With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), world leaders made a bold pledge in 2015 to leave no one behind on the path of development by 2030. Half-way to the target date, some 22 countries…

Samuel Kofi Tetteh Baah, Christoph Lakner, Umar Serajuddin |

As we marked World Poverty Day on October 17th, a blog published recently by World Bank staff highlights that poverty has finally receded to pre-COVID pandemic levels, which in essence means we…

Nadir Mohammed, Laura Moreno Herrera, Salman Zaidi |

As we keep hearing the term “inflation” in the news every day, it’s worth revisiting what that really means for MENA countries. Here are four policies that tackle high inflation and low growth…

Nadir Mohammed, Kevin Carey, Johannes Hoogeveen, Gladys Lopez-Acevedo |

This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group. It introduces five papers published from March 16 to March 31 on various topics, including…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |

The COVID-19 pandemic created a huge crisis, but also an opportunity for MENA countries to build more adaptive, resilient, inclusive social protection systems. There are many lessons to draw from…

Ferid Belhaj |

From public transit quality to land use patterns, there are many factors that may impact people's ability to access essential services like healthcare or education. A new World Bank study…

Aiga Stokenberga, Karla Dominguez Gonzalez |

The Middle East and North African countries cannot wait until the end of the pandemic to begin rebuilding the post-COVID region.

Ferid Belhaj, Nadir Mohammed |

© Sarah Farhat/World Bank One of the encouraging signs that I pick up whenever I travel is the difference that technology is making to the lives of millions of marginalized people. In most cases…

Kristalina Georgieva |

About this series More blog posts The social inclusion of disadvantaged groups is necessary for reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity, said government representatives, experts, and civil…

Lauri Sivonen |