Big data can sound remote and lacking a human dimension, with few obvious links to development and impacting the lives of the poor. Concepts such as anti-poverty targeting, market access or rural electrification seem far more relevant - and easier to grasp. And yet some of today's most...

Transportation services and infrastructure connect people, businesses, and places. They allow citizens to access opportunities, such as jobs, education, health services, recreation, and enable the movement and distribution of goods. As a result, transport services and infrastructure are key to...

There is growing evidence that financially inclusive countries are more financially stable and exhibit better micro- and macro-economic conditions conducive to financial well-being of individual consumers. In order to produce significant economic and societal benefits, financial inclusion needs...

Over the past decade, financial consumer protection has become an increasingly mainstream priority for policymakers. A strong consumer protection regime is key to ensuring that expanded access to financial services benefits consumers, enabling them to make well-informed decisions on how best to...

Financial sector authorities increasingly prioritize financial inclusion and financial consumer protection, alongside existing priorities of stability and integrity. An enabling environment that facilitates competition, promotes innovation and the use of technology, addresses risks in a...

New sources of data, as well as new ways of processing such data, have contributed to an ongoing expansion in the availability of digital financial services (DFS) to served, underserved, and unserved consumers. Such data is being used to design and market customer-centric digital financial...

In 2011, only 21.4 percent of Vietnamese adults had an account at a formal financial institution, and only 36.9 percent of all borrowers used a formal lender - both indicators are well below the regional averages in the East Asia and Pacific. The formal financial sector in Vietnam is dominated...