Global competition to attract foreign and domestic direct investment is so high that nearly all countries offer incentives (such as tax holidays, customs duty exemptions and subsidized loans) to…

Harald Jedlicka, Yassin Sabha |

The former Yugoslavia was mainly known for its not-so-successful and cheap cars, primarily the Yugo. In its review of the 50 worst cars of all time, Time magazine referred to the Yugo GV as the “…

John Mackedon, Lazar Šestović |

The invitation for new SAFE Trust Fund applications is now open until 7 March 2016What is SAFE?

Soukeyna Kane |

Photo credit: Data Logistics Center In January, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania finished the five-year construction of the Baltic Highway – a broadband backbone network that takes advantage of fiber…

Natalija Gelvanovska-Garcia, Zhenia Viatchaninova Dalphond |

The SAFE Trust Fund application (Word document) is now open until 27 February 2015.  What is SAFE?   SAFE means Strengthening Accountability and the Fiduciary Environment. It is a Trust Fund group…

Soukeyna Kane |

Also available in Français | Español | 中文 In January, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim urged the audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos to look closely at a young, promising form of…

Heike Reichelt, Alexandra Klöpfer |

In September, the world’s top scientists said the human influence on climate was clear. Last month, they warned of increased risks of a rapidly warming planet to our economies, environment, food…

Rachel Kyte |

Editor's Note: "Notes From the Field" is an occasional feature where we let World Bank professionals conducting interesting trade-related projects around the globe explain some of…

Kaori Niina, Miles McKenna |

The countries of the Western Balkans – which include the states of the former Yugoslavia, along with Albania – are not exactly world-famous for their entrepreneurial spirit. Yet if you look at…

Jeanette Thomas |

A few years ago I had the pleasure of swimming in a big, heated pool. Outdoors. In winter. It sounds like an unaffordable luxury, and in most places, it is. But in Iceland, you can swim all year…

David Lawrence |