Over the last decade Morocco has made important strides in responding to citizen demands for more transparency, accountability, and shared prosperity. This has also extended into the public sector and its varied functions. In Morocco public contracts account for some 17 percent of GDP and are...

While the Iraqi education system was widely regarded as one of the best in the Middle East and enjoyed near-universal primary enrollment until the 1980s, the next decade marked a serious downturn in results. The sector witnessed low primary and secondary enrollment and attendance, outdated...

This MENA K&L Quick Note highlights the key lessons learned from the workshop entitled: Procurement Under Public private Partnerships (PPP): A Learning Event for the Water and Energy Sectors, held in Beirut, Lebanon on October 13-15, 2014. The event was organized by the Governance Global...

Over the course of a six-year period from 2006-2011, the Government of Iraq (GOI), with support from the World Bank, undertook an ambitious effort to reform its public procurement system and legal framework. Among other actions, an Inter-Ministerial Task Force (IMTF) was created, consultations...

Well-functioning institutions are critical to reducing poverty and boosting growth. However, fragile and conflict-affected states generally lack the political and institutional structures needed to address pockets of poverty and promote development. One relevant example where the World Bank met...

To many, reducing water losses is seen as key to more sustainable water management. The arguments to reduce water losses are compelling, but reducing water losses has turned out to be challenging. This paper applies a panel data analysis with fixed effects to determine the major drivers of...

Aid is good for the poor. This paper uses detailed aid data spanning 60 developing countries over the past two decades to show that social aid significantly and directly benefits the poorest in society, while economic aid increases the income of the poor through growth. This new and unequivocal...