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 |

This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group. It introduces 4 papers published from December 1-15 on various topics, including the impact of…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |

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 |

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 |

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 |

Facing one of the lowest fertility rates in the European Union (EU), the Government of Poland introduced a new family benefit program that had two objectives: encourage fertility and reduce child…

Karolina Goraus-Tańska, Gabriela Inchauste |

  Rzeszow, Poland. (Photo by Terra Libera via Flickr Creative Commons) On May 31 we had the pleasure of presenting the first phase of the Poland Catching-up Regions Program, an initiative of the…

Anna Wellenstein, David Sislen |

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 |

"We’re the nation that just had six of our scientists and researchers win Nobel Prizes—and every one of them was an immigrant, " U.S. President Barack Obama recently said after the Nobel…

Bassam Sebti |

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has witnessed a surge of conflict and economic uncertainty and, while the causes of conflict vary, there is no ambiguity about the negative impact it has on…

Aziz Atamanov, Nandini Krishnan |