Drawing on various theories of development traps operating at the demographic, economic and institutional levels, we seek to assess whether and to what extent their functioning affects Afghanistan's development. To capture...

The purpose of this report is to provide information relevant for international protection status determination, including refugee status and subsidiary protection, and in particular for use in updating EUAA's country guidance development on Afghanistan. The report covers the period of 1 October...

This study investigates men's attitudes toward women's education in Afghanistan, focusing on primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, as well as studying in another province or abroad, through the lens of identity theory and the intra-household bargaining framework. We use data from Afghan...

This paper uses microdata from the Labor Force and Household Surveys conducted in Afghanistan to show the wage premium differences for education between men and women, documenting a significantly larger premium for women. This sharp distinction is causal as demonstrated by analysis of the...

This paper uses microdata from the Labor Force and Household Surveys conducted in Afghanistan to show the wage premium differences for education between men and women, documenting a significantly larger premium for women. This sharp distinction is causal as demonstrated by analysis of the...

The increasing impact of natural disasters (floods, earthquakes, landslides, and avalanches) in Afghanistan, notably flooding and similar climate shocks, poses a growing concern as vulnerability to climate change intensifies the potential severity of these impacts in future. This paper uses two...

Managing military operations across and between teams of partner nations remains a first-order challenge to security and development during conflict. NATO, under the umbrella of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), brought together troops from 28 countries to help enhance security...

A Theory of Auditability for Allocation Mechanisms Managing military operations across and between teams of partner nations remains a first-order challenge to security and development during conflict. NATO, under the umbrella of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), brought...

How domestic constituents respond to signals of weakness in foreign wars remains an important question in international relations. This paper studies the impact of battlefield casualties and media coverage on public demand for war termination. To identify the effect of troop fatalities, we...

This paper critically examines the shortcomings of post-conflict reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021, arguing that an overemphasis on measurable results and causal inference led to overly narrow, community-driven development interventions that failed to appreciate the complex...

Afghanistan has been plagued by decades of conflict, but the last two decades' movements toward peace offer the opportunity for a new era of human development. The government was committed to achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Due to repeated wars and conflicts, the...

This study examines the effects of climate and weather shocks on Afghanistan's agricultural economy, with an emphasis on food security, prices, and wages. By utilizing a dynamical model and a unique data set that includes monthly global and local food prices, agricultural wages, unofficial...

The number of immigrants to Sweden has increased significantly in the last two decades. In 1990, 9 percent of the population was born abroad. Just over 60 percent of them were born in Finland, Norway and Denmark. Thirty years later, the corresponding figure of foreign born is 20 percent. The...

Following the Herat province (Western Afghanistan) earthquake sequence of October 7 to 15, 2023, the World Bank carried out a remote desk-based assessment of the physical damages using the Global RApid post-disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) methodology. The objective of the assessment is to...