This study provides an early assessment of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on e-commerce platforms and digital financial services, identifying the opportunities, good practices, and key challenges that have emerged in different regions. The focus of the study is to evaluate the impact of...

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in vast numbers of people in need of social assistance, many of whom were not previously covered by social safety nets. To meet this unprecedented level of need, governments quickly scaled social assistance reaching over 1.7 billion people in low- and middle income...

This study focuses on the process of technology catch-up and competitive advantage creation, drawing on the successful experiences of Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong -- the newly industrialized countries (NICs). It shows how the NICs countries have exploited the opportunities made...

The world of tomorrow will be driven by digital transformation across sectors and industries, and the global coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is accelerating this process. Digital technology is already playing an important role in the West Bank and Gaza (WB and G), and development...

The pace at which markets are evolving, thanks to the accelerated adoption of digital technologies, poses important challenges to competition law and its enforcement. This work aims to support this process by building an understanding of the experiences of competition authorities in deciding on...

South Asia region's economies continue on a recovery path, with production and export having recovered to pre-COVID trend levels. But the recovery has been uneven across countries and sectors, and significant risks exist that could jeopardize short-term recovery and long-term growth. Over the...

Similar to many other countries around the world, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has hit Indonesia hard. Latest estimates suggest that about 5.1 million people-equivalent to 2.4 percent of the working-age population-have lost their jobs, while an additional 24 million have had to work...

Malawi was affected by a severe second wave of COVID-19 (coronavirus) cases starting in the last weeks of 2020. As a result, the Government declared a second 'State of National Disaster' and announced increased social distancing measures. Case numbers peaked in January and gradually subsided...

This note presents main findings of the GovTech Snapshot Assessment for Azerbaijan, forming part of a larger World Bank global engagement on GovTech and Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) in the South Caucasus focusing on transforming government services through digital innovations. The...