The World Bank - Working for a world free of poverty

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A blog to promote dialog on development in South Asia

About us

About us

This blog is maintained by the South Asia Region of the World Bank Group. Its goal is to exchange ideas on how to end poverty in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Economic Theory

Rebuilding Afghanistan - One Village at a Time

Submitted by Susanne Holste on Thu, 01/08/2009 - 18:32

National Public Consultation Conference
Kabul, Afghanistan November 10 - 15, 2007

Some hundreds of delegates, representing thousands of rural communities from all over Afghanistan, gathered in Kabul for a "National Public Consultation Conference." The conference is part of the National Solidarity Program (NSP). Village delegates discussed ways to maintain the progress they have already made, and how to expand it to other areas of the country. The conference also provided a forum for policy discussions between experts and decision-makers.

The Education of a Patient Capitalist

Submitted by Joe Qian on Fri, 11/07/2008 - 15:57

Jacqueline Novogratz is pioneering new ways of tackling poverty. In her view, traditional charity rarely delivers lasting results. Her solution, outlined here through a series of revealing personal stories, is "patient capital": support for "bottom of the pyramid" businesses which the commercial market alone couldn't provide.

The Silver Lining

Submitted by Shanta Devarajan on Fri, 04/04/2008 - 13:27

In late February of every year, I get ready to be disappointed by the budget speech of the Indian Finance Minister. The reason is that, despite ample evidence that there are serious problems with the productivity of public spending in health, education and other areas, the budget speech always announces an increase in spending on these sectors, with little attempt—if any—at making that spending more efficient at reaching poor people.

Water, climate change, and the poor

Submitted by Praful Patel on Tue, 03/04/2008 - 09:27

Four hundred million people--if it were a country, it would be the third largest in the world--rely on the Ganges River and its tributaries for their livelihood.    Six thousand rivers provide a perennial source of irrigation and power to one of the world’s most densely populated and poorest areas.  The Himalayas, “the water tower of the Ganges,” provide 45 percent of the annual flow.  These facts represent the potential payoffs to the populations of Bangladesh, India and Nepal as well as the threat that climate change poses to poor and already &lt