More than a decade has passed since the global economic and financial crisis rocked the world. A clear lesson that emerged from it was the importance of identifying and addressing country-specific vulnerabilities ex ante to build resilience when a shock occurs. The 2020 global economic and...

Cities will be home to 2 billion new residents by 2045, and the pressure to develop land in and around cities is growing. This will pose a great challenge to lower-income cities since they tend to grow through slums and other informal settlements. Slum residents have inadequate and inequitable...

This first-of-its-kind evaluation assesses the scope of the World Bank Group's convening power and how effectively it is deployed. The report finds that the Bank Group's comparative advantages give it strong convening power that it uses on many development issues. In so doing, it meets the...

The Clean Energy Transition-the pathway for decarbonizing global energy-is essential to foster inclusive and sustainable growth while addressing climate change. Based on EIA forecasts, IEG estimates that annual global financing for RE needs to double, from USD 300 billion to USD 600 billion...

This evaluation seeks to inform the World Bank's efforts to support client countries to deliver sustainable irrigation and drainage services and achieve development impacts. The results of this evaluation can help the World Bank improve strategic approaches in an evolving context. Irrigation...

The international development community acknowledges that the SDGs will not be achieved without greater participation from the private sector. Estimates for investment needs in developing countries alone range from USD 3.3 trillion to USD 4.5 trillion per year. Up to 70 percent of the investment...

The evaluation examines the development effectiveness of the World Bank Group's support for trade facilitation and identifies lessons for future engagement. The World Bank Group has played a leading role in trade facilitation reform over the past 12 years, having identified lowering trade costs...

This evaluation examines the World Bank Group's evolving experience in building resilience in urban areas during the period 2007-17. The focus of this evaluation is the World Bank Group's support to clients in building urban resilience-to cope, recover, adapt and transform-in the face of shocks...

World Bank Group strategy continues to position SMEs as key vehicles to promote employment, value chain development, economic and social inclusion, and resilience in the face of fragility and conflict. This note synthesizes findings regarding SMEs and SME support from recent IEG evaluations,...