This report evaluates the outcomes of World Bank Group support to Afghanistan from 2002-11. Despite extremely difficult security conditions, which deteriorated markedly after 2006, the World Bank Group has commendably established and sustained a large program of support to the country. The key...

As part of its strategy to support global trade, the World Bank Group seeks to enhance trade finance in emerging markets. In 2005 the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the Bank Group, introduced the Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP) to support the extension of trade finance to...

Fragile and conflict-affected states (FCS) have become an important focus of World Bank Group assistance in recent years as recognition of the linkages between fragility, conflict, violence, and poverty has grown. Addressing issues of recurring conflict and political violence and helping build...

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- Acknowledgments -- Overview -- Management Response -- Management Action Record -- Chairperson's Summary -- 1 Introduction -- Relative Intensity of Knowledge Services in World Bank Country Programs -- Objectives, Scope, and...

The unanticipated spike in international food prices in 2007-08 hit many developing countries hard. International prices for food and other agricultural products increased by more than 100 percent between early 2007 and mid-2008. Prices for food cereals more than doubled; and those for rice...

This evaluation takes the premise that beyond in-forming IDA allocation, the CPIA is useful as a broad indicator of development effectiveness. It reviews the appropriateness of the CPIA as an indicator that assesses the conduciveness of a country's policies and institutions to fostering poverty...

Many of the world's poor people depend on natural resources for their well-being. Four-fifths of the world's poor people live in rural areas, and most rural poor people depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. The renewable natural resources on which poor people depend are increasingly...

Disruptive and transformative technologies (DTT) have far-reaching implications for development. Traditional development models are being disrupted by the accelerating pace of technological change and the convergence of multiple technologies, among other things. Recognizing the implications of...

Sound public financial management and public debt management are critical to informing and implementing fiscal policy and to achieving the World Bank Group's twin goals. When support for these two areas is complementary, public finance and debt management (PFDM) ensures that scarce public...

Annual Review of Development Effectiveness 2003 examines the effectiveness of Bank support for developing country policy reform. The report finds that reform has been widespread across countries during the last few years and across a wide spectrum of policy areas. Countries that improved their...