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East Asia & Pacific is facing some great development challenges today: urbanization, protection of the environment, the need to find renewable energy sources and many others. This site wants to create a conversation around those important issues. More »

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World Bank Open Data now in Chinese–a free, comprehensive and friendly new data source

Submitted by Xiaoli Wan on Wed, 2011-04-13 11:43

(Also available in Chinese)


As an economist monitoring the macroeconomic developments of the Chinese economy, dealing with data is one of my main jobs. I am so happy that now I have a new tool to handle data and make economic analysis. It is the World Bank Open Data platform launched recently. Based on my user experience till now, I found two features of it are specially worth highlighting:


Largest ever World Bank loan to Vietnam signals country's swift path to middle-income status

Submitted by James I Davison on Thu, 2010-01-14 14:45

Last month, Vietnam and the World Bank signed the credit agreement for a loan that is historic for the rapidly developing country. Not only is it the largest ever World Bank loan to Vietnam, but it is also the first from its International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) – meaning the country is a step closer to reaching middle-income status by this year.

A few days earlier, I caught up with Martin Rama, the Bank’s lead economist in Hanoi, and asked him a few questions. In a short video interview (embedded below), Rama explains why this $500 million loan, meant in part to strengthen public investment in Vietnam, is so significant to the country.

"This is a country that has had 20 years of spectacular growth without a substantial increase in inequality – with one of the fastest reductions in poverty that we have ever documented. There is much for Vietnam to be proud of."


  
Read more about the development policy loan to Vietnam here.

New Google feature lets users quickly search World Bank development data

Submitted by James I Davison on Tue, 2009-11-17 11:24

If you haven’t already taken the time to do some development-related Googling after last week’s announcement that World Bank statistics are now available through the ubiquitous search engine’s public data tool, I’d suggest exploring the exciting new feature. Now, anyone can easily access 17 World Development Indicators by searching for them in Google. Give it a try by searching for the GDP of China or CO2 emissions of Indonesia or exports of Thailand – or another country and any of these indicators.

When you click on the search result, an interactive chart page shows you how the data have changed over time and allows you to compare to other countries (or the world). (You can also embed the chart, like the one below.) For example, take a look at how the GDP growth rate of China compares to Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines in the last 50 years.

To further explore the data, check out another nifty tool, also launched last week by the World Bank. DataFinder lets you research more about these development indicators and see how they look on an interactive map. Read more about DataFinder here.

New visualization tool displays development data with simple, animated graphs

Submitted by James I Davison on Thu, 2009-10-22 16:52
Click to view large.

A colleague over at the PSD blog first pointed out yesterday a brand new data visualization tool recently rolled out by the World Bank. The Data Visualizer displays the 2009 World Development Indicators – including 49 indicators for 209 countries from 1960-2007 – in an attractive, easy-to-understand and highly customizable way. The data contains social, economic, financial and environmental indicators and can be filtered in a number of different ways, including by region and country.

Someone familiar with Gapminder.org, which I wrote about last spring, will quickly notice that this new tool from the World Bank is quite similar to the Gapminder World animated graphing tool. As I mentioned in that post, I think one of the most interesting aspects of this type of data visualization is being able to literally hit Play and witness how the data indicators have changed over time right in front of your eyes.

China's presence on Fortune's Global 500 list grows, despite economic crisis

Submitted by James I Davison on Thu, 2009-07-23 22:23

Another example of China’s respectable growth, despite the global economic crisis, is apparent in this month’s Fortune magazine, with its Global 500 list of the world’s largest companies. The 37 Chinese firms that made the list is all the more impressive when you consider just six companies made the list in 1998, as Worldfocus pointed out on its blog and on its television program.

In the following video clip, Fortune global editor Brian Dumaine says the increasing number of Chinese Fortune 500 companies is all about the country’s economic growth. “It’s a growth story,” he says, “and if you look at where most growth is going on, it’s not in the developed world, it’s in the developing world.”

Despite the successes of a number of Chinese companies, other developing countries in the East Asia and Pacific region are all but completely absent from the Fortune’s list. Of developing countries, only Thailand is listed with its state-owned oil and gas company, PTT Public Company Limited, which has been on the list for at least the past several years.

New web and mobile connectivity report: China, the Philippines lead region in IT jobs

Submitted by James I Davison on Wed, 2009-07-01 16:28
Students take a computer course at a private school in Cambodia.

