At the Frontlines of Development former World Bank country directors recount their experiences, both as managers of the World Bank's programs in global economic hotspots of the 1990s as well as throughout their careers in development economics. These essays detail, among many stories of...

This book is a collection of essays that seeks to answer three interrelated sets of questions about Africa's recent growth recovery. The first set of essays addresses questions about the drivers and durability of Africa's growth. How different is current economic performance compared to Africa's...

The report is organized as follows. Chapter one sets out the strategic context for Iraq, including the evolving political situation, macroeconomic context, and poverty and social conditions. Chapter two analyzes the trends in, and composition of, public expenditure, both from economic and...

Countries everywhere are divided into two distinct spatial realms: one urban, one rural. Classic models of development predict faster growth in the urban sector, causing rapid migration from rural areas to cities, lifting average incomes in both places. The process continues until the marginal...

Well-run water utilities play an important role in ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Consumers need reliable access to high quality and affordable water and sanitation services. To deliver these basic services efficiently and effectively requires high-performing utilities that are...

The Country Opinion Survey for FY2013 in Burkina Faso assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Burkina Faso perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies,...

This case study is one of six evaluations of the implementation of the World Bank's 1991 Forest Strategy. This and the other cases (Brazil, Cameroon, China, Costa Rica, and India) complement a review of the entire set of lending and nonlending activities of the World Bank Group and the Global...

This book presents the key findings from a new poverty assessment for Vietnam, led jointly by the World Bank and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS). It takes a fresh look at the lives of poor men, women, and children, and explores the constraints and opportunities they face today in...