Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Rapid increase in defaults poses a threat to financial stability of the two economies. From a social standpoint, excessive debt can decrease households’ disposable…

Fernando Dancausa, Martin Melecky |

Catastrophe bonds, also known as #catbonds, brings diversification to investment portfolios and provides robust performance in good and bad times. What could a cat bond for a Central Asian country…

Naomi Cooney, Daniel McGree, Martin Melecky, Tatiana Skalon |

Banking supervisors in Central Asia need to be prepared for a potentially sharp rise in NPLs. A recent World Bank policy paper assesses the NPL resolution framework in four Central Asian countries…

Emiko Todoroki, Ismael Ahmad Fontan, Fernando Dancausa, Maksym Iavorskyi |

What happens if Kazakh oil and fossil fuel extractive industries cannot refinance their debt in the greening offshore markets? And what could be the implications of that for the country’s just…

Ismael Ahmad Fontan, Davide Salvatore Mare, Martin Melecky |

Kazakhstan can set the foundations for green finance that would serve its carbon emission goals—helping to ensure a more sustainable and inclusive future for all Kazakhstanis.

Ismael Ahmad Fontan, Martin Melecky |

Kazakhstan needs to work hard to boost its productivity to reach its ambition of high-income status by 2050, and to join the ranks of the 30 most developed countries.

Mariana Iootty, Martin Melecky |

Improving revenue administration could play in strengthening domestic resource mobilization while supporting sustainable forest management.

Amanda Robbins, Emily Kallaur |

[[tweetable]]​In a packed World Bank board room on April 13, 2019, Finance Ministers from over 20 countries came together as part of a Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action. [[/…

Ceyla Pazarbasioglu |

Also available in: Français | العربية   A boat trip from Port Elizabeth to Kingstown, in the Caribbean country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is a one-hour trip that locals take several…

Valerie Lorena |