World Bank: 627 books

Remarkably, a small fraction of firms account for most of the job and output creation in high-income and developing countries alike. Does this imply that the path to enabling more economic dynamism lies in selectively targeting high-potential firms? Or would pursuing broad-based reforms that minimize...

This report examines the role of incentives, trust, and engagement as critical determinants of service delivery performance in MENA countries. Focusing on education and health, the report illustrates how the weak external and internal accountability undermines policy implementation and service delivery...

Productivity has again moved to center stage in two critical academic and policy debates: the slowing of global growth amid spectacular technological advances, and developing countries’ frustratingly slow progress in catching up to the technological frontier. Productivity Revisited brings together...

As in previous years, global growth disappointed in 2014, but a lackluster recovery is underway, with increasingly divergent prospects in major economies and developing countries. Looking ahead, growth is expected to rise slowly, supported by continued recovery in highincome countries, low oil prices,...

The Little Data Book on Financial Inclusion 2012 is a pocket edition of the Global Financial Inclusion Index (“Global Findex”) database providing country-level indicators on the use of formal bank accounts, payments behavior, savings patterns, credit patterns, and insurance decisions. It provides...

In its new and developing role as a "knowledge bank," the World Bank can offer its clients much more than new financing (loans, guarantees or grants). It can also offer access to recent developments in international best practices, provide new knowledge sharing opportunities and facilitate the exchange...

Sustainability of Pension Systems in the New EU Member States and Croatia is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion.This study finds that pension reforms in recent years...

According to a recent World Bank study of remittances, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are all among the top 20 receivers of remittances, with estimated receipts of US3.2 billion, US8.4 billion and U.S 1.5 billion respectively. Migrant Labor Remittances in South Asia identifies and discusses...

Public Expenditure Policies in Southeast Europe is part of the World Bank Working Papers series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion. The countries of Southeast Europe have undergone a significant transition over...

Empirical analysis of two decades of pioneering pension and social security reform in Latin America and the Caribbean shows that much has been achieved, but that critical challenges remain. In tackling this unfinished agenda, a great deal can be learned from the reform experience of countries in the...

A joint effort led by the African Development Bank and the World Bank 'Leveraging Migration for Africa' is the first comprehensive publication on harnessing migration remittances and other diaspora resources for the development of Africa. It comes at a time when countries in Africa and elsewhere...

The past two decades in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have been times of tremendous change, with countries undergoing rapid transformation from centrally-planned to market-oriented economies. While poverty increased during the initial years of transition, primarily on account of the sharp...

The last 25 years have witnessed unprecedented changes around the world—many of them for the better. In all continents, numerous countries have embarked on a path of international integration, economic reform, technological modernization, and democratic participation. As result, economies that had...

World Development Indicators 2014 provides a compilation of relevant, high-quality, and internationally comparable statistics about global development and the fight against poverty. It is intended to help users of all kinds—policymakers, students, analysts, professors, program managers, and citizens—find...