Imagine a world where every girl and woman and can manage her periods with dignity and without hindering her education, health, sense of self-esteem, social mobility, and economic opportunities.…

Saroj Kumar Jha, Hana Brixi, Jaime Saavedra, Thorsten Kiefer |

South Asia, battered by three years of upheaval from the COVID-19 pandemic and spillovers from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, faces a combination of good and bad news for its economies. On the…

Jiemin Ren, Zoe Leiyu Xie |

A new World Bank report reveals how multiple crises have redefined the poverty landscape of Latin America and the Caribbean as urban areas and the middle class were sequentially affected

Ivan Gachet, Sergio Olivieri |

Investments in the early years have been proven to be among the most cost-effective ways of improving life outcomes and reducing inequality of opportunity. The recently-published Pakistan Human…

Amna Ansari, Amer Hasan |

The World Bank recognizes corruption as a serious problem. When it occurs, it not only undermines development progress. It has real costs for people across society. How can young people in Africa…

Daniel Nikolits |

The Indonesian government has achieved its aspiration to transition from a low-income to a middle-income country. Impressive development progress to date has allowed Indonesia to effectively…

Satu Kahkonen, Utz Pape, Rabia Ali |

Pakistan's growing working-age population can become healthier, more educated, more skilled, more productive. A recent study by the World Bank shows that Pakistan’s Human Capital Index (HCI)…

Lire Ersado, Koen Geven, Amer Hasan |

The blog explains the official poverty lines are what economists call weakly relative. They tend to increase the poverty standard from year to year. The international lines are absolute. They…

Utz Pape, Imam Setiawan, Putu Sanjiwacika Wibisana, Samuel Nursamsu |

Gender equality and fair treatment of women and girls is a moral imperative, but global data analytics, evidence and experience clearly demonstrate that including women also fosters economic…

Christopher Stephens |

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its second year, continues to upend the Europe and Central Asia region’s dynamic emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising food and fuel prices are hurting…

Ivailo Izvorski |