Policymakers throughout the world struggle to boost employment. Creating jobs or giving people the right training to get jobs is not only good economics, but especially in developing countries, it may be a way to reduce social instability and with it the threat of crime and unrest. In the push...

Fighting famine is basic to ending poverty and saving lives. Emergency aid, which arrives after the food has run out, isn't enough. Households most in need of emergency aid often don't have enough food during other times of the year, posing a broader challenge for devising programs that can cut...

Education is central to giving children the building blocks for a life free of poverty. When schools fail to deliver quality education, children are left without the skills and knowledge they need to realize their capabilities and become productive adults. This isn't just a problem of...

Unemployment among young adults is a problem throughout the world, and it's of particular concern in the Middle East, where half the population is under the age of 25 and more than a quarter of those aged 15-24 are out of work. Young women fare worse than men when it comes to finding jobs....

Economic crises can be particularly arduous for poor and vulnerable people. In particular, job losses stemming from economic downturns undercut the ability of more vulnerable households to support themselves. Public works programs, which help sustain poor households through temporary employment,...

Indonesia, like many middle income countries, has difficulty providing universal access to education and adequate access to healthcare, particularly in poor and rural areas. To tackle these problems, the Government of Indonesia launched two large-scale programs in 2007. The programs both relied...

Cambodia has had numerous scholarship programs funded by the government and outside donors. A government program supported by the World Bank's Cambodia Education Sector Support Project was launched to test the optimal scholarship amount and measure the effect on both boys and girls. The program...

Improving educational achievement for youth doesn't always result in better employment opportunities, and this can be especially acute in developing countries. As the World Bank's 2013 world development report highlights, the mismatch between the skills and aspirations of college graduates and...

Health experts and policymakers want people to have access to affordable and high-quality medical care. But in some developing countries, making quality healthcare available may first necessitate ensuring that essential medicines are available, such as anti-malaria pills and antibiotics. The...

Cash transfers are used around the world to better encourage poor families to take advantage of educational offerings by offering financial incentives that can boost their income. The Colombia study shows that these can be an important tool not only for encouraging families to enroll their...