Like many other developing countries, South Asian nations have been experiencing increased foreign direct investment inflows over the past decade as developing countries get a larger share of cross-border investments that were once sent to developed countries. Nonetheless, South Asia's inflows...

One of the strong messages that came out of the recent United Nations Climate Change conference in Durban was that the private sector has to play an important role if we are to globally move toward a low carbon, climate resilient -- or "climate compatible" -- future. However, private investment...

There have been many initiatives to improve education outcomes in South Asia. Still, outcomes remain stubbornly resistant to improvements, at least when considered across the region. To collect and synthesize the insights about what actually works to improve learning and other education...

There are significant value chain linkages between India and Bangladesh, particularly in the textile and apparel sector. India specializes in the upstream segment, supplying such intermediate inputs as silk, cotton, yarn, and fabrics to Bangladesh. Bangladesh specializes in the downstream final...

Many countries spend significant resources on investment promotion agencies in the hope of attracting inflows of foreign direct investment. Despite the importance of this question for public policy choices, little is known about the effectiveness of investment promotion efforts. This study uses...

This paper assesses two research questions: has the presence of foreign firms contributed to productivity increases in Turkey, and how could Turkey increase foreign direct investment inflows? First, the analysis applies dynamic regressions in differences over an AMADEUS firm-level data set....

The relationship between political violence and greenfield foreign direct investment is contingent on the type of violence, characteristics of the investment-receiving sector, and extent to which the investing firm is geographically diversified. This paper presents an analysis with a dynamic...

This paper explores the link between the prevalence of violent conflicts and extremely low female labor force participation rates in South Asia. The Labor Force Surveys from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan are merged with the Global Terrorism Database to estimate the relationship...

This paper studies employment patterns and trends in South Asia to shed light on determinants of extremely low female employment rates in the region. After a comprehensive literature review, the authors use employment data from about one hundred censuses and surveys from Afghanistan, Bangladesh,...

The study aims to provide insights to policy makers in measuring the impact of trade liberalization and regional integration measures on gender employment and wages. The study incorporates gender-differentiated employment and wages for selected South Asian economies across sectors to identify...