"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...

This summary assessment uses indicator-led analysis to provide an integrated assessment of the Public Financial Management (PFM) system which draws on international standards developed by various development partners. The purpose is to measure PFM performance across a wide range of development...

This document reports on a public financial management performance assessment (PFMPA) for the Government of Afghanistan (GoA). The assessment was conducted with the particular objective of updating the PFMPA published in June 2008 to provide the GoA with an objective, indicator led assessment of...

Jharkhand, India's youngest and 28th state came into existence in November 2000 pursuant to the reorganization of the erstwhile State of Bihar by the Bihar State Reorganization Act, 2000. More than 77 percent of the population of the state resides in rural areas and depends on agriculture for...

"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...

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...