"The benefits of financial development and globalization have come with continuing fragility in financial sectors. Periodic crises have had real but heterogeneous welfare impacts and not just for poor people; indeed, some of the conditions that foster deep and persistent poverty, such as lack of...

This volume presents a set of Policy Notes prepared by the World Bank's Brazil Team with partners during 2002 as a contribution for the debate of policies by the new federal and state governments elected in October 2002. The objectives of making these Policy Notes available to a broader audience...

Twenty years of rapid economic development in Ghana has done little, if anything, to reduce the historical North, South divide in standards of living. While rural development and urbanization have led to significant poverty reduction in the South, similar dynamics have been largely absent from...

This study, a draft of which was shared with the Government of Ghana in November 2009, provides a basic diagnostic of the benefit incidence and targeting performance of a large number of social programs in Ghana. Both broad-based programs (such as spending for education and health, and subsidies...

This note provides an overview of demographic changes in Azerbaijan and their policy implications. Azerbaijan's population is younger than the populations of most countries in the region. It is estimated that the population in Azerbaijan will increase from about 7.2 million in 1990 to 10.6...

This note provides an overview of demographic changes and their policy implications in Armenia, with particular reference to the poor. Armenia is currently experiencing a significant aging of the population and decrease in the size of the population, these changes have far-reaching implications....

China should complete its transition to a market economy--through enterprise, land, labor, and financial sector reforms--strengthen its private sector, open its markets to greater competition and innovation, and ensure equality of opportunity to help achieve its goal of a new structure for...

The benefits of financial development and globalization have come with continuing fragility in financial sectors. Periodic crises have had real but heterogeneous welfare impacts and not just for poor people; indeed, some of the conditions that foster deep and persistent poverty, such as lack of...

The report is based on analysis of the main facets and dynamics of poverty in Russia since 1997. The analysis was conducted over the past two years by Russian and international experts in the framework of the first stage of the program on "enhancing the measurement, monitoring, and analysis of...