Central Asia’s future as a supplier of agri-products and livestock will depend on how food producers and processors in the region respond to the increased quality and safety demands of consumers,…

Did you know that in Kazakhstan we live in the country with the deadliest roads? Every year,  3, 000 people die on roads in Kazakhstan, and over 30, 000 are injured. Imagine if an airplane crashed…

It has been almost four years since I first became involved with the regional public-private dialogue initiative, the Caribbean Growth Forum (CGF). In June 2012, I walked into the conference room…

Understanding Macroeconomic Volatility: Part 2 The fact is that a government can soften a recession by increasing spending (the counter-cyclical approach) to raise demand and output. If government…

Volatility in financial markets gets wide attention in the public eye. Less noticed is what we in the development world call macroeconomic volatility—faster-than-desired swings in the broad forces…

Street scene in Delmas, Haiti “Plantain nu eat like rice” — a Caribbean saying roughly translated as “Make do with what is available to you” — applies to the region’s experience with public-…

The SAFE Trust Fund application (Word document) is now open until 27 February 2015.  What is SAFE?   SAFE means Strengthening Accountability and the Fiduciary Environment. It is a Trust Fund group…

It’s hard to get a break in the Europe and Central Asia region, it seems – even a short one. Hit hard by the troubles in the Eurozone at the beginning of the decade, emerging and developing…

What does it take to make reforms work in small island countries? At the end of June 2013, twelve Caribbean countries presented a roadmap for growth in three areas -logistics and connectivity,…

Editor's Note: "Notes From the Field" is an occasional feature where we let World Bank professionals conducting interesting trade-related projects around the globe explain some of…