Miscellaneous Knowledge Notes
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Publication
Women in Utilities: A Driving Force for Workforce Modernization – A Case Study of Three Utilities in the Danube Region
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-09)Diversity at the top of an organization can lead to better decision making and governance, and gender-inclusive companies—including utilities—can better reflect the needs of a diverse set of consumers. In the Danube region, utilities often face a predominantly male and sometimes aging workforce. However, gender gaps in tertiary education are closing, including programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. For the water sector, creating an environment with equal opportunities for men and women at all levels of responsibility should therefore be an integral part of every utility's modernization process. Beginning in 2017, the Danube Water Program and the World Bank Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership collaborated with three pioneering utilities in the Danube region to take a closer look at gender equality in their workplace: Brasov Regional Water Utility in Romania, the Prishtina Regional Water Utility in Kosovo, and the Tirana Water Utility in Albania. The assessment focused on four areas that determine success in gender equality, and results show that although all utilities have their individual strengths and weaknesses, there is wide scope for improvement toward optimal performance through human resource practices that foster a more gender-inclusive workforce. -
Publication
Female Labor Force Participation in Bangladesh: What Do We Know? How Can We Address it in Operations?
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-06)This knowledge note is designed to support operational teams to design interventions to help address the challenges of female labor force participation in Bangladesh. The note presents a brief overview of the status and dynamics of female labor force participation in Bangladesh, along with a discussion of underlying causes. It identifies potential areas for investment and policy intervention and provides good practice case examples from World Bank projects around the world. -
Publication
Insights for Global Development Solutions
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-10)The Development Digest is a half-yearly publication that features key works from teams based at the World Bank Group Global Knowledge and Research Hub in Malaysia. This third issue of the Development Digest focuses on green Islamic financing, where Malaysia leads the way with the issuance of the world's first green corporate sukuk. This digest also looks into topics like ASEAN at 50, open data, the role of GDP in development, migration, and microfinance. Other articles include one on industrial policies versus public goods to spur growth, and another on economic forecasting. -
Publication
Knowledge Brief: When, Why, and How Water and Sanitation Utilities Can Benefit from Working Together
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-08)The World Bank Water Global Practice, under the WSS GSG Utility Turnaround thematic area, has implemented the Global Study on WSS Utility Aggregation to provide evidence-based guidance to policy makers and practitioners regarding when, why, and how water and sanitation utilities can work together, or aggregate, to successfully deliver specific policy outcomes, such as better services or lower costs. Aggregation has been regarded as an opportunity to improve cost efficiency and performance of service delivery through economies-of-scale and cost-sharing, as well as enhanced human capacity. However, the study shows that successful aggregation—where the aggregated service provider performs significantly better than the previously disaggregated entities regarding the intended purpose, without unreasonable deterioration of other performance dimensions—is not always guaranteed. This work presents and reviews global evidence, analyzes specific aggregation case studies, and identifies the key characteristics that successful aggregations have in common, depending on their purpose and the context in which they occur. This knowledge brief summarizes the study outcomes, which are detailed further in the main report, Joining Forces for Better Services? When, Why, and How Water and Sanitation Utilities Can Benefit from Working Together. The accompanying toolkit (accessible at www.worldbank.org/water/aggregationtoolkit), offers a broader set of resources to inform aggregation processes. -
Publication
Closing the Gap: The State of Social Safety Nets 2017
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-04)There is an increasing global focus on social protection. For the first time social protection (SP) is part of a comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. As a reflection of this global focus, there has been an explosion of activity in social safety nets programs around the world. The number of developing countries with social safety nets (SSN) doubled in the last two decades from 72 to 149 countries There has also been an increasing complexity of SSN systems or programs in pursuit of greater results. A growing commitment to SSN is also evident in the fact that countries tend to spend more on SSN over time. A growing commitment to SSN is also evident in the fact that countries tend to spend more on SSN over time. More needs to be done as significant gaps in coverage remain around the globe. Much effort continues to be put into experimenting with new SSN instruments, and learning what works, especially with respect to promoting productive inclusion. -
Publication
Gender Dimensions of Small-Scale Cross-Border Trade in Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-10)The findings presented here, from a World Bank study led by the Trade and Competitiveness Practice of the World Bank, fill the gap in our knowledge about the patterns of small-scale cross-border trade in Cambodia and Lao PDR and those engaged in it. This knowledge will help inform future investments in trade integration and identify how interventions might be adjusted to ensure that vulnerable border users are able to realize the benefits of trade modernization. Given the lack of data on small-scale cross-border trade and traders, an innovative mix of survey strategies was implemented in Poipet and Bavet, Cambodia (on the borders with Thailand and Vietnam, respectively), and in Vangtao, Lao PDR (bordering Thailand). The three border crossings were chosen based on field observations and qualitative interviews in the vicinity of more than ten different border checkpoints. Selection criteria included trade volume, diversity and representativeness of trade patterns, and the active involvement of Lao and Cambodian citizens. Cambodia and Lao PDR were selected because they are the poorest of the four countries. Qualitative data from field observations, stakeholder interviews, and focus group discussions were combined with quantitative measures (sampling frames listing small-scale cross-border trade transactions and in-depth interviews) to provide a clear and accurate picture of small-scale cross-border trade and its practitioners. -
Publication
Knowledge Externalities from Poverty Mapping in the European Union
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-03)The Poverty Mapping in the European Union (EU) project, an initiative of the World Bank and European Commission (EC) in cooperation with EU member states, has developed a set of high-resolution poverty maps by using information from recent national population censuses and household income surveys to estimate the rates of monetary poverty for small geographic areas in EU member states. This disaggregated information can help guide allocations of EU funds to the areas in highest need as well as inform decision making and policies at the national and sub -national levels in each of the EU member states. This brief outlines several of the key knowledge externalities gained in the context of this project that have improved the World Bank’s approach to poverty mapping, including methodological innovations in small area poverty estimation and enhancements to the publicly available poverty mapping software PovMap. -
Publication
Lessons Learned from Poverty Mapping in the European Union
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-03)The Poverty Mapping in the European Union (EU) project, an initiative of the World Bank and European Commission (EC) in cooperation with EU member states, has developed a set of high-resolution poverty maps by using information from recent national population censuses and household income surveys to estimate the rates of monetary poverty for small geographic areas in EU member states. This disaggregated information can help guide allocations of EU funds to the areas in highest need as well as inform decision making and policies at the national and sub- national levels in each of the EU member states. -
Publication
Building Climate Resilience
(World Bank, Entebbe, 2015-05-01)Climate change is a critical issue facing the countries of the Nile basin. While individual weather events are difficult to attribute to climate change, their sum is already having adverse effects on socioeconomic conditions across the region. While climate change was not an overt focus of the Nile basin initiative’s (NBI’s) mandate when it was launched in 1999, it has emerged as a key challenge for countries of the Nile to take seriously. Understanding variability in river flows is one of the first steps in understanding climate change impacts and planning how to respond to them. Developing this understanding and getting it into use has been at the heart of the NBI’s technical work. -
Publication
Changing Lives in the Nile Basin
(World Bank, Entebbe, 2015-05-01)A remarkable program of cooperation in the Nile basin is bringing change to millions of people living in poverty. By promoting trust and cooperation between the 10 Nile countries, the Nile basin initiative (NBI) has enabled these countries to advance a shared vision for development of the region based on sustainable management and equitable use of the Nile water resources. Countries have come together to plan and implement development projects that are proving to be transformative in terms of food, water, and energy security - as well as improving the resilience of some of the poorest in society. Once implemented, these projects promise to benefit nearly 30 million people.