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361 items available

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Gendered Laws

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12) Hyland, Marie Caitriona ; Djankov, Simeon ; Goldberg, Pinelopi Koujianou

This paper offers for the first time a global picture of gender discrimination by the law as it affects women's economic opportunity and charts the evolution of legal inequalities over five decades. Using the World Bank's newly extended Women, Business and the Law database, the paper documents large and persistent gender inequalities, especially with regard to equal pay and treatment of parenthood. The paper finds positive associations between improvements in the law and several labor market outcomes, and establishes a small, but over time increasing, causal impact of more equal laws on higher female labor force participation.
Women in Water Utilities: Breaking Barriers

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-08-27) World Bank

Women are significantly underrepresented in the water workforce. Multiple barriers, ranging from social norms, to inadequate HR policies, to an unwelcoming work environment, pose challenges to female water professionals’ entering, staying and advancing in the water sector. This study explores these barriers and provides utilities with practical approaches to advance their gender diversity.
An Exposition of the New Strategy, 'Promoting Peace and Stability in the Middle East and North Africa'

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-01) Devarajan, Shantayanan

The Middle East and North Africa region is in turmoil. Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen are in civil war, causing untold damage to human lives and physical infrastructure. Fifteen million people have fled their homes, many to fragile or economically strapped countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Djibouti and Tunisia, giving rise to the biggest refugee crisis since World War II. Palestinians are reeling from deadly attacks and blockades. With recruits from all over the world, radicalized terrorist groups and sectarian factions like Daesh are spreading violence around the globe, threatening some governments' ability to perform basic functions. Countries undergoing political transitions, such as Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan, face periodic attacks and political unrest, leading them to address security concerns over inclusive growth. Even relatively peaceful oil exporters, such as Algeria, Iran and the GCC, are grappling with youth unemployment and poor-quality public services, the same problems that contributed to the Arab Spring, alongside low oil prices. Finally, the author will develop and monitor input indicators that are consistent with the theory of change associated with the new strategy. We will have indicators that show whether our interventions are helping to renew the social contract (the use of citizen engagement in projects is an example). Household surveys can tell us whether the welfare of refugees and host communities is improving. Preparedness indicators can be used to inform progress on the recovery and reconstruction pillar. And standard indicators such as the share of electricity production that is traded will be used for the regional integration pillar.
Learning in the Face of Adversity: The UNRWA Education Program for Palestine Refugees

(Washington, DC, 2014-10) Abdul-Hamid, Husein ; Patrinos, Harry Anthony ; Reyes, Joel ; Kelcey, Jo ; Diaz Varela, Andrea

The goal of this study is to provide a better understanding of how a school system can operate efficiently under adversity. The results of this work will be useful in identifying relevant policies in the Middle East and North Africa region. Palestine refugees are achieving higher-than-average learning outcomes in spite of the adverse circumstances they live under. Their education system the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) operates one of the largest non-governmental school systems in the Middle East. It manages nearly 700 schools, has hired 17,000 staff, educates more than 500,000 refugee students each year, and operates in five areas, including the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. This study examines three: West Bank, Gaza, and Jordan. Contrary to what might be expected from a resource-constrained administration serving refugee students who continually face a multitude of adversities, UNRWA students outperform public schools in the three regions the West Bank, Gaza, and Jordan by a year's worth of learning. This study was undertaken to better understand the reasons for success at UNRWA schools and their positive variation from comparable public schools. Econometric techniques were used to analyze international (TIMSS and Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA) and national learning achievement data. Pedagogical practices and classroom time-on-task were observed using structured methods (Stallings model). Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) tools were used to better understand the policies and implementation strategies for school and teacher management and for monitoring and evaluation. Additionally, qualitative data were collected and analyzed in line with an education resilience conceptual framework to better uncover factors that help students develop the skills to learn despite the adversities they face.
Mauritania : Counting on Natural Wealth for a Sustainable Future

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-05) Mele, Gianluca

A data set of key macro-sustainability indicators, constructed after several fact-finding missions, and World Bank methodologies on estimating wealth accounting are used to study Mauritania's wealth, which is estimated to be between USD50 and USD60 billion. The country's produced wealth represents roughly 12 percent of total wealth, much less than in lower-middle-income countries; by contrast, natural wealth represents approximately 45 percent of the total figure. Renewable resources account for slightly less than two-thirds of natural wealth, with fisheries alone equaling about one-fourth of natural wealth. This is good news for Mauritania, as sound management of these resources may ensure a constant flow of resources in the future and therefore -- with adequate policies -- the achievement of the same or higher levels of welfare for future generations. On the negative side, however, the ratio of net adjusted savings over gross national income is estimated to have been negative since 2006, meaning that the wealth of the country is being depleted. Mauritania has recently joined the ranks of lower-middle-income countries, largely thanks to its considerable natural resources endowment. Over time the mining sector's contribution to gross domestic product has grown significantly and important discoveries continue to be made. The overarching objective of this wealth accounting exercise is thus to support Mauritania to measure its assets better and achieve a more complete picture of the prospects for future income, with a view to better orienting public policies toward sustainable growth and shared prosperity. The paper concludes with several indicative policy recommendations.
The Road Traveled: Dubai's Journey towards Improving Private Education - A World Bank Review

