Growth is good for the poor, but the impact of growth on poverty reduction depends on both the pace and the pattern of growth. A pattern of growth that enhances the ability of poor women and men to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from growth should not come at the expense of a slower...

The current global financial and economic crises are likely to put enormous pressure on governments to respond with immediate measures and to undertake far-reaching reforms in the medium term, requiring a substantial increase in donor support. To protect the poor and enhance benefits to them,...

This evaluation assesses the World Bank Group's effectiveness in supporting improved access to adequate, reliable, and sustained water and sanitation services in client countries. It also examines how well the Bank Group is equipped to support the countries in moving toward sustained water and...

Transformational engagements are a critical pillar of the World Bank Group's strategy for achieving its twin goals of extreme poverty elimination and shared prosperity. This learning product uses evaluative evidence from the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) to understand the mechanisms and...

This learning product draws upon existing IEG evaluations, project documents and analytical work relating to the World Bank Group's (WBG's) experience with supporting efforts towards the rapid scale up of off-grid electrification (pico-solar products, individual solar home systems, and micro and...

This IEG evaluation brings a fresh perspective to the debate by assessing the development effectiveness of the Bank's recent work. It presents evidence -- including views from the client countries themselves -- about the outcomes of the Bank's support to individual countries over the past 12...

This study assesses the development effectiveness of World Bank assistance in addressing constraints to agricultural development in Africa over the period of fiscal years 1991-2006. This Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) review of World Bank assistance to agriculture in Africa has a twofold...

This report analyzes the Bank's assistance to support pension reform to determine if the Bank's strategy was relevant and if it was followed. The evaluation assesses whether pension reform decisions reflected best practice guidelines at entry, and whether Bank-assisted reforms achieved their...

This evaluation presents an independent assessment of the Bank's support for financial sector reforms over the period FY93-03. It is the second part of a two-part evaluation; the first part of the assessment covered lines of credit. This volume focuses on Bank lending for financial sector...

The World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group examined the World Bank's experience in disaster prevention and response over the past 20 years and found that the scale of Bank operations has grown over the period. The report found that the Bank has demonstrated considerable flexibility in its...