Fluctuating food insecurity in the Sahel: how to help households absorb shocks

It is commonly thought that a shock affecting agricultural production will translate into food insecurity a few months later––during the next lean season. However, high-frequency data from the…

Emma Frankham, Jonas Heirman, Marcus Holmlund, Patrick Premand, Jennifer Waidler |
Agriculture and Food, Social Protection

Less-educated workers among the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

One year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the level of education became the main predictor of joblessness in Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, and Uganda. These four countries represent 34% of…

Ivette Maria Contreras-González, Gbemisola Oseni, Amparo Palacios-Lopez, Janneke Pieters, Michael Weber |
Competitiveness, Education, Financial Inclusion, Governance, Inequality and Shared Prosperity, Jobs & Development, Poverty, Social Protection

Price and weather shocks: results from the eighth round of the High-Frequency Phone Survey

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) continues data collection for the Uganda High-Frequency Phone Survey (UHFPS). The survey has been initially used to track the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-…

Aziz Atamanov, Frédéric Cochinard, John Ilukor, Talip Kilic, Giulia Ponzini |

Africa might have dodged a bullet, but systemic warnings abound for poverty reduction efforts on the continent

The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the largest global shocks in recent history, but it did not increase extreme poverty in Africa as it was feared it would. The reason may be a combination of things…

Kibrom A. Abay, Nishant Yonzan, Sikandra Kurdi, Kibrom Tafere |
Education, Fragility Conflict and Violence, Governance, Health, Inequality and Shared Prosperity, Poverty, Social Protection

The impact of gas flaring on child health in Nigeria

Most of the focus on the impact of flaring gas has been on the economic impacts, and its ability to harm human health has largely been ignored. This paper bridges this gap by linking data from…

Omoniyi Alimi, John Gibson |
Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Governance, Health, Poverty

Policy Research Working Paper series publication roundup for August 2022

This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group. It introduces five papers published in August 2022 on various topics, including COVID-19…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |
Climate Change, Financial Sector, Fragility Conflict and Violence, Gender, Governance, Health, Jobs & Development, Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management, Poverty

Policy Research Working Paper series publication roundup for July 2022

This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group that were published in the World Bank’s Policy Research Working Paper Series. This entry…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |
Agriculture and Food, Education, Financial Inclusion, Financial Sector, Gender, Social Protection

Learning from past research: Data-driven policy making during the pandemic

In this blog, we highlight two projects that leveraged data-driven policymaking processes and simulations.

Kerina Wang, KCP Program Management Unit (KCP PMU) |
Digital Development, Financial Sector, Health

Where are all the jobs? A machine learning approach for high resolution urban employment prediction

Detailed data on the spatial distribution of jobs is crucial, but such data are rarely available. This study develops a machine learning algorithm that relies on widely available public data to…

Paolo Avner, Jun Rentschler, Samira Barzin, Neave O'Clery |
Competitiveness, Financial Inclusion, Governance, Inequality and Shared Prosperity, Jobs & Development, Social Protection, Urban Development

Policy Research Working Paper series publication roundup for May 16- 31, 2022

This blog highlights recent working papers from around the World Bank Group published from May 16 to May 31 on various topics, including migration, public-private partnerships (PPPs), vaccine…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |
Agriculture and Food, Climate Change, Competitiveness, Financial Inclusion, Fragility Conflict and Violence, Gender, Governance, Health, Infrastructure & Public-Private Partnerships, Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management, Poverty, Social Protection, Transport