( 2014-03-21) Thacker, Simon ; Cuadra, Ernesto

As Dubai has grown over the last two decades, the demand for private education has grown with it, a reflection of the number of expatriates settling in the city. Today, 88 percent of all students attend private schools. The surge in demand over this period had in fact been so significant that authorities, recognizing the need to establish a specific governmental entity to oversee the sector s expansion, moved to create the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in 2007. Given the city-state s unique context (in which a majority of the population are expatriates, not Emiratis), the immediate challenge for this new public institution was to identify an appropriate approach for regulating a private education sector. The main objective of the present review is to understand what has motivated KHDA s policy initiatives, what principles have guided design, how they were operationalized, and how they function in real life situations today. In what follows, we look first at the broader context of the issue by giving a brief overview of: (i) the growth of private sector education; and (ii) the rise of public governance reform initiatives in the global education policy agenda. The authors then turn to the case of Dubai: the authors present the argument in the road not traveled before reviewing how that policy framework was translated into its present institutional configuration in Dubai through the development of the institutions that came into being. The authors then reflect on the policy framework in operation, showing how the constituent components function together. The authors end by suggesting some options on potential ways forward that will further enhance the system.
Who's Running the Company?: A Guide to Reporting on Corporate Governance

(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2012-10) Global Corporate Governance Forum ; International Center for Journalists

The media guide aims at helping business journalists report on corporate governance and raise public awareness of the impact it has on businesses, shareholders, and the broader community of stakeholders. This report will help journalists develop clear and compelling stories that examine how a company is governed. It was produced by IFC's Global Corporate Governance Forum in partnership with the International Center for Journalists, an organization that advances quality journalism worldwide. Topics include the media's role reporting on corporate governance, how a board of directors functions, what financial reports reveal, and how to track down information that sheds light on a company's performance in an informed way.
2012 Information and Communications for Development : Maximizing Mobile

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012-08-15) World Bank

With some 6 billion mobile subscriptions in use worldwide, around three-quarters of the world's inhabitants now have access to a mobile phone. Mobiles are arguably the most ubiquitous modern technology: in some developing countries, more people have access to a mobile phone than to a bank account, electricity, or even clean water. Mobile communications now offer major opportunities to advance human development from providing basic access to education or health information to making cash payments to stimulating citizen involvement in democratic processes. The developing world is 'more mobile' than the developed world. In the developed world, mobile communications have added value to legacy communication systems and have supplemented and expanded existing information flows. However, the developing world is following a different, 'mobile first' development trajectory. Many mobile innovations such as multi-SIM card phones, low-value recharges, and mobile payments have originated in poorer countries and are spreading from there. New mobile applications that are designed locally and rooted in the realities of the developing world will be much better suited to addressing development challenges than applications transplanted from elsewhere. In particular, locally developed applications can address developing-country concerns such as digital literacy and affordability. This 2012 edition of the World Bank's information and communications for development report analyzes the growth and evolution of mobile telephony, and the rise of data-based services delivered to handheld devices, including apps. The report explores the consequences for development of the emerging 'app economy.' It summarizes current thinking and seeks to inform the debate on the use of mobile phones for development. This report looks at key ecosystem-based applications in agriculture, health, financial services, employment, and government, with chapters devoted to each.
Toward a Green, Clean, and Resilient World for All: A World Bank Group Environment Strategy 2012 - 2022

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-05) World Bank Group

The new environment strategy for the World Bank Group lays out an ambitious action agenda that seeks to respond to calls from our client countries for a new kind of development path, one that supports growth while focusing more on sustainability and ensuring that the environment is a key enabler for green, more-inclusive growth. This strategy recognizes the importance of our convening power, access to policy makers, analytical work, development of new financial tools, and smart risk management as well as a portfolio of investments to accelerate solutions. Spreading these solutions by sharing knowledge, demonstrating success, and working in partnership, mobilizing action, and leveraging financing will be critical to our success.
The World Bank Annual Report 2011: Year in Review

(Washington, DC, 2011) World Bank

Executive Directors continued to play an important role as the World Bank faced many challenges in a global post crisis economy. The Board considered a number of key documents in preparation for the committee on development effectiveness meetings. These included the World Development Report 2011, which focuses on conflict, security, and development, and responding to global food price volatility and its impact on food security, which examines the Bank's responses to food price increases and climate change risks. The Board approved more than $42 billion in financial assistance in fiscal 2011, comprising about $26 billion in International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) lending and $16 billion in International Development Association (IDA) support. During fiscal 2011 the Bank Group committed $57.3 billion in loans, grants, equity investments, and guarantees to its members and to private businesses. IBRD commitments totaled $26.7 billion compared with $44.2billion in 2010, but still above pre crisis levels. The World Bank Group continues to operate under a real flat budget, for the seventh consecutive year.