One objective of fiscal policy is to stabilize a country’s macroeconomic environment. Countercyclical fiscal measures intend to offset the effects of the economic cycle on a country’s economy. For…

Jose Luis Diaz Sanchez, Joana Monteiro da Mota |

The Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens the uneven recovery of East Asia and Pacific. The invasion comes on top of the economic distress caused by the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, the financial…

Aaditya Mattoo, Ekaterine T. Vashakmadze, Ergys Islamaj |

Today, on the occasion of the World Youth Skills Day , we are pleased to announce the winners of the Blog4Dev 2021 competition.

Hafez Ghanem, Ousmane Diagana |

The COVID-19 pandemic is devastating lives and livelihoods globally. Before the pandemic, the World Bank projected that 35 million people in East Asia and the Pacific would escape poverty in 2020…

Victoria Kwakwa |

“We are truly free, and as long as the tractor is working and helping us generate income, there’s no going back.” On my recent trip to Chad, I was impressed by the optimism and confidence of women…

Annette Dixon |

In March 2019, the World Bank and several other development organizations launched “Stand For Her Land, ” a global advocacy campaign that aims to realize women’s equal access to land and…

Wael Zakout |

East Asia Pacific’s (EAP) strong economic performance over the past few decades has significantly benefited and empowered women in the region, bringing better health and education and greater…

Victoria Kwakwa |

Students at Beijing Bayi High School in China. Photo: World Bank In 1950, the average working-age person in the world had  almost three years of education, but in East Asia and Pacific (EAP), the…

Michael Crawford |

A collection of photos in the Champassak provincial office of Électricité du Laos shows the blue-shirted employees in action. Photo: Naazneen Barma/The World Bank The hallways of the Électricité…

Naazneen Barma |

From August 2002, just months after Timor-Leste gained independence, to April 2006, I was the World Bank’s Country Manager for Timor-Leste and thus eyewitness to an unfolding state-building…

Elisabeth Huybens |