Achieving the objective of China's current health system reform, namely equitable improvements in health outcomes, will be difficult not least because of the continuously growing income disparities in the country. The analysis in this paper shows that since 2000, disparity in selected health...

This report examines the role of incentives, trust, and engagement as critical determinants of service delivery performance in MENA countries. Focusing on education and health, the report illustrates how the weak external and internal accountability undermines policy implementation and service...

This article presents an innovative approach to addressing governance challenges in public service delivery in China. It builds on a citizen scorecard survey covering 5,000 households in five cities: Chengdu, Dalian, Shanghai-Pudong, Shenzhen and Xi’an. The survey helped policy-makers reveal...

Reflecting on lessons from international experience and on China's policy context, this paper aims to outline the analytical and institutional framework that would help make essential public services of adequate quality universally accesible and enjoyed by all citizens affected by the earthquake...

Reflecting on the lessons from international experience, this article aims to outline the analytical and institutional framework for restoring essential public services after a disaster. Specifically, this article offers a five-pillar framework to support successful reconstruction of essential...

In economies characterized by low labor demand and high rates of youth unemployment, entrepreneurship training has the potential to enable youth to gain skills and create their own jobs. This paper presents experimental evidence on a new entrepreneurship track that provides business training and...

With food prices on the rise, understanding the transmission of price shocks, both internationally and domestically, is central for trade policy analysis. This paper examines spatial market integration and its determinants for ten key food products in Bolivia, across the four most important...

Deposit insurance is widely offered in a number of countries as part of a financial system safety net to promote stability. An unintended consequence of deposit insurance is the reduction in the incentive of depositors to monitor banks, which leads to excessive risk-taking. This paper examines...

This paper reassesses what works in banking regulation based on the new World Bank survey (Survey IV) of bank regulation and supervision around world. The paper briefly presents new and official survey information on bank regulations in more than 125 countries, makes comparisons with earlier...

Eurasian cities, unique in the global spatial landscape, were part of the world's largest experiment in urban development. The challenges they now face because of their history offer valuable lessons to urban planners and policymakers across the world from places that are still urbanizing to...