Global growth is projected to be slightly faster in 2020 than the post-crisis low registered last year. While growth could be stronger if reduced trade tensions lead to a sustained reduction in uncertainty, the balance of risks to the outlook is to the downside. Growth in emerging market and...

To meet carbon emissions targets, more than 30 countries have committed to boosting production of renewable resources from biological materials andconvert them into products such as food, animal feedand bioenergy. In a post-fossil-fuel world, an increasingproportion of chemicals, plastics,...

This background paper describes five different tools that can be used for the assessment of tax incentives by governments in low income countries' (LICs). The first tool (an application of cost-benefit analysis) provides an overarching framework for assessment. Evaluations of the various costs...

Experience shows that there is often ample room for more effective and efficient use of investment tax incentives in low-income countries. Tax incentives generally rank low in investment climate surveys in low-income countries, and there are many examples in which they are reported to be...

Guinea's ITC sector, the pilot project for the establishment of a national digital identification system must be more clearly defined; clarification is required regarding the status of the project signed at the end of March 2015, for the establishment of a civil registry and the production of...

Cities in the developing world are rapidly expanding, boosting countries' economies, reducing poverty, and fueling global prosperity. But as more people, assets, and economic activity become concentrated in cities, and infrastructure struggles to keep up with rapid growth, the risk posed by...

This paper presents the main findings of the 2017 survey on national development banks that the World Bank conducted in collaboration with the World Federation of Development Financing Institutions. Sixty-four development banks from different parts of the world, mainly from middle-income...

Recent policy measures have contributed to macroeconomic stability. However, with significant risks stemming from both domestic and external fronts, the balance of risks is tilted towards downside. To sustain growth, create more and better jobs and reduce poverty Sri Lanka needs to implement and...

Solomon Islands is a small, remote archipelago in the South Pacific that faces a fairly unique set of development challenges. Solomon Islands is now at a critical juncture in its development trajectory. Neither the economic geography nor the present political economy of Solomon Islands is...

There is a need to further examine and enhance knowledge concerning the relationship among El Nino and La Nina cycles, drought events, and grain production in the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Kazakhstan (RUK) region, which accounts for more than one third of total wheat exports. This report...