"This paper examines legal and regulatory measures that can be taken to promote access to the primary market in emerging market economies. While capital market development depends on many factors including, primarily, a favorable macroeconomic environment, an appropriately designed and effective...

"The recent global financial crisis has shaken the confidence of developed and developing countries alike in the very blueprint of financial and macro policies that underlie the western capitalist systems. In an effort to contain the crisis from spreading, the authorities in the US and many...

Between 1998 and 2004, Latvia achieved substantial progress in poverty reduction, with an estimated 325,000 people moving out of poverty over this period. This report examines the extent and causes of poverty reduction during this period using data from a variety of sources, the national...

The second Economic Update for Cabo Verde focuses on the importance of returning to fiscal sustainability in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and on the potential role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in strengthening the foundations for a sustainable and inclusive economic...

"Systematic information on household financial asset holdings in developing countries is very sparse. The author reviews some available data and current policy debates. Although financial asset holdings by households are highly concentrated, deeper financial systems are correlated with improved...

How can the world grow more food, increase incomes, reduce poverty, and protect the environment with growing numbers of mouths to feed and increasingly constrained resources? A big part of the answer lies in better management of agricultural water. Agricultural water management (AWM) encompasses...