The global financial crisis has led to rising interest in private sector development and economic growth. There is strong evidence that crises can stimulate investment climate reform. A better investment climate makes economic adjustment easier and helps attract capital to create jobs and...

Publication of this first edition of the little data book on private sector development coincides with rising interest in private sector development and growing understanding of the links between private sector development and economic growth. Well functioning finance markets and a robust...

More than 200 million people in the developing world were out of work this year. Over 1 billion are hungry, while millions more are confronting the threat that climate change poses. The United Nations estimates that 884 million people don't have safe drinking water and more than 2.6 billion...

The publication of this fifth edition coincides with the convergence in accounting standards that has been a feature of the international landscape since the global financial crisis of 1998. The events of that year prompted several international organizations, including the World Bank and the...

Political risk remains the top preoccupation for foreign investors operating in developing countries over the next three years, in spite of persistent concerns over the global downturn in the short term. The global economic recession triggered by the financial crisis that has unfolded over the...