The South Asia Payments and Securities Settlement Initiative (SAPI) objective is to describe and assess the payments and securities settlement systems of the countries of South Asia with a view to identifying possible improvement measures in their safety, efficiency and integrity. To assure...

This report covers the Western Hemisphere payments and securities settlement forum center for Latin American monetary studies and focuses on several issues. The first section covers economic and financial markets overview of Belarus. This section covers the financial sector, capital markets, and...

"Formal and informal commercial sex work is a way of life for many poor women in developing countries. Though sex workers have long been identified as crucial in affecting the spread of HIV/AIDS, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, the nature of sex-for-money transactions remains poorly...

Thailand is widely considered progressive among developing and middle-income countries regarding the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex (LGBTI+) people. Thailand has made progress in developing legislation to stop LGBTI+ discrimination, including adopting the Gender...

"The authors explore the relationship between transaction costs and generalized trust. Using panel data from 2,100 households in 135 rural communities of the Philippines, the paper shows that where transaction costs are reduced (proxied by road construction), there is an increase in generalized...

This book examines progress within Russia's financial sector and provides a road map for promoting dialogue on and implementing improvements. The book is intended to complement and support the joint strategic plan of Russia's government and Central Bank for banking reform, a plan that includes...

The Lebanon Economic Monitor provides an update on key economic developments and policies overthe past six months. It also presents findings from recent World Bank work on Lebanon. It places them in a longer-term and global context, and assesses the implications of these developments and other...