In addition to an immense health and human cost, COVID-19 (coronavirus) has brought about a severe economic downturn that has taken a toll on the living standards of millions of people worldwide,…

COVID-19 (coronavirus) has changed the way we live. It brought about human suffering and death and has taken a huge toll on the global economy. As of Nov. 11, 2020, about 51 million cases have…

Last October, I participated in End Poverty Day (EPD)  from the Zambia Country Office, where I had the opportunity to exchange with a host of young brilliant minds from Zambia and around the…

Today, the gender gap in education in middle and high-income countries has mostly disappeared. In some countries, girls outstrip boys in schooling outcomes, yet women earn about 16% less money per…

One of the challenges presented by the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) laid out in the UN 2030 Agenda is where to begin. Afrobarometer, which conducts public attitude surveys in…

Also available in: Français Entrepreneurs participating in the e-Takara competition to address specific challenges expressed by Nigerien public administrations. Credit: Niger Digital “The training…

When I was based in the field, I often noticed that many of the journalists working in Africa had not been specifically trained to report on development-related matters, which at times hobbled…

For the past few years, I have been fortunate enough to be the World Bank’s resident economist for Mauritius and Seychelles. With this now coming to an end, here are some especially striking…

Small differences in the time and cost to trade can determine whether or not a country participates in global value chains. In this respect, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation…

A growing number of students in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are enrolled in private primary or secondary schools. The World Development Report 2018 (on which I was a co-author) highlighted…