International migration, the movement of people across international boundaries to improve economic opportunity, has enormous implications for growth and welfare in both origin and destination countries. An important benefit to developing countries is the receipt of remittances or transfers from...

This report examines the fiscal prospects of major units of sub-national government in the voivodship (province) of Mazowieckie and proposes a series of reforms in recurrent spending and capital investment planning. Mazowieckie, the seat of Warsaw, is the heart of the Polish economy. While...

The global economic crisis seriously threatens the economic growth and poverty reduction that Armenia achieved in recent years. The most recent data indicate that the economy is now shrinking, with prospects worsening in 2009 and 2010 when the full impact of the crisis is expected to unfold....

There are visible signs that the global financial crisis is affecting economic growth and poverty reduction in Bulgaria. After a period of strong economic growth through 2008, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009 is projected to shrink by 3.5 percent due to the crisis, with important...

This evaluation assesses the quality of the World Bank's early response to the COVID-19 crisis and the initial steps toward recovery, focusing on the health and social response. It concentrates on the relief stage and support to restructure systems in the first 15 months of the pandemic...

This note provides an update on the WBG's COVID-19 Crisis Response, outlined in June 2020 to help developing countries address the impacts of the pandemic while maintaining a line of sight to long-term development goals. It comprises five short sections: (I) the impacts of COVID-19 and...

Alcohol abuse is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Alcohol abuse is responsible for 4 percent of global deaths and disability, nearly as much as tobacco and five times the burden of illicit drugs (WHO). In developing countries with low mortality, alcohol is the leading...

The World Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) assess the conduciveness of a country's policy and institutional framework to poverty reduction, sustainable growth, and the effective use of development assistance. It plays an important role in the country performance ratings...