Urban heating demand in Liaoning has grown rapidly, due to rising incomes, housing sector growth, and privatization of housing. During the past decade, demand increased at an annual growth rate of 14 percent. Heating supply has been unable to keep pace with this surging demand. Small coal-fired...

In response to a request from the Government of Egypt, the World Bank undertook the analysis of selected sectoral issues in education and health. The objective of the analytical task was to inform policies to enhance human development impact of social sector expenditures in line with Egypt's new...

Inequality of opportunity : what it is, how it can be measured, and why it matters -- A human opportunity index for children -- Uses and policy applications of the human opportunity index -- Inequality of economic opportunity in seven Latin American countries -- Inequality of opportunity in...

Iraq was plunged into two simultaneous crises in the second half of 2014, one driven by a sharp decline in oil prices, the other, by Islamic State militants. Since June 2014, crude oil prices per barrel have fallen from around 112 USD to 97 USD in September and 62 USD by December. Given Iraq's...

Vietnam has achieved remarkable success in reducing poverty while controlling inequality. The country's broad-based growth reflects the government's focus on developing labor-intensive export sectors while investing heavily in human capital that saw the country exceed its peers. However, gains...

This education report is a compliment to the 2017 World Bank led Armenia Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD), which focuses on how to improve shared prosperity and reduce poverty in Armenia. This report collates information from recent education studies addressing issues with skills development...

Reducing poverty and inequality continues to be an important national priority in Namibia. Vision 2030 - the country's guiding development strategy - has a subordinate vision that points to several goals: "Poverty is reduced to the minimum, the existing pattern of income-distribution is...

FYR Macedonia has experienced a decline in poverty in the post global financial crisis period (2009-2013) in spite of a weak macroeconomic performance. In contrast to the pre-crisis period when growth was robust but poverty stagnant, poverty indicators indicate an improvement on the living...