The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) is The World Bank’s official open access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products.
Search the OKR ...
Search tip: Use quotation marks around exact phrases
Total publications: 38,854
Featured Publications
Recently Added
Publication Organizational Hierarchies and Export Destinations(Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2025-05-23) Brambilla, Irene; César, Andrés; Falcone, Guillermo; Guido, PortoThis paper proposes a new link relating export destinations and the organization of the firm: the production of higher-quality varieties exported to rich destinations induces firms to restructure their production processes, becoming organizationally more complex. A theoretical model with these features is presented, and then the mechanisms are explored using a panel of Chilean manufacturing plants. The identification strategy of the paper relies on falling tariffs on Chilean products across destinations caused by the signature of Free Trade Agreements with high-income countries (the European Union, the United States, and South Korea). Results show that Chilean plants induced by these tariff reductions to start exporting to high-income destinations increased the number of hierarchical layers and upgraded the quality of their products. This involved the addition of qualified supervisors who facilitated the provision of higher product quality. These effects took place at new high-income export firms.Publication Latin America and the Caribbean: Macro Poverty Outlook Country-by-Country Analysis and Projections for the Developing World, Spring Meetings 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-23) World BankThis edition of the Macro Poverty Outlooks periodical contains country-by-country forecasts and overviews for GDP, fiscal, debt and poverty indicators for the developing countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Macroeconomic indicators such as population, gross domestic product and gross domestic product per capita, and where available, other indicators such as primary school enrollment, life expectancy at birth, total greenhouse gas emissions and inflation, among others, are included for each country. In addition to the World Bank’s most recent forecasts, key conditions and challenges, recent developments and outlook are briefly described for each country in the region.Publication Middle East and North Africa: Macro Poverty Outlook Country-by-Country Analysis and Projections for the Developing World, Spring Meetings 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-23) World BankThis edition of the Macro Poverty Outlooks periodical contains country-by-country forecasts and overviews for GDP, fiscal, debt and poverty indicators for the developing countries of Middle East and North Africa. Macroeconomic indicators such as population, gross domestic product and gross domestic product per capita, and where available, other indicators such as primary school enrollment, life expectancy at birth, total greenhouse gas emissions and inflation, among others, are included for each country. In addition to the World Bank’s most recent forecasts, key conditions and challenges, recent developments and outlook are briefly described for each country in the region.Publication She Drives Change: A Toolkit for Redefining Opportunities for Women in Transport(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-23) Kurshitashvili, Nato; Casabonne, Ursula; Nikore, Mitali; Juneja, BrindaShe Drives Change: A Toolkit for Redefining Opportunities for Women in Transport is a comprehensive resource designed to empower transport sector professionals and policy makers to address disparities in mobility, employment, and entrepreneurship between women and men within the transport sector. The objective of this toolkit is to provide users with a structured approach to identifying and addressing gaps between men and women in various transport subsectors, including urban transport, rural and peri-urban roads, rail, aviation, maritime transport, and economic corridors. The toolkit presents specific interventions and indicators tailored to each subsector. The toolkit draws primarily from the World Bank’s project experience and several other cases provided by other organizations.Publication Farewell to Single-use Plastics in the Pacific: Regional Summary Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-23) World BankFarewell to Single-Use Plastics in the Pacific is a World Bank-led series of analytics aimed at informing national and regional decision-making, policy formulation, and investment requirements focused on decreasing plastic imports, consumption, and plastic waste, and, consequently, on reducing marine plastic pollution in the Pacific Islands. These studies focus on a single type of plastic product, selected in consultation with stakeholders and government officials reflecting national priorities, to evaluate the potential costs and benefits of specific regulations on a targeted product. The series covers case studies in Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu, with an overarching objective to identify viable alternatives to single-use plastics (SUPs); a stand-alone study in Fiji, focusing on strengthening a 2021 ban on polystyrene (PS) products; and a regional summary. Each study offers a detailed assessment of policy options tailored to a specific SUP, plastic bags in Kiribati, takeaway containers in Samoa, plastic bottles in Tonga, and disposable diapers in Vanuatu, identified through waste audits conducted for the Regional Waste Data Collection, Monitoring, and Reporting (DCMR) Framework between 2018 and 2021. Each case study examines two prioritized policy interventions, selected using a multi-criteria analysis and assessed through a cost-benefit analysis. These assessments account for the economic and social impacts of each policy option, ensuring a thorough understanding of how measures could affect communities and ecosystems alike. The Fiji study provides an ex-post economic assessment of three policy scenarios to enhance the PS ban, analyzing the costs and benefits to promote sustainable alternatives.