This report, as part of the Groundswell Africa series, reaffirms the potency for climate change to drive internal migration in West African countries. The results described in this report are based on the application of an enhanced version of the pioneering Groundswell model with a more granular...

The African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) and Everything But Arms (EBA), two preferential agreements extended by the United States (AGOA) and the European Union (EU) (EBA) to some developing countries seem to have contributed somewhat to boost Sub-Saharan Africa's exports since 2001. However,...

The objective of this report is to identify and evaluate best practices in smallholder private irrigation in West Africa. The report is based on a comparative assessment of the smallholder private irrigation subsector in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria, which included a literature review,...

Employing a unique dataset that covers households from six West African capitals, this paper provides new evidence on the demand for informal sector products and services. Authors first investigate whether demand linkages exist between formal and informal products and distribution channels. In a...

This report on adaptation to climate variability and change draws together the conclusions of a series of comparative case studies undertaken for the Area-Based Development and Climate Change (ABDCC) project of the Social Development Department of the World Bank. The report contributes to a...

The informal sector is typically characterized as being very heterogeneous and possibly composed of two clearly distinct segments, sometimes called the lower and upper tier. However, empirical evidence shows that even among lower tier entrepreneur's profitability can be quite high. The authors...

Employing a unique dataset that covers almost 6000 informal enterprises from six West African urban centers, this paper examines the backward and forward linkages of these enterprises to the formal sector. Authors first provide a descriptive analysis of the existing formal-informal linkages. It...

Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in developing countries are typically considered to be severely credit constrained. Additionally, high business risks may partly explain why capital stocks of MSEs remain low. This article analyzes the determinants of capital stocks of MSEs in poor economies...