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 |

While countries should take advantage of the apparel industry to bring more women in the labor force, they also need policies to tackle barriers that prevent women from pursuing careers.

Stacey Frederick, Gladys Lopez-Acevedo, Raymond Robertson, Mexico Vergara |

Institutions matter for growth and prosperity, today more than ever. What specific set of institutions are optimal or desirable for economic growth? Do countries need to build strong institutions…

Alma Kanani, Marco Larizza |

A class of 4 year olds and their teacher say namaste in rural Nepal.
Photo © Aisha Faquir/World Bank

Amanda Devercelli, Jaime Saavedra |

Illicit trade in tobacco products undermines global tobacco prevention and control interventions, particularly with respect to tobacco tax policy. From a public health perspective, illicit trade…

Sheila Dutta |

At the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund in Bali, Indonesia, the World Bank highlighted the importance of human capital for economic development.   Central to…

Julia Liberman, Rachel Cooper, Victoria Levin |

Juan and his sisters proudly show their identification. © Daniel Silva Yoshisato/World Bank Peru has placed so much emphasis on the importance of identification that it has created a museum…

Samia Melhem, Mia Harbitz |