Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Rapid increase in defaults poses a threat to financial stability of the two economies. From a social standpoint, excessive debt can decrease households’ disposable…

Fernando Dancausa, Martin Melecky |

State-owned financial institutions (SOFIs) are often associated with poor corporate governance, political interference, crowding out of private sector resources, higher non-performing loans (NPLs…

Gunhild Berg, Mario Guadamillas |

Catastrophe bonds, also known as #catbonds, brings diversification to investment portfolios and provides robust performance in good and bad times. What could a cat bond for a Central Asian country…

Naomi Cooney, Daniel McGree, Martin Melecky, Tatiana Skalon |

Banking supervisors in Central Asia need to be prepared for a potentially sharp rise in NPLs. A recent World Bank policy paper assesses the NPL resolution framework in four Central Asian countries…

Emiko Todoroki, Ismael Ahmad Fontan, Fernando Dancausa, Maksym Iavorskyi |

In a striking example, Albania has shown how the tourism sector can drive economic development. Following the country’s turbulent economic and political transition in the 1990s, tourism was…

Raha Shahidsaless, Fernando Blanco, Stefka Slavova, Laureta Qorlazja |

What happens if Kazakh oil and fossil fuel extractive industries cannot refinance their debt in the greening offshore markets? And what could be the implications of that for the country’s just…

Ismael Ahmad Fontan, Davide Salvatore Mare, Martin Melecky |

Learn more about the potential of the sovereign green, social and sustainability bond market to mobilize private capital.

Farah Imrana Hussain, Helena Dill, Banu Turhan Kayaalp |

The 4th World Bank Tax Conference exposed the magnitude of the challenge to build equitable tax systems via policies that improve compliance of the very wealthy. This blog highlights a summary of…

Pierre Bachas, Chiara Bronchi, Thiago Scot, Claudia Vargas |

Kazakhstan can set the foundations for green finance that would serve its carbon emission goals—helping to ensure a more sustainable and inclusive future for all Kazakhstanis.

Ismael Ahmad Fontan, Martin Melecky |

In this blog, we highlight two projects that leveraged data-driven policymaking processes and simulations.

Kerina Wang, KCP Program Management Unit (KCP PMU) |