Croatia, a founding member of the former Republic of Yugoslavia and a current member of the European Union (EU), is a high-income country in Europe and Central Asia. Given that high quality financial reporting promotes good corporate governance, reduces uncertainty and risk, can help to lower...

The European Commission's Directorate General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations approached the World Bank to develop an evidence base and to deliver policy advice and technical assistance for supporting the effective reintegration of (Roma) returnees in the Western Balkans: Albania,...

This report aligns to the framework of structural transformation to identify opportunities for development in the agriculture sector in the Western Balkans, while also exploring patterns of trade and factors for improving agricultural competitiveness in the region. to build a pathway to...

Ambient air pollution (AAP) is a serious global health problem that accounts for an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide per year. People in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans are frequently exposed to air pollution levels above those considered safe, particularly in the winter....

The objective of this note is to provide insights into the potential effect of the adaptation protocol (AP) on imports of European Union (EU) agricultural, food and fisheries products into Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). We adapt and calibrate the Tariff Reform Impact Simulation Tool (TRIST), a...

This report was developed as part of the technical assistance program 'Phase 2 - Economics of Prevention and Preparedness (EDPP) in European Union (EU) Member States (MS) and Countries under EU Civil Protection Mechanism' (UCPM). The report has been prepared for the Directorate-General for...

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...

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...