The multifaceted nature of the poverty problem, and the widening gap between the levels of human well-being in Africa, compared with the other developing regions, are the central themes of this report. The key elements of poverty reduction strategies in the region are reviewed, pointing at the...

Dissatisfaction with traditional project approaches and a recognition of the limitations of the sector adjustment programs led to the development of new lending instruments to improve the impact of development assistance on the sector as a whole. Within the Africa region of the World Bank, the...

Over the seven-year period covered by this review, the International Development Association (IDA) significantly enhanced its relevance, and improved its portfolio performance, repositioning its country assistance programs, increasing its responsiveness to borrowers, strengthening its field...

Four years have passed since the Millennium Development Goals sharpened the focus on measuring the results of development-not the number of projects undertaken or the dollars spent, but the improvements in people's lives. The emphasis on quantitative targets and the requirement for monitoring...

This report examines the reforms and policy changes necessary in the rural section of the ten countries that have started the accession process for eventual membership in the European Union (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia)....

The importance of social capital for sustainable development, is by now well recognized. Anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists, and economists have in their own ways, demonstrated the critical role of institutions, networks, and their supporting norms and values, for the success of...

The report outlines the work of the World Bank in addressing client countries with environmental challenges, and, aims to ensure the lending program integrates principles of environmental sustainability. It highlights that the challenge of development assistance lies in working with clients to...

Poverty in Zimbabwe increased significantly during the 1990s, and it increased in all sectors of the economy. In the middle of the decade, more than 60 percent of Zimbabwean households fell below the national poverty line. There are competing reasons for this: some say it was the result of the...

These are the proceedings from a World Bank workshop on global public policies, and programs, assembled from transcripts, and accompanying papers. The combination of market failure, and limited institutional capacity to influence economic, and social change across national borders, underlies...

The report reviews the Bank's development assistance to Lesotho, a poor country, of predominantly rural populations, landlocked and completely surrounded by, and economically dependent on, South Africa. Not surprisingly, a major development challenge for the country is that half the population...