Countries the world over have launched ambitious privatization programs to improve the efficiency of state enterprises, free up resources for social services, and mobilize capital for expansion and modernization. A universal concern in this process is the effect privatization has on labor. Many...

Six years into the transition from planned to market economies in Central and Eastern Europe, high unemployment rates, including a growing proportion of the long-term unemployed, represent a serious challenge to social welfare systems and policymakers. This paper analyzes labor market...

La forte croissance demographique, les compressions budgetaires et l'exode rural ont entraine une augmentation de la demande d'emplois en Afrique de l'Ouest. Cette demande ne peut pas etre satisfaite par les entreprises du secteur structure, et le secteur informel a absorbe une part considerable...

Morocco has steered significant resources towards large investments in economic sectors identified as strategic to growth, and for increased productivity and value addition. Despite Morocco's strikingly high investment rate, one of the highest in the world at an average of thirty-four percent of...

The current downturn in commodity prices provides an opportunity for Indonesia to shift away from its dependence on commodity-driven growth towards higher value-added activities in manufacturing and services. However, Indonesia faces both global and structural challenges in making this...

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...

Energy demand in Arab countries continues to grow at a higher rate than economic growth. Meeting national electricity demand and exploiting their significant renewable energy resources (particularly, solar and wind) in a sustainable manner is a common challenge across all Arab countries. A...

The objective of this report is to explore innovative financing instruments and approaches for catalyzing private sector financing to fill the climate-smart investment gap in cities. The report reviews the existing literature, highlights key barriers in scaling-up private investment in...

Myanmar's macroeconomic environment remains stable, though economic growth is estimated to have slowed to 5.9 percent in 2016-17 compared to 7 percent in 2015-16, weighed down by slower investment demand. Growth is projected to recover to 6.4 percent in 2017-18, though risks are tilted to the...