In 2015, Lao PDR is virtually unrecognizable from what it was just a decade ago. A more open, more outward trade landscape has transformed the country from a closed-off backwater into a fast-growing developing country, complete with coffee shops, restaurants, and billboards lining the streets of...

In the last decades, slow growth and job creation have encouraged emigration, further dampening domestic sources of growth in Nepal. Tepid growth over the past decade, the slowest in the region, has resulted in few jobs being created, leading to more Nepalese workers seeking opportunities...

This handbook intends to be a resource for those interested in trade policy reform, in Pakistan and elsewhere. It arose from the Pakistan trade and investment policy program (PTIPP). The PTIPP was designed to work on trade, competitiveness, and gender in Pakistan. This handbook focuses on two...

Bangladesh's export growth has been remarkable. Bangladesh aims to generate USD 54.1 billion in export earnings by FY2020, a significant increase over the USD 35 billion earned in FY2015-16. The leading sector, textiles and apparels, usually referred to as ready-made garments (RMG), has created...

Physical cash and commercial bank money are dominant vehicles for retail payments around the world, including in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). Yet payments in EMDEs are marked by several key deficiencies, such as lack of universal access to transaction accounts, widespread...

Outdoor air pollution accounts for an estimated 4.2 million deaths worldwide, the majority of which are caused by exposure to fine particulate matter (or PM2.5) air pollution. Most of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Reducing PM2.5 air pollution is thus crucial for...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face significant financing gaps that stifle innovation and economic growth. The credit gap alone is estimated at dollar 4.5 trillion as of 2017 for emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) only. Bank financing has been the traditional source of...

The paper will focus on the resolution frameworks of a sample of 12 countries taken from 6 regions. The review of the sample countries is used to analyze issues that may be relevant for other countries and to discuss potential challenges faced in implementing effective safeguards. The remainder...

The Country Opinion Survey in Vietnam assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Vietnam perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the...

The Country Opinion Survey in Mongolia assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Mongolia perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the...