This is a companion to the Global Economic Prospects 2010. Most commodity prices reached historical highs in mid-2008, giving rise to the longest and broadest commodity boom of the post-WWII period. Apart from strong and sustained economic growth, the boom was fueled by numerous factors...

The Special Focus for this issue is on long-term growth, emphasizing the challenges PNG is facing. The chapter identifies the underlying challenges of low and volatile growth in the country and aims at starting a public discussion to better understand the problems and, thus, contribute to...

The innovation economy has become a driving force in transforming entire industries, which has been happening at an accelerated pace. Cities are making massive investments in innovation and research and development (RandD) to support and attract technology-driven industries that are leading the...

The Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), which consists of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, is one of the oldest regional groupings in Africa. The main objectives for achieving this are: (i) the creation of a...

An updated joint assessment of Rwanda's debt sustainability suggests continued low risk of external debt distress. External debt burden indicators remain below risk thresholds, except for a short and temporary breach of debt service indicators in 2023, when the Eurobond issued in 2013 matures....

Togo's risk of external debt distress continues to be moderate, while the overall risk of debt distress is high-unchanged from the previous Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) published in December 2018. While the mechanical results point to a low risk of external debt distress, judgment was...

Where Is the Value in the Chain? Pathways out of Plastic Pollution aims to support policy makers in their efforts to address plastic pollution. By examining the economic and financial implications of plastic management, the report provides key recommendations on how to create a comprehensive...

What is the appropriate level of employment in the public sector as a whole and for essential workers like public administrators, teachers, and doctors? Is the public sector wage bill affordable? Does the public sector pay competitive wages compared to the private sector to attract talent while...

Policymakers in developing countries face multiple challenges related to climate change. To provide policymakers with reliable recommendations on a variety of climate related policies, the WBG has a diverse and complementary set of models. The analytics range from evaluating the aggregate,...