Sector/Thematic Studies
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Economic and Sectoral Work are original analytic reports authored by the World Bank and intended to influence programs and policy in client countries. They convey Bank-endorsed recommendations and represent the formal opinion of a World Bank unit on the topic. This set includes the sectoral and thematic studies which are not Core Diagnostic Studies. Other analytic and advisory activities (AAA), including technical assistance studies, are included in these sectoral/thematic collections.
Sub-collections of this Collection
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Country Gender Assessment -
Recent Economic Development in Infrastructure -
Energy Study -
Energy-Environment Review -
Equitable Growth, Finance & Institutions Insight -
Debt and Creditworthiness Study -
General Economy, Macroeconomics, and Growth Study -
Legal and Judicial Sector Assessment -
Gender Innovation Lab Federation Causal Evidence Series -
Health Sector Review
Items in this collection
1 - 10 of 153
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Publication
Bangladesh Land Acquisition Diagnostic Review: Legal and Institutional Framework, Procedures and Practices - Analysis of the Challenges of and Proposals for Strengthening the Country’s Land Acquisition System
(Washington, DC, 2022-08)Bangladesh has experienced a rapid pace of economic growth in the last two decades, with notable achievements across several social development parameters. To ensure sustained higher economic growth, the government of Bangladesh (GoB) aims to expand infrastructure related investment in the areas of strategic connectivity, industrialization, tourism development, and trade promotion, all of which require a significant amount of land. Age-old legal and institutional legacies and practices, issues pertaining to institutional capacity, and the lack of interoperability between departments involved in land administration make the overall land acquisition (LA) process extremely complicated and lengthy, with the scarcity of land making it even more challenging. The overall objective of the study was to assess the challenges and identify a mechanism for system strengthening and the scope of needed legal and institutional reform to improve the speed, accuracy, and accountability of the LA process. This report is presented in five chapters that discuss the study method, the analysis of the existing system and its challenges, measures to address the challenges, and the scope of possible legal and institutional reform. After introducing the study in this chapter, Chapter 2 discusses the country’s LA system and the process in practice. Chapter 3 describes the overall land administration in Bangladesh, including the method for transferring property rights, the creation and updating of khatians, and the complexity involved in the ownership decision process, one of the primary causes of delays in the payment of compensation. Chapter 4 presents the key challenges in the LA process, from the frustrations faced by IAs, who watch the timelines for their projects extended years longer than planned, to the worries and concerns of affected landowners waiting for compensation. Chapter 5 presents the proposals for improving and strengthening aspects of the LA process, including pertinent issues identified for possible land administration reform. -
Publication
Improving Health Services and Redesigning Health Systems: Using Care Cascade Analytics to Identify Challenges and Solutions, Volume 1. Population-level Cascade Analytics
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-02-11)This practical, interactive guide walks health program implementers through how to use cascade analytics to improve service delivery and client outcomes. For policy-makers, it explains the power of the cascade framework as an analysis tool and how it can help identify bottlenecks and solutions, and inform quality improvements and in-service reforms for more efficient, client-centered services. Cascade analytics also offer a practical way to track progress and demonstrate the concrete impact that specific changes in service delivery have on outcomes. In applications, we have found that cascades provide a powerful visual summary of where care processes stall and impact is lost. The guide helps readers master key concepts and guides them through the process of designing and conducting cascade analytics. It engages the reader and facilitates step-by-step learning with interactive features and real-life examples. The guide contains tried and tested templates for cascade analytics especially for non-communicable disease programs, and a worked example on hypertension care. The tools can also be used to better understand why clients are dropping out of care and what opportunities exist to bring them back and keep them in the program to attain their treatment targets. -
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Bangladesh: Enhancing Coastal Resilience in a Changing Climate
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022)As the World Bank and government of Bangladesh celebrate 50 years of development cooperation this year, a key highlight is the journey towards addressing climate change and improving the resilience of the coastal zone. From the outset, the World Bank has been a long-standing partner in the government’s efforts to reduce the risks from disasters and enhance coastal resilience, resulting in a number of noteworthy achievements. Bangladesh demonstrated how investments in the entire chain of disaster risk reduction saves lives, reduces economic losses, and protects development gains. Proactive policies and sound investments in strengthening resilience across multiple fronts over the last five decades have resulted in a drastic decline in the number of casualties from cyclones. Bangladesh’s approach has been an integrated one, from grassroots strengthening of community-level adaptation and community-based early warning systems, to investing in key protective infrastructure and promoting innovations, all founded on a strategic policy framework. With the success of these initiatives, Bangladesh has emerged as a global leader in climate resilience. Although there has been significant progress, with the coastal population and economy expected to grow, and the intensity and magnitude of extreme events projected to increase due to climate change, hazard impacts still pose a great threat to the development ambitions of the country. Thus, further actions are needed to improve the resilience of the coastal zone. This report provides new perspectives and insights into how to address the impacts of climate-related hazards in the coastal zone. The report provides evidence of the drivers of risks in Bangladesh’s coastal zone, analyzes what has been achieved so far in reducing these risks, and reviews the lessons learned from these achievements. Supported by in-depth analytical work, the report explores innovative solutions illustrated with artist impressions and puts forward seven key recommendations to enhance coastal resilience in Bangladesh and build shared prosperity for decades to come. What is clear from the report is that investing in coastal resilience will bring multiple benefits, and that the time to act is now. -
