Although global economic activity is recovering and output in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) is expected to grow in 2021, containing COVID-19 remains a challenge in the region. Enterprise survey data for the emerging and developing countries in the region show that COVID-19 had a profound and...

In February 2022, the world was shocked by the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine. The war is having a devastating impact on human life and causing economic destruction in both countries, and will lead to significant economic losses in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region and the rest...

In 2018, the World Bank launched the Human Capital Index (HCI), which is designed to highlight how improvements in current health and education outcomes will shape the productivity of the next generation of workers. The HCI measures the amount of human capital that a child born today can expect...

Governments play a critical role in the economies of Europe and Central Asia, where government expenditures are close to 40 percent of gross domestic product and the public sector accounts for nearly 27 percent of total employment, which is almost twice the global average. The public sector...

Globalization, demographic trends, the green transition, and technological innovations are transforming labor markets in Europe and Central Asia, altering their institutional and contractual arrangements, and creating disparities and vulnerabilities in the labor force. Systemic risks-economic,...

This report documents the results of a survey that was conducted to better understand howthe justice system affects the business environment in eight countries in South East Europe (SEE);Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia andSerbia. The...

The objective of this report is to identify policies, financing and delivery mechanisms with the view of scaling-up thermal retrofit of existing residential and public buildings in Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, and Romania. These two segments of the building sector are critical to national goals...

The Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Education Team's vision is for education systems to empower all to reach their full potential. In line with this vision, the purpose of this guidance note is to provide recommendations and policy advice for decision-makers on potential education responses to the...

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint policy initiative, which aims to deepen and strengthen relations between the European Union (EU) and its six Eastern neighbours. One of its four priority areas is stronger connectivity which includes the extension of the Trans European Transport Network...