The South Asia region is lagging behind many regions in the world in regional electricity cooperation and trading, despite the huge anticipated benefits. This study uses an electricity planning model that produces optimal expansion of electricity generation capacities and transmission...

Apparel is the largest labor-intensive manufacturing industry in South Asia, and is a major employer of women. Although South Asia's apparel sector benefits from many of the same favorable conditions as East Asia's, performance in South Asian apparel remains well below that of East Asia. The...

The study analyzes the SE landscape and related ecosystem of seven SAARC countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The scope of this study is limited to three sectors that are significant for SEs: (a) Agri-business, (b) Healthcare and (c) Renewable...

This study examines the importance of enhancing the cross-border transmission interconnections and regional electricity trade to promote hydropower in the South Asia region and quantifies the potential of hydropower development and trade under alternative scenarios. While South Asia is endowed...

This study provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of the business environment in six South Asian countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, to examine whether business regulatory requirements in these countries hinder them from fully benefiting from BRI...

South Asia remains the fastest growing region in the world. With a strong performance in the eastern part of the region - in particular in Bhutan, Bangladesh and India - the region defied disappointing world growth in 2016. Inflation slowed down in the second half of 2016, mainly due to lower...

Global recovery remains below expectations and uneven across major advanced economies. Monetary tightening in a recovering US economy and potential deflation in a weak Eurozone constitute sources of risk for developing and emerging market economies. Nonetheless, developing country growth remains...

Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, is inspired by Belt and Road Initiative, which will improve trade, infrastructure, investment, and people-to-people connectivity - not just across borders, but on a trans-continental scale. It has the potential to lower trade costs, increase...

The South Asia Economic Focus is a biannual economic update presenting recent economic developments and a near term economic outlook for South Asia. It includes a Focus section presenting more in depth analysis of an economic topic of relevance for stability, growth and prosperity in the region...