Sector/Thematic Studies

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2110

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.

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Addressing Care to Accelerate Equality

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-08) Ahmed, Tanima ; Devercelli, Amanda ; Glinskaya, Elena ; Nasir, Rudaba ; Rawlings, Laura B.

The care economy is essential in daily life and a driver of economic growth, human capital development, and employment. Gender is a defining characteristic of the care economy. Women spend 3.2 times more time on unpaid care work than men and constitute the majority of the care workforce. Disproportionate unpaid care responsibilities and a lack of access to quality, accessible, affordable care services impede women’s economic participation and affect their overall well-being. Investments in the care sector are essential to accelerate equality and could generate up to 299 million jobs worldwide by 2035. Globally, the need for care services is high. Worldwide, 43 percent of all children below primary-school-entry age—350 million children—need childcare but do not have access to it. The need for eldercare is also growing as the population continues to age and face chronic health conditions. The World Bank actively supports countries in addressing this care crisis. This thematic policy note reviews many of the issues, evidence, and lessons learned.
Gender-Based Violence Country Profile: Saint Lucia

(Washington, DC, 2023-06-01) World Bank

The law in Saint Lucia provides for the same legal status and rights for women as for men, requires equal pay for equal work, and provides equal treatment of men and women for family property, nationality, and inheritance. Its economy is heavily dependent on tourism and services, both of which have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Economic vulnerabilities in St. Lucia are felt more keenly by women, with 42.3 percent of poor households being female headed (compared to a national rate of 25 percent) and larger than male headed households, and more women being found among the working poor, corroborating the challenges women face in the labor market. This profile looks at gender-based violence (GBV) in Saint Lucia, discussing the levels of gender-based violence (GBV), legal, institutional and policy environment for address GBV, social norms driving this violence, and the mechanisms to prevent and respond to GBV.
Steering the Human Development Strategy for a Sustainable Green Economy in the Slovak Republic

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-05-17) Abdul-Hamid, Husein ; Ambasz, Diego

The rippling effects of multiple overlapping crises on the economy, declining education outcomes, and inability of the education system to meet the upcoming needs of the labor market puts the Slovak Republic in a human capital crisis. There is a misalignment between the supply and outcomes of the education system and requirements of the labor market. Education-to-work pathways through vocational and tertiary education are insufficient to prepare students for the green economy transition. Education-to-work pathways need to be flexible to align worker choices with needs of the labor market. This policy note provides a deep dive into the education situation in the Slovak Republic and proposes specific policy recommendations aiming at the skilling and reskilling toward the green and digital agenda, utilizing European and international experiences in this area.
Jobs, Food and Greening: Exploring Implications of the Green Transition for Jobs in the Agri-food System

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-05-16) Nico, Gianluigi ; Christiaensen, Luc

The agri-food system (AFS) employs about one third of the global workforce and contributes about one third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This together with its large exposure to the effects of climate change and environmental degradation makes what happens in AFS central to the green transition and its implications for jobs and the structural transformation. Microeconomic evidence suggests that the adoption of climate smart agricultural practices will increase labor requirements, at least in the short run and at lower levels of incomes, when its mechanization is still limited. Econometric macro-model-based simulations suggest however that especially substantial investment in climate friendly agricultural R&D as well as soil and water preserving practices and market integration will more than offset the negative effects of climate change and even accelerate the structural transformation, especially in Sub Saharan Africa. Overall, the findings underscore the tremendous potential of increasing agricultural and climate friendly R&D investment for brokering an environmentally sustainable structural transformation. Repurposing of agriculture’s current US$ 638 billion support package towards supporting more climate friendly practices, including to overcome the time lag between the moment of investment and the realization of the benefits, provides an important policy entry point.
Diagnosing the Binding Constraints to Better Jobs: An Approach and Framework

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-05-16) Osborne, Theresa

The persistent lack of good jobs that is, an inadequate level or quality of jobs, inefficient and/or inequitable jobs outcomes is a key economic issue in developing (and some developed) economies. Yet policy responses often lack an understanding of the causes. While the proximate drivers, such as low productivity growth, slow capital deepening, or a lack of firms and other organized economic actors, may share patterns, the policy roots and circumstances of these outcomes vary a great deal by country. Thus, making progress in a meaningful and lasting way requires, in the first instance, a clear understanding of the binding constraints which, if alleviated, would result in a substantial structural improvement to jobs outcomes. Binding constraints could arise in a host of policies and institutions, including possibly inadequate human capital and labor market policies but also in infrastructure, regulatory, financial, judicial and other areas. This paper provides a data-driven approach and framework for diagnosing the truly binding constraints to better jobs. The approach is to rule out broad categories of constraints using economic logic and data, and to utilize an array of empirical indicators to test whether remaining candidate constraints are binding. While this paper outlines an exhaustive approach, the style of thinking and techniques can also be applied selectively to fill analytical gaps and ensure that key issues are not left unaddressed.
Nigeria Development Update December 2022 - Nigeria's Choice

