This learning product reviews the extent to which political economy analysis (PEA) is used to improve the design of development policy operations (DPOs) and how effective it has been. Although the World Bank's mandate explicitly precludes it from engaging in politics, an understanding of the...

This evaluation assesses the early experience with the design and implementation of Program for Results (PforR) operations and identifies lessons and recommendations to strengthen this new instrument. When the report was completed in June 2016, none of the PforR programs had closed, and it was...

This paper is a survey of practices and results that have been observed in the implementation of PBGs, drawing largely upon four in-depth Project Performance Assessment Reports undertaken by IEG, in Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. It also draws upon IEG's evaluations of Ghana's Poverty...

This evaluation focuses on the World Bank Group's support to enhancing industry-specific productivity and competitiveness, and examines the implications of improved industry competitiveness for employment during the last decade. The evaluation focuses on activities with explicit objectives to...

This evaluation assesses the World Bank Group's contributions towards capital market development in client countries. It examines the activities the Bank Group has in all segments of capital market development, both in the public and private sectors, including interventions across 64 countries....

This Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) Learning Product addresses the effectiveness of World Bank interventions during fiscal years (FY) 2000-2015 in supporting client countries for improving the financial performance and long-term viability of their electricity sectors. Like other IEG learning...

The report discusses how challenging it is for the World Bank Group to provide assistance when middle-income countries experience situations of fragility, conflict, and violence. The government may have its own views on how and when to tackle the underlying issues, or may be reluctant to...

At the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015, world leaders endorsed 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Placing economic, social, and environmental sustainability at the center of development, the new agenda...

Access to adequate housing is critically important to the health and wellbeing of the world's population. Yet, despite the fact that this statement is part of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and has been on the global policy agenda for many years, hundreds of millions of...

Transformational engagements are a critical pillar of the World Bank Group's strategy for achieving its twin goals of extreme poverty elimination and shared prosperity. This learning product uses evaluative evidence from the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) to understand the mechanisms and...