Bangladesh has set up an ambitious target of attaining middle-income status by 2021. To achieve this objective, the economy needs to grow at a sustained rate of 7.5-8 percent annually and this would in turn require an increase in private investment to at least 26.6 percent of GDP from 22 percent...

The services sector has played an important role in the structural transformation of Poland, providing employment opportunities, and creating productivity growth. Close to 60 percent of employees now work in the services sector. Nevertheless, the sector's productivity lags that of other...

This is a semi-annual report series on recent economic developments and economic policies in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia). The report looks at the economic performance and outlook for the Western Balkans region and specific...

This report stems from the work initiated in the Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) forUzbekistan in May 2016, which identified the quality of job creation as a central, cross-cuttingtheme. The SCD emphasized that "over the medium term, creating high-productivity, high-paying jobs for...

This report discusses strengthening the provision of payment services in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as an essential step to integrate their economies into the world of 'digital finance and digital economy' and to support economic development. The report...

Jordan's economy achieved a relatively strong rebound, registering 2.2 percent growth in 2021. The nascent recovery was led by a broad-based expansion of the services and industrial sectors, while the rebound in the travel and tourism also exceeded expectations. This robust economic recovery was...

This thematic note is part of a broader mixed-method study on gender inequalities in Madagascar, which intends to illustrate the key gender gaps in the country and shed light on the unique challenges that young Malagasy women face in their educational, professional, and family trajectories. Due...

This thematic note is part of a broader mixed-method study on gender inequalities in Madagascar, which intends to illustrate the key gender gaps in the country and shed light on the unique challenges that young Malagasy women face in their educational, professional, and family trajectories. Due...

This Overview presents the findings from the mixed-method study on gender inequalities in Madagascar, illustrating the key gender gaps in the country and shedding light on the unique challenges that young Malagasy women face in their educational, professional, and family trajectories. Due to the...