Governments are under pressure to show their ever more educated and informed citizens that schools, hospitals and other public services are getting better. Traditionally, they have done that by…

Willy McCourt |

Also available in: Français│ Español I recently returned from a trip to West Africa during which I crossed the Benin-Nigeria border by car at the Seme border post. While waiting for our passports…

Cecile Fruman |

Source: UN On International Anti-corruption Day 2014, one of the issues we at the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative want to illustrate - is how recovering stolen assets helps fight corruption and…

Jean Pesme |

The Debate .asset-video strong{display:none} Governments in the Arab world have long subsidized the price of energy. This gives citizens throughout the region access to cheap petrol and diesel,…

Will Stebbins |

Your name is Sarah. You live in New York, or perhaps Nairobi, where you divide your time between caring for your young family and building a small business. Your life is more comfortable than your…

Caren Grown |

We are witnesses to the surge of tech startup ecosystems in cities around the world, in both developed and developing countries. In my previous blog post, I showed this trend and the studies that…

Victor Mulas |

If you think the summers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are hot—think again. Summers are likely to become much warmer. Global temperatures are rising; the question now is by how…

Maria Sarraf |

From left: Minister Idris Jala, Malaysia; William Dorotinsky, World Bank; Alberto Leyton, World Bank; Melanie Walker, World Bank.   In his recent presentation (video) at the World Bank, Minister…

William Dorotinsky, Joanna Watkins, Paula Suarez |

These days, if you are looking for a new cellphone and wondering which one to buy, there are many reliable sources to turn to: a recent copy of Consumer Reports is a good start, for one. But if…

Simon Thacker |

On the periphery of Lagos, Nigeria, lies Makoko, a burgeoning slum community perched on a lagoon. Residents live in makeshift homes on stilts made of collected wood and tarp, and get around…

Leila Rafei, Mahyar Eshragh Tabary |