The little data book on private sector development coincides with the unfolding of the global financial crisis. There is strong evidence that crises can stimulate reform of the investment climate. A better investment climate makes economic adjustment easier and helps attract capital to create...

More than four years after the global financial crisis hit, high-income countries struggle to restructure their economies and regain fiscal sustainability. Developing countries, where growth is 1-2 percentage points below what it was during the pre-crisis period, have been affected by the...

During fiscal year 2008, the Bank Group committed $38.2 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to its members and to private businesses in member countries, an increase of $3.9 billion (11.4 percent) from fiscal year 2007. The World Bank, comprising International Development...

This book, written on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, addresses three questions that relate to recession, recovery, and reform, respectively, in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) transition countries. Did the transition from a command to a market economy and...

Nigeria's vision of 2020 is a bold desire to be among the top twenty economies by the year 2020. The economy has posted impressive growth figures since 2003 driven by higher oil prices and a series of home-grown, economic reforms. The country is now firmly on the road to middle-income status....

Increasing access to rural finance is often the last frontier for financial sector development in developing countries. Financial institutions aiming to operate in rural areas in these countries usually have to deal with high transaction costs, low population densities, remote areas, and a heavy...

This volume combines the analyses of leading experts on the various elements affecting economic growth and the policies required to spur that growth. Ascent after Decline: Regrowing Global Economies after the Great Recession identifies the main challenges to the economic recovery, such as rising...

The year began on a positive note. A marked improvement in market sentiment, combined with monetary policy easing in developing countries, was reflected in a rebound in economic activity in both developing and advanced countries. Industrial production, trade and capital goods sales all returned...

Fostering the entrepreneurship of women is important for Pakistan's economic growth and inclusion agenda, and access to financial services is an important component of starting and growing a business for women entrepreneurs. Most women?owned businesses are small, household?based cottage...

For Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the challenge this year has been promoting foreign direct investment (FDI) into developing countries at a time when investment flows are slumping. While many investors shied away from projects because of the difficult investment climate, those...