Gender parity in educational attainment may mask other important inequalities. (Photo: Vuong Hai Hoang / World Bank) In many ways, girls’ education is a success story in global development.…

Stephanie Psaki, Katharine McCarthy, Barbara Mensch |

Construction of a sky train in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: Seksan Pipattanatikanunt/World Bank In the past, procurement (purchasing) was not considered to be a specialist function but one of the…

Adu-Gyamfi Abunyewa |

What would bring together the China trade shock, road blocks in the West Bank, and the Belt and Road initiative? The 6th Annual IMF-World Bank-WTO Trade Research Conference, at which staff of the…

Ana Fernandes, Aaditya Mattoo |

(Photo: Steve Harris / World Bank) December 3 is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Every year, on this day, the international community comes together to take stock of the…

Amer Hasan, Elaine Ding, Ning Fu, Yilin Pan |

For many Pacific Island countries, natural disasters such as cyclones and tsunamis, are an all-too common occurrence. Out of the top 15 most at-risk countries for natural disasters globally, four…

Michael Bonte-Grapentin, Patrick Meier, Keiko Saito |

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 |

Available in Chinese Graphic: Nicholas Nam/World Bank The idea that economic growth needs good governance and good governance needs economic growth takes us to a perennial chicken-and-egg debate:…

Yuen Ang |

China: More Mobility with Fewer Cars through a GEF Grant Since our days in school, we have often been told to first define our terms before doing anything else. China is a country that does not…

Jasmine Susanna Tillu |

As one of over 20 million people who work and live in Beijing, China, I used to find commuting to work in rush-hour traffic rather painful. However, things have changed dramatically since last…

Wanli Fang |

This page in: Français Credit: Tracy Ben/ Shutterstock “At 14:28:04 on May 12, 2008, an 8.0 earthquake struck suddenly, shaking the earth, with mountains and rivers shifted, devastated, and parted…

Sameh Wahba, Luis Benveniste |