Research and surveys consistently show that firms do not rank tax incentives as the primary reason for choosing where to invest. Instead, political and macroeconomic stability, the legal…

Viet Anh Nguyen, Hassan Zaman |

Blog about how the global crises and uncertainty are testing the economic resilience of the Western Balkans. And what the governments across the region should consider in order to build greater…

Sanja Madzarevic-Sujster, Richard Record, Natasha Rovo |

The rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases is pressuring countries and health systems in the Caribbean at a rate of epidemic proportions.

Lilia Burunciuc, Timothy Antoine |

Just as the economies of the Western Balkans were looking to sustain a recovery from the shock of COVID-19, the region now faces a new combination of challenges. The war in Ukraine, the resulting…

Sanja Madzarevic-Sujster, Richard Record |

Whenever the share of industry in the economy starts waning, industrial expansion often becomes a component of the growth policies. This blog analyzes if and how targeting labor market barriers…

Rishabh Sinha |

The Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens the uneven recovery of East Asia and Pacific. The invasion comes on top of the economic distress caused by the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, the financial…

Aaditya Mattoo, Ekaterine T. Vashakmadze, Ergys Islamaj |

COVID-19 vaccination rates are low in PNG; in fact, some of – if not, the – lowest in East Asia Pacific. Supply of vaccines was an issue at first, and issues with health infrastructure are an…

Christopher Hoy, Terence Wood, Ellen Moscoe |

As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2021, we are about a year into an unprecedented health and economic crisis that has destroyed lives and livelihoods globally and in the East Asia and…

Victoria Kwakwa |

Since early May 2020, many countries in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region have conducted high-frequency household phone surveys to monitor the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 and to inform…

Lydia (Ypsse) Kim, Maria Ana Lugo, Ikuko Uochi |