This learning note prepares policymakers to engage with their technical experts and staff in designing and implementing an evidence-informed response to the challenges of existing and future slum settlements. To that end, the note discusses a set of indicators and data analysis techniques needed...

This report discusses Mongolia's increasing dependence on mining revenues and the associated vulnerability to boom and bust economic cycles, and calls for special attention to governance in mining resource management. It seeks to identify can be learned from the experiences of other mineral...

Chemicals are used in the production of many items that we depend on every day. Evidence demonstrates that certain organic chemicals are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic and that these chemicals cause long-term harm to the health of human beings and the planet s environment. Throughout the...

The focus of this report is crop biotechnology, as developing countries are faced with evaluating genetically engineered plants for human, livestock, and environmental safety. These genetically engineered plants can potentially contribute to agricultural productivity in developing regions when...

The national accounts are the single most important source of information about the economy, and are widely used in all countries to assess economic performance and for policy analysis. However, the national accounts have a number of well-known shortcomings when it comes to treatment of the...

This paper reviews labor market performance in Georgia, and examines the link between labor market outcomes and poverty. At over 15 percent, the unemployment rate in the country is high by European standards. Georgia faces three main labor market issues: (a) underutilization of labor resources,...

This technical note is intended to provide regulators with concrete, practical information on operating price-comparison websites and the strategic considerations necessary to take into account when designing such sites. The technical note examines price-comparison websites operated by public...

The speed and scale of urbanization provide an unprecedented opportunity in the coming years to invest in clean energy technologies to contain carbon emissions from the country's sprawling cities. Therefore, supporting low carbon cities is one of the government's top priorities. Shanghai...

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the first global assessment of the state of the world's ecological health, published in March 2005, identified global fisheries as one of fi ve global systems in critical condition. This paper is one of many studies that show how on local, regional, and...