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-11-30) World Bank

Nigeria’s economic performance has weakened since the previous Nigeria Development Update (NDU) was published in June 2022 under the title of “The Continuing Urgency of Business Unusual”. The global economic environment has weakened. Economic activity in most major economies has slowed in 2022 amid high inflation and central banks shifting toward contractionary monetary policies. External financing conditions, particularly for governments and private borrowers in frontier markets such as Nigeria, have tightened, as the US dollar has appreciated sharply against most other currencies to historically strong levels, and global benchmark interest rates have risen. Moving into 2023, growth in most regions is expected to weaken further, and uncertainty regarding the outlook remains elevated, partly because of key unknowns such as future developments related to the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine.
Egypt - The First Sovereign Green Bond in the Middle East and North Africa: Case Study

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-11-01) World Bank

Sustainable debt is loan or bond financing that helps mitigate or address a specific environmental or social concern or achieve positive environmental or social outcomes. The term environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, often used interchangeably with sustainable investing, denotes an investment approach wherein investors apply nonfinancial factors related to ESG issues in their investment analysis to identify risks and opportunities. The practice of ESG investing began in the 1960s as socially responsible investing, with investors excluding stocks or entire industries from their portfolios to avoid investing in morally questionable businesses. In recent years, ESG investing has garnered tremendous interest because of the recognition of environmental and social risks to the global economy; the urgency that the Paris Agreement and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development have created; and the resulting impetus to finance initiatives that help limit global warming, environmental degradation, and various social problems. Investors use a variety of strategies, including negative or exclusionary screening, positive screening, integration of ESG considerations, thematic and impact investing, and active ownership and stewardship, to incorporate ESG considerations into their investment processes. Climate change, resource scarcity, and demographic and social change feature prominently in several investment strategies. Impact investments are often made to address challenges in sectors such as sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, conservation, microfinance, and affordable and accessible basic services, including housing, health care, and education.
Performance Assessment of Serbia’s Environmental and Climate Institutions: Focus on Addressing Energy-Sector Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

(Washington, DC, 2022-11) World Bank

Policy credibility and effectiveness and strong institutional capacities are essential to achieving a green and just transition in Serbia. This assessment focuses on the performance of institutions at both the national and subnational levels, and is aimed at addressing Serbia’s air pollution and climate change mitigation challenges to prepare these institutions for the transition to a low-carbon and green economy. In this assessment, the term ‘institutions’ refers to public institutions. Their performance is analyzed in several ways; including by assessing the overall institutional set-up, related capacities, gaps, and coordination mechanisms; presenting regulatory framework in these areas and in terms of strategic orientation and alignment with key EU acquis; and analyzing the role of institutions as part of an enabling environment for fostering investments.
Gulf Economic Update: Green Growth Opportunities in the GCC

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-08-31) World Bank

The world economy was on track for a strong, albeit uneven, recovery from COVID-19. However, the war in the Ukraine and supply-chain disruptions exacerbated by shutdowns in China due to the zero-COVID policy are dealing a serious blow to global recovery. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), however, is expected to perform strongly this year. Booming hydrocarbon prices have eased pressure on fiscal balances and public sector debt and has increased current account surpluses in the GCC. Despite efforts by GCC countries, diversification is still below potential. There is progress in the non-oil economy but limited success in non-oil exports. Structural reforms must be continued to help nurture a competitive private sector. There is however an excellent and timely opportunity to diversify further the economy using a green growth strategy. The extra windfall from higher oil prices to the GCC can be used to start new high-growth, green industries that would help the economies of the region grow by an extra 3-6 percent as detailed in the Focus section of this update. The special focus section also emphasizes that there is no inherent long run trade-off between emissions reductions, economic growth, and poverty alleviation. Moving away from fossil fuels towards a greener future should not be seen as a threat but as a tremendous opportunity as the costs of renewable energy have fallen dramatically in recent years. The region already has three record-breaking, low-cost auctions for solar energy supply in Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. The region also has the potential to be a lead producer of green and blue hydrogen. With the right regulations, policies, and investments to support the transition, GCC countries can emerge with stronger, more sustainable economies that generate rewarding jobs for their youth while simultaneously protecting the planet. Finally, this report highlights potential pathways for GCC countries to benefit from and play a leading role in the global transition to a low-carbon economy.
Timor-Leste Economic Report: Investing in the Next Generation

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-06-28) World Bank

Buffeted by COVID-19 and Tropical Cyclone Seroja, the non-oil economy grew by 1.5 percent in 2021. A record-high budget with expenditure of nearly 90 percent of GDP bolstered government consumption. A series of fiscal and quasi-fiscal stimulus measures supported employment and incomes, thereby allowing households to maintain their consumption. On the demand side, gross capital formation shrunk while net exports expanded. The oil economy grew by 8.3 percent, bringing the total economic growth to 4.4 percent.1 The government lifted the pandemic-related state of emergency at the end of November 2021, but challenges remain. Following a relatively brisk start, the vaccination campaign has moved sluggishly in recentmonths. Nevertheless, the authorities have initiated vaccination of children and adolescents between 12 and 18 years old, while booster shots have been made available. There has been a concerning surge of Dengue Fever with 5,000 reported cases (and 54 fatalities) to date since January 2022‒a more than seven-fold increase from the same period a year ago. All restrictions for inbound international vaccinated travelers to Timor-Leste havebeen rescinded. By the end of May 2022, the partly vaccinated and fully vaccinated figures in Timor-Leste stood at 85.4 percent and 73.4 percent, respectively.