Transition to the market economy in ECA opened up a range of potential opportunities for young people. It has also raised a series of challenges. Youth unemployment and joblessness have emerged as serious problems with the potentially very high costs. Formal Education and Training systems have...

We use national labor force surveys from 1983 through 2011 to construct hours worked per person on the aggregate level and for different demographic groups for 18 European countries and the US. We find that Europeans work 19% fewer hours than US citizens. Differences in weeks worked and in the...

FinTech has tremendous potential in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region, given its high mobile phone and internet access levels and scope for increased use of digital payments. However, there are major regional differences between high-income and middle-income countries regarding access to...

This paper analyzes the political and institutional factors which are behind the dramatic changes in distortions to agricultural incentives in the transition countries in East Asia, Central Asia, and the rest of the former Soviet Union, and in Central and Eastern Europe. The paper explains why...

This report provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities in addressing road safety in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region. It presents information on the size, characteristics, and causes of the problem; presents evidence on the effectiveness of measures that countries...

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the channels through which rising commodity prices might affect countries in the Europe and Central Asia Region (ECA) in the short run and to indicate which countries are most likely to be significantly affected. This paper discusses the effects of the...

This paper describes forced displacement in the Europe and Central Asia Region (ECA) and the vulnerabilities associated with being a displaced person. It analyzes the development challenges of forced displacement particularly protracted displacement in the region and the prospects for durable...

Migration has become an important phenomenon in many countries of Europe and Central Asia. The development implications of migration in the region were first examined in the flagship report "Migration and Remittances: Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union." This report builds on the World...

In general, the Europe and Central Asia Region (ECA) is predicted to become wetter and warmer as a result of climate change, with more frequent weather extremes (drought, floods, heatwaves, and winter squalls). While in general precipitation in the region is low, around 40 percent is converted...

The returns to schooling are estimated for 28 European and Central Asian countries using the Mincerian function. Our results show that while the public sector pays on average more than the private sector, the effect of education on earnings is stronger in the private sector. However, the returns...