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...

Big data solutions have the potential to accelerate the work of our teams by deriving timely, accurate, and actionable insights from alternative data sources in order to close data gaps and inform policymaking. For example, pilot projects underway in the Trade and Competitiveness practice are...

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...

The most cost-effective way to reduce both particulate and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is to couple switching from noncompliant solid fuel boilers to gas boilers, heat pumps, renewable energy (RE) heating systems such as biomass, wherever possible, and compliant solid fuel boilers, as...

The Western Balkans is home to the most polluting power plants in Europe, and its transport and energy infrastructure require updates. Not surprisingly, countries such as Kosovo, are suffering from severe urban air pollution and traffic congestion as a result of high dependence on fossil fuels...

Cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) experience high ambient concentrations of health-damaging fine particulate air pollution in Europe. This report is one in a series of three reports on air quality management in BiH, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. This report examines the nature and magnitude...

Many cities in Kosovo suffer from poor air quality, with ambient concentrations of particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less (PM2.5) significantly exceeding the national and European Union (EU) standards and global air quality guidelines for PM2.5 established by the World...

Air pollution is a significant problem in cities and urban centers in the Republic of North Macedonia. This report is one in a series of three reports on air quality management (AQM) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. It examines the nature and magnitude of ambient air...

Ambient air pollution (AAP) is a serious global health problem that accounts for an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide per year. People in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans are frequently exposed to air pollution levels above those considered safe, particularly in the winter....