Publication
Bangladesh Country Gender Assessment 2021
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022)This Country Gender Assessment presents key gender issues to be considered for Bangladesh’s desired transformation. The objective of the assessment is to inform the World Bank Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Bangladesh, which is currently being developed. Gender issues are discussed across the four pillars of the World Bank Gender Strategy FY16–23 (World Bank Group 2015). Given the unique challenges emerging from the Displaced Rohingya Population (DRP) influx, gender gap analysis is also conducted for the host community in Cox’s Bazar district. Timely discussion of the impacts of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on women and girls is included as part of the analysis of gender gaps across these five areas. Similarly, the impacts of climate change on women and girls and their potential role in climate adaptation are also discussed across pillars. The Country Gender Assessment serves as a compendium of existing analytical work on gender issues and opportunities by the World Bank, GoB, development partners, academia, and others, including the Bank’s Bangladesh jobs diagnostic and voices to choices report. The executive summary highlights key interlinkages between the barriers to gender equality and the frontier challenges that Bangladesh is facing -
Publication
Bangladesh Rural Income Diagnostic: Enabling Faster and More Equal Income Growth in Rural Bangladesh
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-11-30)This Rural Income Diagnostic (RID) aims to answer the question: “What are the main opportunities and constraints to faster, sustained income growth for poor and vulnerable households in rural Bangladesh” This analysis is motivated by recent evidence highlighting the centrality of rural areas for poverty reduction in Bangladesh and the need to update our understanding of rural income dynamics to better inform policy solutions. The objective of the analysis is to inform the World Bank Systematic Country Diagnostic and governmentplanning. The analysis focuses on areas where progress can be made in the next five years, consistent with the country’s long-term development path. The focus on short-term priorities to accelerate rural income growth needs to be implemented in a manner that is consistent with, and does not distract from, long-run goals and investments that will have very high future returns, especially for the poor. These include investments in child nutrition, health, and education. -
Publication
Efficiency of Planning, Programming and Delivery of Social Protection Programs on Early Years
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-11-10)Investing in children’s human capital is one of the most critical investments a country can make to break the cycle of poverty and reap the demographic dividend. It can support the productivity and competitiveness of the future workforce and thus affect the growth trajectory of the country. Adequate stimulation and nutrition, especially during the first years of life, is critical for children’s physical, cognitive, and socioemotional growth and development. And children who are left behind in their formative years are often unable to reach strong learning outcomes. To maximize the impact of social protection programs, it is critical to: (1) align the allocation of resources with national policies and strategies; (2) design programs that are able to reach their intended beneficiaries with adequate coverage and benefits; (3) ensure efficiency in programming and financing; and (4) ensure efficiency in actual program delivery at the local level. This policy note analyses all four points based on the findings of the recent social protection public expenditure review, but with a particular focus on mother and child programs. It highlights areas where challenges remain and proposes policy recommendations to address those. -
Publication
Policy Recommendations on Accelerating Inclusive Employment of Persons with Disabilities in Bangladesh
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-25)Disability-inclusive development directly responds to the World Bank’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. Disability and poverty are inherently linked, with persons with disabilities having poorer health outcomes; lower education achievements; less economic participation; and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities. Poverty may also increase the risk of disability, by leading to the onset of health conditions associated with disabilities, such as malnutrition; low birth weight; lack of clean water and sanitation; and unsafe work and living conditions. The development challenges faced by persons with disabilities need to be addressed through a multisectoral and multidimensional approach that entails measures to improve accessibility and equality of opportunity; promotes participation and inclusion; and increases respect for the autonomy and dignity of persons with disabilities. Ensuring the social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities in Bangladesh remains a challenge. To break the cycle of disability exclusion and poverty for persons with disabilities and their households, access to work and or livelihoods is essential. This note provides a set of recommendations to support the equitable participation and inclusion of women and men with disabilities in the labor market through a variety of mechanisms, including legislative policies; education and skills development; self and wage employment; social protection; accessibility; and the importance of changing attitudes. -
Publication
