This Report aims to inspire and guide the researchers and practitioners who can help advance a new set of development approaches based on a fuller consideration of psychological and social influences. (Page 2)

Every policy relies on explicit or implicit assumptions about how people make choices. Those assumptions typically rest on an idealized model of how people think, rather than an understanding of how everyday thinking actually works. This year’s World Development Report argues that a more...

In addition to some of the most acclaimed beaches in the world, the Indian ocean islands offer one of the planet's greatest concentrations of biodiversity and stunning landscapes that include active volcanoes, sculpted canyons, and verdant seaside cliffs. Yet, despite its many attributes and...

Developing East Asia has led the way in showing how rapid and broadly shared growth can lift millions out of poverty. And, as this book shows, the region has achieved even more: the wave of prosperity across the region since the 1980s has lifted three out of five of its citizens into economic...

The Nepal Development Update is produced twice a year with the following two main aims: to report on key economic developments over the preceding months, placing them in a longer-term and global perspective; and to examine (in the Special Focus section) topics of particular policy significance....

Digital technologies are spreading rapidly, but digital dividends-the broader benefits of faster growth, more jobs, and better services-are not. If more than 40 percent of adults in East Africa pay their utility bills using a mobile phone, why can't others around the world do the same? If 8...