This paper provides a basic understanding of the nature of emerging key information and communication technologies, and establishes the distance of countries from high-quality access to the internet - the necessary threshold one needs to cross in order to make use of such technologies. The paper...

This paper puts sub-Saharan Africa's economic development into perspective. While much did not go as hoped for at independence, much of the region has been on a more promising development trajectory since the mid-1990s, as we illustrate using growth, poverty, and human development indicators. We...

Extraordinary spread of new information and communication (ICTs) technologies has been recognized worldwide. ICTs are broadly perceived as tools facilitating economic growth and development, especially in economically backward countries. They are relatively easy and cheap to adopt, require...

Bolivia's macroeconomic performance in the period 1994 to 1998 is analyzed and compared with the performance in former periods and the performance of other developing countries (grouped according to income, region, and debt status). This allows to assess what has been achieved in Bolivia since...

The majority of the world's poor, by income poverty and multi-dimensional poverty, now live in countries officially classified by the World Bank as middle-income countries. Of course nothing happens when a country crosses a (somewhat) arbitrary threshold in per capita income but it does matter...

Myanmar's emergence from decades of isolation provides an opportunity to learn from the experiences of its neighbours to guide its economic transition and achieve strong and inclusive growth. The development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is an effective mechanism in achieving...