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 |

Are climate change adaptation efforts inclusive of persons with disabilities? A World Bank team draws on original fieldwork and interviews in Uzbekistan to document a range of social…

Adam Auerbach, Audrey Sacks, Dilmurad Yusupov |

Discover how Central Asian countries are using regional data and knowledge to enhance their disaster preparedness.

Chyi-Yun Huang, Stephan Zimmermann, Stuart Fraser |

Learn how air pollution is part of a feedback loop amplifying climate impacts and how policy action can significantly reduce air pollution, improve health, and generate employment opportunities at…

Sanjay Srivastava, Elena Strukova-Golub, Sameer Akbar, Paola Agostini |

Drylands in Central Asia are among the most rapidly degrading and climate-vulnerable areas worldwide. Desertification caused by climate change and human activities has led to land degradation,…

Banu Setlur, Paola Agostini, Brenden Jongman |

Though many trials on the effectiveness of financial incentives are encouraging, they may not generalize in novel contexts.

William Seitz |

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 |

Getting the balance right at the water-energy nexus is already a challenge, and the climate crisis is only expected to exacerbate this, especially in Central Asia.

Tatiana Proskuryakova, Winston Yu |

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 |

Globally, women earn about 80% of what men earn on average. But the gap is larger in Central Asia: working women earn about 60% of what men earn in Tajikistan, 61% in Uzbekistan, 75% in the Kyrgyz…

Tatiana Proskuryakova, William Seitz |