How can finance ministries take part in climate action? Let us outline some of the key areas where they can play a role and methods to promote legislation to contribute to national commitments.…

Jens Kromann Kristensen, Laura De Castro Zoratto, Nadir Mohammed |

This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group. It introduces six papers published from April 16 to April 30 on various topics, including…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |

Low learning levels are putting the future of Iraqi children and, as a result, the future of the whole country at risk. The development of human capital, necessary for sustainable economic growth…

Nathalie Lahire, Xiaonan Cao, Elisabeth Sedmik |

The war in Ukraine could not have come at a worse time, eroding global economic prospects as much of the world struggles to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the immediate impacts of the…

Mari Elka Pangestu |

In 2017, the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WeFi) program, a global initiative aimed to support women’s entrepreneurship was launched with a simple target. It seemed rather simple at…

Benjamin Herzberg, Oubah A. Malow |

The rapid evolution of the war in Ukraine and its horrendous humanitarian consequences caught many of us by surprise. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is unfortunately prone to such…

Ferid Belhaj |

The challenges of digital inclusion faced in MENA region are intertwined with social issues like poverty, conflict, gender inequality, forced migration and lack of access to basic services.…

Bertha Mwakapenda, Hamdi Karakal, Jemilehin Funmilayo, Narissa Jeffrey |

Public sectors in MENA have struggled to reform for decades. Public sector employees account for 25% of total employment across the region and public sector salaries represent 32% of total…

Izzah Akram Malik, Jens Kromann Kristensen |

As he does every morning, Ragueh welcomes children at Nelson Mandela school in the refugee village of Ali Addeh. Teachers like Ragueh, who himself was a refugee student, are vital to Djibouti’s…

Bridget Crumpton, Nicholas Hans Buhne |

As we commemorate the #16 Days of Activism campaign for yet another year, it is clear that no time should be lost in taking comprehensive and concrete action against the many forms of Gender-Based…

Ferid Belhaj, Ayat Soliman, Mirjam Kalle |