Connections
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Connections is a weekly series of knowledge notes from the World Bank Group’s Transport & Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Global Practice. It covers projects, experiences, and front-line developments.
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Publication Will the Digital Revolution Help or Hurt Employment?: Adaptation a Key to Realizing Job Gains(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02) Raja, Siddhartha; Ampah, MavisWhat will technological change deliver in the coming decades? And what can we do to determine the outcome? Technological change in any given society is never smooth and always negotiated. Although both perils and opportunities await, the ultimate result depends on our choices today. Governments, businesses, and individuals have shown that adapting to changing circumstances can alter the consequences of apparently ‘inevitable’ changes. And developing countries can be profoundly affected by changes seemingly limited to the advanced economies; they must adapt to what is actually a global technological playing field. The World Bank’s recently issued World Development Report 2016: digital dividends focuses on strengthening the ‘analog complements’ of the digital economy, including adapting skills to get the most out of the digital revolution. Countries whose governments can facilitate innovation, strengthen education and skill building, and build up the social safety net may be the most likely to benefit from the coming changes.Publication A New Measure of Rural Access to Transport: Using GIS Data to Inform Decisions and Attainment of the SDGs(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-10) Diehl, Adam; Iimi, AtsushiIn rural areas of the developing world, where the majority of the poor live, good transport connectivity through road infrastructure and transport services is an essential part of the enabling environment for sustainable growth. A lack of detailed nationwide data has limited previous efforts to develop measures of access to roads in rural areas that would guide policy and investment. The World Bank, with support from DFID, has been piloting a methodology that exploits advances in digital technology to assess population distribution and infrastructure location and quality. The resulting Rural Access Index (RAI) may serve as a useful and cost effective tool for governments planning their rural transport programs and as an indicator of progress towards the achievement of several of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets.Publication Mapping Manila Transit: A New Approach to Solving Old Challenges(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2015-01) Krambeck, HollyWhether they attempt to build jeepney stops, expand transit access, or improve bus routes, transit projects across much of the developing world are often hampered by (1) the lack of accurate transit maps and data and (2) the weak capacity of transit agencies to acquire and use such data. To address the twin aspects of this long-standing challenge, the World Bank, in collaboration with the Philippines and Australian Aid, developed both a methodology and a suite of open-source software applications based on free, internationally supported open data standards. The solutions have allowed the quick, low-cost production of transit maps; and they have empowered the agencies, and potentially businesses and the rest of government, for the first time to make ambitious planning and investment decisions based on accurate, comprehensive transit data. The global applicability of this approach has been demonstrated by its adoption in six other developing countries to date.