With climate change, extreme events are expected to be the “new normal” for many small island developing states. It will take coordination and action from multiple stakeholders to effectively…

Joaquin Toro, Kerri Cox |

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…

Sheila Dutta |

The 2017 Hurricane season was the most devastating season on record in terms of cost. For many, it was a stark reminder of how the entire economy of a small nation can be wiped out in a few hours…

Christelle Chapoy, Mariana Ceratti, Brune Andre |

This blog post was co-authored by Franz Drees-Gross, Director, Transport and ICT Global Practice, and Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, Senior Director, Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice.…

Franz Drees-Gross, Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez |

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…

Francisco G. Carneiro, Ha Minh Nguyen, Rei Odawara |

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…

Francisco G. Carneiro, Ha Minh Nguyen, Rei Odawara |

Also available in: Français | العربية   A boat trip from Port Elizabeth to Kingstown, in the Caribbean country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is a one-hour trip that locals take several…

Valerie Lorena |

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,…

Andrea Gallina |

Increased hurricane activity and rising sea levels are well-known effects of climate change, and they prompt solemn head-shaking when we read about them in reports. But in the Caribbean they are…

Herbert Samuel, Jonathan Coony |