With its impressive maternal and child health outcomes and control of communicable diseases, Sri Lanka is often depicted as a success story. The primary objectives of this study are to examine the prevalence and distribution of non-communicable disease (NCDs) and risk factors across...

Reducing gender inequality could increase GDP per capita by more than a fourth in Niger by 2030. These significant economic gains would be generated by enabling women to have the same earnings as men and reducing fertility and thereby population growth. Investing in girls' education and reducing...

As of early July 2020, life in Hanoi appears to be back to normal or close to what it used to be before the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. The government's policy helped contain the virus and contributed to saving human lives. Today, most social distancing measures have been lifted. However,...

The Country Opinion Survey in Macedonia assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Macedonia perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral and bilateral agencies, media, academia,...

This report presents an analysis conducted by the World Bank to assess macro-fiscal impacts of earthquakes and floods in European Union (EU) Member States (MS), analyze the financial instruments in place to manage this risk and identify any associated funding gaps. The analysis is underpinned by...

This note examines the implications of digital innovation for market structure and attendant policies, including financial and competition regulation. There have been several surveys of regulatory responses. This note takes a step back, to look at what the economic theory of banking and...

Following a decade of conflicts, Western Balkan countries accomplished robust economic growth in the 2000s. This growth pattern was domestic demand driven and externally financed, hence was hampered significantly by the global financial crisis and subsequent euro area debt crisis. Despite modest...

This Note provides guidance to securities markets regulators in emerging market economies (EMEs) about key regulatory issues that could affect the issuance of debt instruments for infrastructure financing over which they have some control. The Note focuses on three areas (placement regime,...

This Policy Note focuses on distribution channels, the role they play in product diversification and costs, and how regulation can promote competition in mutual funds (MFs) distribution. In many emerging market economics (EMEs) where both the capital markets and the MFs have reached certain...

Poland's capital markets can play a crucial supporting role to the ongoing economic development and efficient allocation of credit. Capital markets will become increasingly important to meet the long-term funding needs of strategic sectors, including large, medium and small entities. Expansion...