This report examines the system of residential electricity subsidies in Pakistan, and explores how it can be improved to better assist households within the existing political and budgetary constraints. The report is multi-disciplinary in nature, drawing on specially commissioned analysis of...

The purpose of this note is to explain how the pandemic is reshaping regulations in China and affecting urban planning and city management. In preparing this note, a meta-analysis was conducted based on a review of China's urban planning responses to COVID-19. The review covered newly issued...

This retrospective examines how the World Bank's strategic use of climate-related trust funds has enabled it to play an outsized role in catalyzing climate action worldwide for nearly 30 years. By looking back at the history of climate and carbon finance, with a focus on the pioneering role of...

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the development context for the world is fundamentally challenged in many ways. The pandemic has taken a drastic human toll, and its global-scale economic and social impacts affected rural development work focused on the most poor and vulnerable populations. It has...

Efficient energy services are essential for economic growth, competitiveness, and human development. Globally, energy markets are undergoing a transformation: fossil fuel prices are responding to new and unpredictable dynamics, and new energy and information and communication technologies (ICT)...

The Government of Indonesia has introduced many reforms to improve the quality of education but learning outcomes have continued to lag. Improving the quality of education has been especially challenging in rural and remote areas. Starting in 2016, the World Bank supported the Government of...

Over the past few years, Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Iraq have emerged as credible sources of financing for low-income households and entrepreneurs, both underserved by conventional banks. Microfinance services in Iraq, however, are still nascent and far from meeting their full...

Fintech is increasingly recognized as a key enabler for financial sectors worldwide, enabling more efficient and competitive financial markets while expanding access to finance for traditionally underserved consumers. A critical challenge for policy makers is to harness the benefits and...

The global toll of human suffering and material loss due to disasters has led to growing public concern and expanded institutional response in the form of disaster relief and recovery assistance from individuals, governments, and intergovernmental organizations. Initial humanitarian concern has...

This report is one of four analytical pieces on Ukraine's innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem developed by the World Bank's Ukraine Technical Assistance on Innovation, supported by the Swedish Ukraine Financial and Enterprise Sector Recovery and Growth Trust Fund. The review presents an...