This evaluation reviews the World Bank Group's (WBG's) experience with guarantee instruments during 1990-2007. Although these instruments have been an established product line of the WBG for two decades, they have not been rigorously evaluated across the World Bank, International Finance...

A few Sub-Saharan countries, by improving their business environment, have begun to attract more substantial foreign direct investment than other African countries with bigger domestic markets and greater natural resources. Like Ireland and Singapore, perhaps they can become competitive...

This paper looks at firm-level evidence on the African business environment from surveys undertaken for Investment Climate Assessments by the World Bank in 2000-2004. These surveys confirm a pattern of generally low "factory-floor" productivity, and show that this is partly due to business...

The World Bank Group estimates that, by 2030, up to two-thirds of the world's extreme poor will live in countries characterized by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV). The Bank's FCV strategy emphasizes the critical role the private sector plays in providing jobs and income in fragile and...