The Covid-19 pandemic caused a global economic crisis, leading governments to provide substantial State Aid to support firms. This paper examines the effectiveness of Covid-related financial support in Spain and Italy, focusing on its impact on firm recovery. Using a difference-in-differences...

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a global economic crisis, leading governments to provide substantial State Aid to support firms. This paper examines the effectiveness of Covid-related financial support in Spain and Italy, focusing on its impact on firm recovery. Using a difference-in-differences...

This study examines how student aid eligibility influences application decisions to higher education using administrative data from the French national centralized platform. We employ a difference-in-differences approach following a change in the income thresholds for aid eligibility. We find...

This study examines how student aid eligibility influences application decisions to higher education using administrative data from France. We study the impact of a change in income thresholds for aid eligibility. We find that aid eligibility did not have a uniform effect on students'...

Deployment subsidies for nascent technologies have moved to the forefront of climate action, industrial policy, and geoeconomics. To limit the substantial fiscal costs of such programs, policymakers routinely employ subsidy schedules that are nonlinear in the quantity agents deploy. However,...

Global development policy is a particularly revealing field in which the Trump administration combines crude transactionalism with a high level of ideological commitment, namely an authoritarian libertarianism oriented toward elite interests. This is coupled with, at times, a chaotic absence of...

IEG@50: Celebrating 50 Years of Independent Evaluation at The World Bank Group is a commemorative report marking five decades of independent evaluation across the World Bank Group. The report celebrates the legacy of the Operations Evaluation Department and its transformation into the...

This Country Program Evaluation (CPE) assesses the performance of the World Bank Group’s (WBG) assistance to the Republic of Kosovo from fiscal years (FY) 2012 to 2025, seeking to identify lessons to inform future WBG engagements in Kosovo, including the next CPF, which is expected in FY27....

This paper studies how employment subsidies for start-ups shape their performance. We exploit an unexpected policy reform in Belgium that permanently exempted start-ups hiring their first employee from payroll taxes for that employee. Using firm-level administrative data and a...

The resurgence of subsidies and industrial policies has raised concerns about their potential inefficiency and alignment with multilateral principles. Critics warn that such policies may divert resources to less efficient firms and provoke retaliatory measures from other countries, leading to a...

This study examines the economic and environmental impacts of fossil fuel subsidies in the European Union (EU) during the energy crisis triggered by the 2022 Ukraine war, focusing on their implications for corporate performance and sustainability. Using a panel dataset of 100 publicly listed...

Background: The administration and management of humanitarian logistical operations are considered critical factors. The extreme and unexpected nature of events such as natural disasters poses logistical challenges to humanitarian support agencies providing aid to the affected area. These...

This study explores public opinion for reducing fossil fuel subsidies in Angola, identifies strategies that can shift public opinion, and analyzes variations in support based on respondents’ area of residency and gender. It uses data from a survey of 598 respondents and focus groups involving...

The goal of universal health coverage (UHC) is for all people to receive the quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without incurring financial hardship. UHC covers the full continuum of essential health services, from health promotion to disease prevention, treatment,...

The International Development Association (IDA) is the largest source of long-term concessional financing for the world’s poorest countries. Since 1960, IDA has delivered more than US$600 billion in grants and credits at low interest rates with long-term maturities, helping client countries...

This Country Program Evaluation reviews the World Bank Group’s engagement in Ethiopia during FY2013–FY2023 across three distinct periods: rapid growth with rising macroeconomic imbalances and political unrest (FY13–FY18); government-led openings to economic reform (FY19–FY20); and...

Climate-related risks are macro-critical considerations for Burkina Faso. This Climate Policy Diagnostic identifies policy reforms that reduce balance of payment risks, boost fiscal resilience, and generate positive climate outcomes. A robust package of fiscal policies is key to accelerating...

In 2025, fragile and conflict-affected (FCS) included 38 economies that are home to 1 billion people. The recent shocks have intensified fragility-related pressures even in more stable economies. This paper provides a comprehensive discussion of macroeconomic challenges and policies under...

This paper examines whether the success of prior aid projects affects the performance of subsequent ones based on a study of World Bank projects in Africa. While existing research has shown that aid effectiveness depends on macroeconomic conditions, institutional quality, and managerial...

This paper studies how employment subsidies for start-ups shape their performance. We exploit an unexpected policy reform in Belgium that permanently exempted start-ups hiring their first employee from payroll taxes for that employee. Using firm-level administrative data and a...

This study analyzes the empirical link between German bilateral development finance and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) at the sub-national (ADM2) level. We construct a unique dataset by merging geo-referenced development aid projects - implemented by KfW Development Bank - over more than two...

· This brief provides a big-picture overview of support for Ukraine after four years of war. The key finding from 2025 is that Europe has almost offset the collapse in US support. · US aid fell by 99 percent. At the same time, Europe sharply increased its aid allocations, by 59 percent for...

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – the global framework establishing 17 universal and interconnected goals to guide sustainable development efforts – was adopted in 2015 following a uniquely participative and ambitious process. A decade on, it is increasingly evident that most of...

Central Asia has emerged as a key region where the convergence of geopolitics and development cooperation is most visible. Major powers are redefining their approaches: Japan combines official development assistance (ODA) with commercial partnerships to advance connectivity and reform; the EU is...

Using Chinese firm-level trade data combined with global anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations, we uncover a previously overlooked cost of industrial policy under WTO agreements. At every stage of AD/CVD investigation, subsidies significantly raise the probability of...

This study evaluates the impact of Malta's 2014 childcare reform, a universal Free Childcare Scheme for children aged 3 months to 3 years, on female employment. Using a difference-in-differences (DD) framework and matched DD models, I find that the reform may have increased the probability of...

I develop and estimate a life-cycle discrete-choice model of fertility and female labor supply to study the optimal design of a range of child-related policies. First, I examine two German reforms that introduced wage-contingent parental leave payments and expanded access to low-cost public...

Persistent gender gaps in self-promotion contribute to unequal labor market outcomes. In this study, we investigate how AI-assisted writing tools shape selfpromotion, and, as a secondary outcome, confidence and how these effects interact with gender. For this purpose, we conducted an online...