The World Bank - Working for a world free of poverty

Views menu

April 2008

International Poverty Centre's resources

Submitted by Ignacio Hernandez on Wed, 04/30/2008 - 16:27

UNDP's International Poverty Centre (IPC) has created a new section in their website where all their publications are easily accessible, listed by country and region.

Today is the World Malaria Day

Submitted by Ignacio Hernandez on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 16:51

The World Malaria Day raises awareness about this devastating disease which:

  • Kills more than one million people every year – most of them children under age five and pregnant women.
  • Kills nearly 3,000 children every day.
  • Is estimated to cost Africa about US$12 billion annually in lost gross domestic product (GDP), slowing GDP growth by as much as 1.3 percent per year.
  • Is a preventable and treatable disease – half of these deaths could be avoided.

Check out the World Bank's Booster Program for Malaria Control in Africa

 

Fridays Academy: Gender and Economic Growth

Submitted by Ignacio Hernandez on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 12:29

From  Raj Nallari and Breda Griffith's lecture notes.

Gender Inequalities and Economic Growth

At the outset, we expect a simultaneous relationship between gender inequality and economic growth. Stotsky (2006) states that “gender disparities lead to weaker economic growth and that stronger economic growth leads to reduced gender disparities” (p. 17). “Growth may affect gender inequalities by breaking down barriers to women’s work participation, by reducing the time spent in the home on non-market labor, and by changing institutional mores. We will examine basic statistical evidence, followed by theoretical evidence and finally empirical studies that develop a model that includes growth and gender equality.

 

Statistical relationships between gender inequalities and economic growth

Fridays Academy: Gender and Macroeconomics

Submitted by Ignacio Hernandez on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 10:09

As usual on Fridays, from  Raj Nallari and Breda Griffith's lecture notes.

 

Savings

Stotsky (2006) notes that gender relations may also impact savings behavior, most certainly at the level of the household but also domestically, internationally and with regard to preferences for risk-taking.  At the level of the economy, gender-based differences influence domestic savings with implications for investment and economic growth.  Furthermore, investment behavior arising from gender-based differences in savings may have implications for exports and imports.

World Development Indicators 08

Submitted by Ignacio Hernandez on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 16:00

The World Development Indicators (WDI 08) publication was launched last Friday. This is the World Bank's premier annual compilation of data about development. The 2008 WDI includes more than 900 indicators organized in 6 sections: World View, People, Environment, Economy, States and Markets, and Global Links.

Watch the Press Conference

Fridays Academy: Gender and Macroeconomics

Submitted by Ignacio Hernandez on Fri, 04/11/2008 - 08:48

From  Raj Nallari and Breda Griffith's lecture notes.

 

Gender Inequalities and Consumption (cont.)

Internet course: Trade Facilitation for Export Diversification in Small and Medium South Asian Countries

Submitted by Ignacio Hernandez on Thu, 04/10/2008 - 16:54

This one-week Internet course is targeted specifically at trade practitioners in small or medium South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka, Pakistan, and Maldives). Its goal is to provide useful insights and better understanding of trade facilitation, transit, and logistics constraints preventing optimal  export diversification in  those countries.

Course description

Apply on-line. Deadline to apply is April 18th.

 

 

 

More on Climate Change

Submitted by Ignacio Hernandez on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 12:07

The April Issue of the World Bank Institute's magazine Development Outreach is out. It features a special report on Climate Change. You can access it on-line.

For more information on Climate Change, check also the World Bank's website.

 

Kenneth Arrow on Climate Change

Submitted by Ignacio Hernandez on Mon, 04/07/2008 - 10:59

Economic studies and theories on discounting and uncertainty hope to determine the relative costs and benefits of climate change in the future. Nobel laureate Kenneth Arrow shared his views on discounting for projects that have payoffs in the deep and uncertain future, at a presentation at the World Bank last week. Also Nobel Prize winner Thomas Schelling provided critical commentary.

Watch the video

Fridays Academy: Gender and Macroeconomics

Submitted by Ignacio Hernandez on Fri, 04/04/2008 - 12:03

As usual on Fridays, from  Raj Nallari and Breda Griffith's lecture notes.

 

 Gender Inequalities and Consumption

Stotsky (2006) identifies two particular strands to the research on the effects of gender on consumption behavior. The first notes that women have a stronger preference for spending on goods and services that contribute to the human capital of their children. The implications suggest that in households where women control the resources, more will be spent on education, health and nutrition. Men and women frequently have very different priorities when it comes to expenditure. Quisuimbing and McClafferty (2006) note that studies in the 1980s suggest that men and women systematically spend income under their control in different ways. Both authors also note that “the most consistent effect across countries is that resources controlled by women tend to increase expenditure shares on education relative to resources controlled by men” (p. 11).  The table below summarizes some of the findings from the literature.

  

Gender effects on household compsumption behaviour

Internet course: Export Development and Diversification

Submitted by Ignacio Hernandez on Wed, 04/02/2008 - 15:33

 The World Bank Institute's Trade Program is organizing an E-learning course on Export Development and Diversification.

9 modules concentrated in 5 weeks, starting on may 5th, 2008.

Apply on-line. Deadline to apply is April 18th.

Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA)

Submitted by Ignacio Hernandez on Tue, 04/01/2008 - 17:38

April issue of the International Poverty Centre's Poverty in Focus is dedicated to Poverty and Social Impact Analysis.  PSIA: Gauging Poverty Impacts.

If you want to learn more about PSIA, check also the World Bank's PSIA website.

Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) and Poverty Impact Assessment (PIA) are recently developed tools for analysing the distributional impacts of policies, programmes and projects on the wellbeing of the population, with particular focus on the poor and vulnerable. Both approaches provide a comprehensive framework for analysis while drawing on a wide range of well established approaches and tools covering economic, social, political and institutional issues. The International Poverty Centre (IPC) is administering a joint UNDP-World Bank Project on PSIA. The overall objective is to promote capacities in developing countries for analytical work on the impact of national policies and use these results to influence poverty reduction strategies. This involves adjusting policy design in light of the impact of policies on poor women and men, and providing evidence to inform national policy dialogue.