Infected and Stressed by Climate Variability: New Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-10)Bangladesh’s extreme vulnerability to the effects of climate change is well documented. Through a complex pathway, climatic conditions have already negatively impacted human health worldwide. This is likely to escalate if predicted changes in weather patterns hold. Infectious disease transmission will change in pattern and incidence for certain vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue, and waterborne diseases such as diarrhea and cholera. The incidence of respiratory disease will be affected by extreme temperatures that exacerbate the effects of allergens and of air pollution (World Bank 2012). If global warming progresses toward a 4°C increase scenario, a scenario presented as the worst case at the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference of Parties, stresses on human health can overburden the systems to a point where adaptation will no longer be possible (World Bank 2012). Hence the urgent need for the public sector to be better prepared to respond to the crisis. The consequences of climate change and/or climate variability are well documented and hypothesized. The literature linking climate change or climate variability and health, however, is less so. Climate variability refers to short-term changes in the average meteorological conditions over a month, a season, or a year. Climate change, however, refers to changes in average metrological conditions and seasonal patterns over a much longer time (Mani and Wang 2014). Compared to the availability of global evidence on this topic, the evidence from Bangladesh is far more limited. Among the studies available for Bangladesh, some require further substantiation because they are mostly regional one-off studies with a range of methodological limitations. In doing so, the report responds to several key questions, summarized in this subsection. What it does not do is construct mathematical models for projecting the incidence and prevalence of infectious diseases and mental health issues based on predicted climate change patterns. Nor does it attempt to establish a causal relationship between climate change and the selected health conditions. The report uses primary data from a nationally representative sample of about 3,600 households surveyed during the monsoon and dry seasons. It links weather variables, the incidence of selected diseases, and health conditions in Bangladesh to ensure that the findings are, as much as possible, based on precise climate and health data. The recommendations, therefore, are context-specific and drawn from primary evidence. -
Publication
Is Dhaka’s Weather More Conducive to Dengue Outbreaks?
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-10)This report provides evidence from Dhaka to establish the linkage between climatic conditions and dengue outbreaks. In chapter two, the overall trend of dengue cases and associated deaths are presented; following which chapter three examines climate and dengue-related data for Dhaka to assess whether climatic conditions contributed to the major dengue outbreak in the capital city in 2019. Chapter four then presents the global evidence for the linkages between climate variability and the mosquito lifecycle. Analyses of weather variables for Dhaka between 1976 and 2019 are presented in chapter five to ascertain overall trends in climatic conditions. Chapter six provides a summary of key findings and recommends options for policymakers to consider. -
Publication
Bangladesh: Finding It Difficult to Keep Cool
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-10)Bangladesh is a low-lying river delta with a long coastline of 711 kilometers and floodplains that occupy 80 percent of the country (Hasib and Chathoth 2016). The country experiences a multitude of natural disasters every year. Severe floods, cyclones, storms, tidal surges, and river erosion frequently cause loss of life, with devastating social and economic impacts. These extreme weather events are expected to be exacerbated by the effects of climate change (Rahman et al. 2019). The Government of Bangladesh’s National Climate Vulnerability Assessment identified a number of climate-related hazards in 2018 that are critical for Bangladesh, including increasing temperature and heat stress; more frequent and longer droughts; increasing rainfall intensity; higher river flows and flood risks; greater riverbank erosion; sea level rises and salinity intrusion; landslides; and increasing intensity of cyclones, storm surges, and coastal flooding (Government of Bangladesh 2018). In rural areas, where nearly 80 percent of the population live, climate change has an immediate and direct effect on the health and wellbeing of millions of people who depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. The impacts of climate change are also increasingly felt in large cities that are exposed to various climate-induced hazards, including variations in temperature, excessive and erratic rainfall, water logging, flooding, and heat and cold waves (Rabbani et al. 2011). These hazards are exacerbated by high population density, poverty, rural–urban migration, illiteracy, and a lack of public utilities and services (Rabbani et al. 2011). Rapid urbanization and a growing urban slum population are quickly changing the population dynamics in Bangladesh, and this has implications for climate-induced health risks (Mani and Wang 2014). The country has the world’s highest rate of mortalities that are caused by natural disasters, with more than half a million people lost to disaster events since 1970. Most of these deaths have occurred during floods or cyclones (Nahar 2014). Not long ago, Bangladesh was hit by two major cyclones: Sidr in 2007 and Aila in 2009. Cyclone Sidr killed 3,406 people while more than 55,000 sustained physical injuries. Heavy rain and tidal waves caused by wind effects led to extensive physical destruction and damage to crops and livestock. After Cyclone Sidr, an assessment by the Government of Bangladesh found widespread outbreaks of diarrhea, dysentery, acute respiratory infection, and pneumonia. Children ages five or younger were the most vulnerable (Kabir et al. 2016b). Cyclone Aila hit the southern coastline of Bangladesh and partly damaged the Sundarbans. Along with outbreaks of diarrheal diseases was an acute scarcity of drinking water and food (Kabir et al. 2016b). With the number and intensity of such storms or cyclones projected to increase, climate change can reverse some of the significant gains Bangladesh has made in improving health-related outcomes, particularly in reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, and improving nutritional outcomes.