The main objectives of this study, Health care spending in the new EU member states: controlling costs and improving quality, are to take stock of recent trends in health expenditure aggregates in the public sector and to identify specific areas of reform consistent with the objectives of...

Argentina's youth, 6.7 million between the ages of 15 and 24, are an important, but to a certain extent untapped, resource for development. Over 2 million (31 percent) have already engaged in risky behaviors, and another 1 million (15 percent) are exposed to risk factors that are correlated with...

This study reviews: (1) how levels of donor financing of the health sector in Somalia varied over the decade 2000-09, (2) which health interventions were prioritized by donors, and (3) how evenly health sector aid was distributed to the different zones of Somalia. The overall aim of the study...

The past half-century has seen enormous changes in the demographic makeup of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In the 1950s, LAC had a small population of about 160 million people, less than today's population of Brazil. Two-thirds of Latin Americans lived in rural areas. Families were...

Men who have sex with Men (MSM) are currently at marked risk for HIV infection in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Estimates of HIV prevalence rates have been consistently higher among MSM than for...

Executive Directors continued to play an important role as the World Bank faced many challenges in a global post crisis economy. The Board considered a number of key documents in preparation for the committee on development effectiveness meetings. These included the World Development Report...

The HIV/AIDS pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa remains a long-term development challenge for the region. Nearly 12 million African children have been orphaned as a result of the disease, and 22.5 million people in Africa 61 percent of them women live with HIV. The hyperepidemics in Southern Africa...

This report discusses and analyzes labor market dynamics and outcomes (including unemployment, worker shortages, and urban-rural imbalances of categories of health workers) from a labor economics perspective. It then uses insights from this perspective as a basis for elaborating policy options...

The commission on growth and development was established in April 2006. It felt that the benefits of growth were not fully appreciated, but also recognized that the causes of growth were not fully understood. Growth is often overlooked and underrated as an instrument for tackling the world's...

This book began in 2003 during the initial formulations of China's 11th five-year plan, which covers the period 2006-10. During the entire period, the rural health Analytic and Advisory Activities (AAA) team analyzed the sector and debated reform options with government officials and scholars....