The experience of Bangladesh is a microcosm of the larger trend in global extreme poverty. Several countries at various levels of development have shown in the last few decades that it is possible…

Photo: LIC/Flickr No matter how you measure it, the impact of air pollution is startling. According to new research, air pollution worldwide cuts life expectancy by 1.8 years for an average person…

Despite years of fiscal decentralization, not many countries have been able to quantify the size and structure of the economies at the decentralized units. To our knowledge, only South Africa has…

Students line up to wash their hands before eating at Kanda Estate Primary School in Accra, Ghana. Photo © Dominic Chavez/World Bank Human capital, that is the set of skills, health and knowledge…

The traditional route of industrialization for developing countries may no longer be available for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This should not be a source of regret, as the…

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…

How can data be used to improve disease outbreak warning, urban planning, air quality, or agricultural production? Seven winning projects, which will receive support from the third round of…

Globally, 56 percent of children live in countries with Human Capital Index (HCI) scores below 0.5. As these countries gear up to improve their human capital outcomes, it is vital to set a target…

In the Africa Chief Economist’s Office, we seek to generate knowledge on key development issues around the continent. We also host the Gender Innovation Lab, which – as the name suggests –…