Research and development (R&D) is a central driver of long-term economic growth, technological progress, and institutional capacity. Yet many African countries remain marginal in the global knowledge economy, with limited investment in science, technology, and innovation (STI) and weak research...

This Country Program Evaluation assesses the World Bank Group’s support to Indonesia between FY 2013 and FY23. The evaluation period included three country strategies: the FY13–15 Country Partnership Strategy (CPS), the FY16–20 Country Partnership Framework (CPF), and the ongoing FY21–25...

This study examines the heterogeneous effects of key macroeconomic determinants on economic growth in selected MENA economies using a pooled quantile regression framework. Unlike conventional mean-based approaches, this method captures variation across different segments of the conditional...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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 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...

This note emphasizes the urgent need for development strategies beyond short-term aid to address protracted refugee crises in the Great Lakes Region (GLR). Due to major cuts to international aid, the paper advocates for integrating refugees into national social protection systems to enhance...

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...

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union defines poverty reduction and, in the long term, poverty eradication as the primary objective of EU development cooperation. Yet recent initiatives by the European Commission, notably Global Gateway and the proposed Global Europe instrument,...

Development finance increasingly funds entrepreneurship in developing countries, but evidence of its impact on entrepreneurship is mixed. Existing studies analyze total development finance flows as entrepreneurship-specific development finance data did not previously exist. By training and...

Mobilising domestic revenue in lower-income countries has become more urgent in the face of rising debts, tighter global financial conditions, climate pressures and weakening aid inflows. In this context, the 2025 Sevilla Commitment, in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development...

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...

Development finance institutions (DFIs) play a central role in financing infrastructure for sustainable development, yet their effects on project‑level risk allocation and private capital mobilization remain imperfectly understood. This paper examines how different DFIs and financial...

The Postgraduate Programme for Sustainability Cooperation (PGP) at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS, formerly DIE) has been training young professionals for German and European international cooperation since 1965. How successful is the programme in supporting its...

Renewable energy has seen rapid uptake, particularly in the Global South. Solar energy projects have boomed in recent years, but uptake by countries is uneven. Beyond geophysical conditions, technological innovation, market dynamics and donor-driven “lighthouse projects”, political...

International support has failed to keep pace with the growing numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons, thus creating a financing gap between their needs and available resources. The recent US withdrawal from funding development and humanitarian programmes has only compounded this...

The 2026 US-Israel-Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have triggered one of the largest oil supply disruptions in modern history. Brent crude prices rose sharply, producing a major external shock for oil-importing developing economies at a moment when the international development...

A little more than a year into the Trump 2.0 era, the “post–Cold War” international order as we know it is coming to an end. Amid increasing volatility and conflict, the shape and character of the order that will replace it are dangerously unclear. There are ambitions by so-called middle...

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union defines poverty reduction and, in the long term, poverty eradication as the primary objective of EU development cooperation. Yet recent initiatives by the European Commission, notably Global Gateway and the proposed Global Europe instrument,...

Drawing on nearly 650 government and MDB officials across 125 countries and 250 in-depth interviews in 12 countries. This report arrives at a moment of significantly reduced aid budgets, escalating financing needs, rising sovereign debt, geopolitical tensions and a fragmented development finance...