While MENA has made strides in improving women and girls’ health, much more needs to be done. Understanding the impact of conflict on women and girls is critical for designing both preventive…

Fadia Saadah, Sameera Al Tuwaijri |

Most workers in developing countries are in informal employment-- that is, a job that does not come with social security benefits and leaving them with limited means to manage risks to their…

Nadir Mohammed, Roberta Gatti, Marco Ranzani, Gladys Lopez-Acevedo, Nistha Sinha, Adam Elsheikhi |

Of the region’s 450 million people, nearly two-thirds, almost 300 million people, are under the age of 35. Unfortunately, this vast human resource is highly “untapped,” and nearly 80 percent of…

Anna Bjerde |

© ThickStock.com/Getty Images The first green bond issued by the World Bank 10 years ago created the blueprint for today’s US$500+ billion labeled bond market. This blog post looks at how green…

Heike Reichelt |

It is an unfortunate but fact of life that Indonesia often deals with the impacts of natural disasters. It was sadly evident again this week when I arrived in Jakarta to the unfolding disaster…

Philippe H. Le Houérou |

People in Saint-Louis, Senegal. © Ibrahima BA Sané/World Bank [[tweetable]]Massive investment is needed to meet the ambitious goal of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity by 2030…

Hartwig Schafer |

Also available in: Arabic | French National Bank of Abu Dhabi, UAE. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Gulf banking markets may have entered an important phase of consolidation, with the potential to…

Pietro Calice |

Understanding macroeconomic volatility part 3Read parts 1 & 2
There’s good evidence that a country’s level of financial development affects the impact of volatility on economic growth,…

Francisco G. Carneiro, Ha Minh Nguyen, Rei Odawara |

Understanding Macroeconomic Volatility: Part 2 The fact is that a government can soften a recession by increasing spending (the counter-cyclical approach) to raise demand and output. If government…

Francisco G. Carneiro, Ha Minh Nguyen, Rei Odawara |