A number of fascinating web-related findings came out of a World Bank report, released this week, which ties Internet and mobile phone access in developing countries to economic growth, job creation and good governance. Connectivity in the developing world seems to be better than ever. In developing countries worldwide, there are currently three billion mobile phone users, and the number of Internet users in developing countries increased by 10 times between 2000 and 2007.

In East Asian and Pacific countries, the number of Internet users (15 percent) was slightly above the developing-country average in 2007 (13 percent), but was still below the world average that year (22 percent). The connectivity and access to new information and communications technologies changes the way companies and governments do business, while bringing vital health, financial and other market information to people like never before.

While India is the clear leader in creating information technology-related jobs, China and the Philippines both stand out as benefiting by generating new job opportunities. And within the industry, the Philippines is also notable, because its IT services workforce is made up of 65 percent women, who hold more high-paying jobs than in most other sectors of the economy.

You can take your own look at the statistics compiled on each country, or create your own custom reports, from the IC4D Data & Methodology page.

You can also submit questions now for Christine Zhen-Wei Qiang, World Bank economist and editor of the report, for a live online chat on July 28 at 11 a.m. in Washington, D.C.

Moving toward an innovation-based economy in China

Submitted by James Seward on Fri, 2009-06-19 06:40

As mentioned in my last post, I was in Asia just a few weeks ago, and one (favorite) destination was Beijing. One key reason for being there was to participate in a seminar on “Promoting Innovation for Development” with the Ministry of Science and Technology. This seminar covered a range of topics related to innovation, including China’s strategies for innovation, strengthening the capacities of small- and medium-sized enterprises to innovate, and the financing of innovation. The seminar was well-attended by a range of participants, including the financial regulatory agencies, and the seminar served as a platform to launch a new book the World Bank published entitled, “Promoting Enterprise-Led Innovation in China.” Please take a look!

I attended the seminar to discuss strengthening the ecosystem for domestic venture capital in China (a pdf of my presentation can be downloaded after the jump). This presentation covered the basics of the venture capital (VC) industry, what is happening in China, the challenges and recommendations for improvement of the ecosystem for VC in China and the areas for further research.

Carbon Expo: A marketplace to finance environmental change

Submitted by Florian Kitt on Thu, 2009-05-21 18:04

Carbon finance sounds boring and technical and not much fun. However, it actually does a lot of good and can help fund critical environmental preservation projects as well as introduce clean and renewable technologies in both developed and developing countries. I am not a carbon specialist but at present involved in organizing the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific Region's participation in next week's Carbon Expo, a global trade fair for CO₂ market participants. Doesn't really sound like a lot fun? Indeed, it's a lot of work.

Bangkok's Skytrain an example of the good infrastructure and services Thailand needs

Submitted by Pichaya Fitts on Mon, 2009-05-04 11:57

It takes me just a few minutes to get to my office roughly two kilometers away. Before the Skytrain came along, the very same journey could take anywhere between 15-45 minutes.

At 2:30 p.m. on a weekday, the Skytrain in Bangkok, Thailand, was still pretty crowded. I squeezed myself into a small space near the doors, waiting to exit at the next stop. Suddenly, a cheery sound of music wafted through the air before a woman, standing not far from me, shouted a "Hello" into her tiny cellular phone.

"I'm on the train, two stops away from you," she told the caller. "Will get there in a heartbeat."

That got me thinking. Getting somewhere in a heartbeat was – at least until 1999 – a luxury no Bangkokian could afford (unless they owned a private helicopter). I remembered when this city's traffic jams topped the list of things that would come to mind when people thought of Bangkok. (The next down in that list would probably be air pollution, but that's a subject for a later discussion!).

Indonesia's $100 billion budget: Is debt an issue?

Submitted by Wolfgang Fengler on Thu, 2009-04-23 15:23

I have received many encouraging responses to my first blog. Thank you. This time, let's look at Indonesia's budget. Last year, Indonesia's budget reached the magical threshold of US$100 billion. With total expenditures of Rupiah 985 trillion and an average exchange rate of 9,750 Rupiah per US dollar, Indonesia's government spent exactly US$101 billion.  In 2009, the budget may not increase and will likely decline in US$ terms. With the global financial crisis the Rupiah has depreciated against the US$, similar to most other developing countries currencies. However, it is safe to assume that in the next few years Indonesia will have a budget which exceeds US$100 billion and is set to reach its own magical threshold of Rp 1,000 trillion in the near future.

One of the most contentious topics over the past decade has been Indonesia's debt and the role of international institutions. Some still think Indonesia has a debt problem and that loans from international institutions, such as the World Bank, have contributed to Indonesia's previous debt burden. The opposite is true, and here's why.