Policy makers across the Middle East and North Africa have for many years articulated plans to integrate their people spatially and economically. Wishing to bring communities together and narrow economic gaps, governments have made large capital investments in transport corridors and "new...

Addressing regional disparities is key to unlocking Russia's potential to achieve stronger gains in growth and equity outcomes as well as to improve its institutional environment. While spatial disparities have been an important policy concern in Russia for a long time, inequalities across its...

Russia's spatial disparities stem largely from its economic geography, which is unique and has no parallels even when compared to seemingly similar countries such as Australia and Canada. While Australia and Canada also have large land masses and even lower population densities than Russia, a...

On average, Vietnam has achieved remarkable improvements in nutritional status in recent decades, but improvements in national aggregates mask wide disparities and a persistent 'very high' burden among disadvantaged ethnic minority groups. Between 2000 and 2010, national stunting rates dropped...

Against the backdrop of increasing income inequality, this report uses spatial analysis to assesses whether disparities in access to basic infrastructure between Mozambique's lagging and leading regions are growing or declining and whether the public expenditure program is effective in...

This report presents the results of various experimental studies that try to address, from different perspectives, the challenges of supporting the growth and profitability of women entrepreneurs. In Mexico, women tend to be overrepresented in the category of microentrepreneurs, who often have...

The report focuses on sectoral choice as one of the contributors to the gender gap in firm performance. It explores the difference in profits among female entrepreneurs who cross over into male-dominated sectors (MDS) compared to those who remain in traditionally female-concentrated sectors...

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. This report assesses the...

Technology is one of the main drivers of productivity and economic growth. Developing countries have traditionally had difficulties in both developing technology and absorbing foreign technology. However, the recent emergence of tech startups present an opportunity. Tech start-ups are an...

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of entrepreneurship in the world, with approximately 42 percent of the non-agricultural labor force classified as self-employed or employers. Yet most entrepreneurs are unable to grow their businesses beyond small-scale subsistence operations, impeding...