The World Bank Group has developed a new diagnostic approach called Maximizing Finance for Development (MFD). This study pilots the use of the World Bank's MFD approach to identify areas along value chains (VCs) where the private sector is involved. More important may be the identification of...

While information exists on the process of indigenous migration to urban centers, there is very little systematic data on the current situation of urban indigenous populations in Mexico. This study analyzes the situation of five indigenous ethnic groups in three urban centers of Mexico: (a) the...

Indigenous peoples in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) are 10 to 25 percent less likely to have access to piped water and 26 percent less likely to have access to improved sanitation solutions than the region's non-indigenous population. Historically, Indigenous peoples have been...

This Evaluation Insight Note builds on Independent Evaluation Group evidence to identify lessons for working with Indigenous peoples who live in poverty. Extreme poverty-measured as living on less than USD 1.90 a day-is apparent among Indigenous peoples in developing countries. Indigenous...

The agricultural and food production sector plays a key role in fighting poverty and food insecurity in Moldova, but is facing critical challenges to modernize and integrate into the international market. This paper focuses on smallholder farms, which make up 95 percent of all farms, and...

Despite being an upper middle income country, South Africa's high inequality and the long-lasting legacies of apartheid mean that the country is faced with numerous development challenges, many of which are characteristic of countries with much lower incomes. This paper focuses on social...

South Africa's social assistance system represents a major intervention by government in addressing the deprivation amongst the country's population. The system is extensive in terms of both the number of people it covers, directly and indirectly, as well as in terms of the amount of scarce...

South Africa is set to emerge from the crisis weaker than it had been going into it. However, this Economic Update argues that the reasons for low growth and high unemployment do not lie in the government's crisis response, which has generally been sound. Growth is expected to reach 4 percent in...

The South African financial system has weathered the shock of COVID-19 but faces growing risks emanating from a weak macroeconomic outlook. The pandemic crisis hit South Africa hard, with nonresident capital outflows accelerating and the domestic and global slowdown precipitating a6.4 percent...

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...