Digital public infrastructure can enable essential society-wide functions and services such as identification, payments, and data exchange.

Vyjayanti T Desai, Jonathan Marskell, Georgina Marin, Minita Varghese |

This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group. It introduces 4 papers published from December 1-15 on various topics, including the impact of…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |

I had the privilege recently to spend an unscheduled hour of discussion with a group of young Tunisians who were visiting our offices. As often, on these occasions it is hard not to get captured…

Antonius Verheijen |

Myanmar in 2012, when we started our financial sector engagement, and Myanmar today seem like two different worlds. Back then, sim cards cost close to US$500, visitors carried wads of crisp, new…

Nagavalli Annamalai |

 Photo © Dominic Chavez/World Bank Performance budgeting (PB) has a deep and enduring appeal. What government would not want to allocate resources in a way that fosters efficiency, effectiveness,…

Donald Moynihan, Ivor Beazley |

Policymakers often associate competitiveness with real exchange rates. Not too long ago, firms in Southern European countries attributed their difficulties to compete in global markets with a…

Gonzalo Varela, Stefania Lovo |

To reinvigorate growth in Europe, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi called for more common projects in the European Union (EU). And he emphasized that these efforts need to meet a set…

Doerte Doemeland, Arup Banerji, Sanja Madzarevic-Sujster |