Cities can increase economic growth and participate in global economic flows by acting as hubs or gateways to regional corridors, that are supported by three dimensions of connectivity: physical (infrastructure) connectivity, digital connectivity, and economic integration. Integrating these...

The Western Balkan countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, the former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, achieved strong growth and poverty reduction since the start of the transition to market economies. Despite progress, today the six Western Balkan...

Higher education systems in South Asia have undergone significant changes in the past two decades. Each country in the region has experienced a rapid rise in university enrollment, fueled by demographic growth and the resulting expansion of secondary education. However, in the absence of...

The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is the most unequal region in the world. While there has been some progress in recent years, inequality has remained almost stagnant in the most unequal countries. Using an innovative framework, this report provides a systematic and comprehensive...

In this book, the authors share the East African story of pensions with the world. We have tried to give readers a perspective on the state of pensions within the EAC and contribute toward the development of the sector. We have also sought to provide practical advice to the business community...

The cost of transport in Lao PDR is said to be higher than in neighboring countries, affectingthe competitiveness of producers and shippers alike. However, the picture appears to be morenuanced. Since there has not been much hard evidence to support this claim, this paper fills thegap by...

Lebanon is in Crisis. While it is too early to gauge the economic impact of recent events, it is important to note that even prior to the eruption of the demonstrations, the World Bank projected a small recession in 2019; we now estimate that the recession will be deeper. There has been an...

This Guidance Paper provides a primer on distributed ledger technology (DLT) and highlights the junctures at which this new technology meaningfully impacts secured transactions frameworks. The aim is to identify legal and regulatory hotspots, laying the groundwork for their detailed and...

Unlike the Kyoto protocol's clean development mechanism (CDM), Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement is designed to allow for international cooperation in carbon markets through decentralized governance. Under this article, bilateral or plurilateral cooperation between participating parties can be...

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...