The international development community has used the World Bank's Statistical Capacity Index since its inception in 2004. The Sustainable Development Goals create new challenges for national statistical systems to produce high-quality and internationally comparable data. This paper reviews...

The severe conditions in Zimbabwe, which reached a nadir in 2008 and 2009, led to a collapse of basic systems including the reliability and safety of water supply and sanitation services, leading to an outbreak of cholera with more than 4,000 deaths and over 90,000 people infected. The World...

This paper studies the impact of a program that provides grants for technical assistance on the interest rates and outreach of credit unions in Mexico. Credit unions financing rural borrowers received grants in different years. The study uses propensity score matching and relies additionally on...

Malawi can be understood as a microcosm of institutional reform approaches in developing countries more broadly. A common feature of such approaches, whether implemented by government or donors, is reform initiatives that yield institutions that "look like" those found in higher-performing...

This report presents an analysis of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs and policies that affect young children in Macedonia and recommendations to move forward. The Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) initiative produces comparative data and knowledge on education...

In 2001, FYR Macedonia embarked on a new education policy agenda. One of the goals of this agenda was to improve the country's student assessment system. In order to gain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of its existing assessment system, FYR Macedonia decided to benchmark...

Over the last two decades, successive governments and business leaders in the former Yugoslav Republic of (FYR) Macedonia have been actively working to transform the country's economy and put it on a higher, technology-based, growth trajectory. For a small, landlocked country with a limited...

This note examines the provision of childcare and eldercare in FYR Macedonia with an emphasis on the availability, price, and quality of care, and suggests policy priorities that address the identified challenges. The analysis in this note is based on a study aimed at exploring childcare and...

Prospects for faster, more sustainable economic growth and higher living standards in FYR Macedonia rely on increasing employment opportunities for all. By maintaining the current structure of labor participation, FYR Macedonia is not capitalizing on its educated young population, as only 39...

This Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) identifies three mutually reinforcing pathways for FYR Macedonia to sustainably accelerate growth, reduce poverty, and consolidate the middle class. An examination of the country's progress in the 27 years of its independence reveals three strategic...