Program-based approaches to providing development assistance, especially sector investment programs (SIPs), are receiving increased attention as donors and recipient countries search for effective instruments to foster sustainable development. A SIP is a long-term national program covering...

This engagement note provides a snapshot of financial development in the countries of the GulfCooperation Council (GCC), Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and identifies key areas of the financial sector reform agenda where the World Bank Group (WBG)...

Banking financial intermediation relative to the economy is low and declining. The depthof the Romanian banking sector is lagging both in terms of deposit and loan penetration. Cross-cutting factors such as poverty, rurality and informality form a set of constraints that still persist affecting...

Iraq's economy continued its recovery after the sharp, pandemic-induced recession in 2020 but growth constraints in the oil sector have reemerged. After moderating in 2022, consumer price inflation ticked up in early 2023, fueled by the depreciation of the Iraqi dinar in the parallel market....

This paper considers alternatives to disperse the accumulated pension rights during the liquidation phase or retirement. First, the paper classifies the risks that affect pensioners, discusses the defined benefit and defined contribution options, and classifies pension contracts according to...

Fiscal problems are prompting many developing nations to amend and sometimes restructure their national old-age programs. As they do, these countries seek guidance on how to design market and regulatory structures to enhance their chances of success. This paper investigates the types of risks...

This paper brings together some of the empirical work conducted by IFPRI researchers which investigates linkages among the degree of consumption insurance, households'vulnerability to poverty, and household use of formal and informal coping mechanisms using the same empirical approach in five...

The main objective of this paper is to review the regulatory framework for pension funds, and examine whether there is scope for improvements in pension regulation, particularly in light of regulatory and supervisory developments in the banking industry. The report is structured as follows: The...

This paper reviews the experience in transacting payments through the commercial banking system, to beneficiaries in Colombia's"Familias en Accion"program. The story told will be useful to those trying to solve the operational problem of moving cash, cost-effectively to large numbers of...