This paper explores the sovereign-bank nexus in emerging markets and developing economies: the interconnectedness between the health of the sovereign and the banking system. Data from 140 emerging markets and developing economies suggest that this nexus is rising. First, banks have increased...

What major insights have emerged from development economics in the past decade, and how do they matter for the World Bank? This challenging question was recently posed by World Bank Group President David Malpass to the staff of the Development Research Group. This paper assembles a set of 13...

Global growth is projected to be slightly faster in 2020 than the post-crisis low registered last year. While growth could be stronger if reduced trade tensions lead to a sustained reduction in uncertainty, the balance of risks to the outlook is to the downside. Growth in emerging market and...

Firms of different sizes play different roles in organized markets and societies. This report focuses on the particular role that larger firms - firms with 100 employees or more - play in this ecosystem. It shows that larger firms in developing countries have distinct features that set them...

The aim of this note is twofold: (1) summarize emerging challenges and opportunities for the water sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries; and (2) suggest ways to respond to these challenges where the World Bank's Water Global Practice can provide support. Following a description...

We revisit the relevance of the World Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA)against growth performance, with attention to possible biases arising from qualitative andquantitative changes in the CPIA methodology. The CPIA, introduced in the late 1970s, had aseries of extensive...

Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, addressed the topic of trade as an engine of growth. Advanced markets are experiencing low growth and in emerging markets, growth rates have fallen by almost 1 percentage point since 2013. This is not just about numbers, these economic...