The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) is The World Bank’s official open access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products.
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Total publications: 39,562
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Publication At a Crossroads: Prospects for Government Health Financing Amidst Declining Aid(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-18) Kumar, Anurag; Gabani, Jacopo; Marino, Alberto; Mieses Ramirez, Julio Cesar; Eozenou, Patrick Hoang-VuInvesting in health is one of the most powerful drivers of human capital formation, economic growth, and job creation. However, low- and lower-middle-income countries are at a crossroads with growing economic uncertainty and sharp cuts to external aid. This report–part of an annual series–monitors the latest trends and provides an outlook on government and donor health spending in these countries. Government health spending remains well below the minimum needed to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) and has stagnated since 2018. Most LICs (80%) and many LMICs (40%) are projected to face a decline in combined government and donor health spending by 2030 as sharp cuts to development assistance for health—projected to decline by around 20%—offset modest growth in government spending. However, countries have policy options to alter their trajectories by spending better and spending more on health under fiscal constraints. Crucially, aid-dependent countries have a reform window to restructure and reshape their health systems in line with domestic priorities as aid dwindles. And it is feasible to raise the share of government spending on health in a third of LICs and LMICs—they have the fiscal space and underprioritize health compared to peers. While the challenge may appear daunting, bold reforms will deliver rapid gains by saving lives, creating jobs, and driving economic growth.Publication Assessing the Macroeconomic Impacts of Stochastic Climate Shocks in Paraguay(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-17) Ruberl, Heather; Yoong, Pui Shen; Castillo, Diego; Boehlert, BrentThis paper examines the macroeconomic consequences of climate shocks in Paraguay, a small and open agricultural exporter that is highly exposed to droughts and floods. Utilizing a modified version of the World Bank’s Macro-Fiscal Model, the analysis integrates stochastic climate shocks drawn from external biophysical models to assess the impacts of extreme weather events such as droughts, heatwaves and floods on agriculture and livestock production and labor productivity in Paraguay. The findings reveal significant vulnerabilities in agricultural outputs and exports across a range of climate scenarios. The paper presents a comprehensive analysis across different climate scenarios ranging from mild to severe and quantifies the range of potential impacts on key economic indicators.Publication Opportunities for Smart Investments in Resilience: Application of Prioritization Tools to Strengthen Disaster Resilience in Croatia(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-31) World BankCroatia faces a complex disaster risk landscape that requires smarter, risk informed planning to strengthen emergency preparedness and climate resilience. The country’s seismic vulnerability, diverse geography, and increasing climate related hazards such as floods, wildfires, and landslides pose growing challenges to communities, infrastructure, and economic sectors. Climate change is expected to intensify these risks, with projections of hotter, drier summers, rising sea levels, and more frequent extreme events impacting agriculture, tourism, water management, and coastal areas. Recent earthquakes and other disasters have highlighted the need for extensive reconstruction and recovery efforts. To safeguard development gains and reduce losses, public resources must focus on high priority interventions. Evidence based planning can help decision makers optimize investments for maximum risk reduction. Resilient critical services such as health, education, emergency facilities, and transport and power networks are essential, as disruptions in one sector can trigger cascading impacts across others. Strategic, risk informed design of emergency infrastructure is vital to ensure functionality during crises, particularly in high risk or densely populated areas. This knowledge note summarizes three tools applied in Croatia: Ready2Respond for preparedness, an EU wide hazard exposure assessment, and a portfolio level analysis of earthquake impacts and proactive investment needs.Publication Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Agricultural Transformation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-02) World BankThe global agrifood system stands at a critical inflection point. Climate shocks, rising input costs, fragile supply chains, and widening inequality are placing unprecedented pressure on food production and distribution. Small-scale producers (SSPs), who produce one-third of the world’s food, are especially vulnerable. Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a timely and powerful tool to help reimagine agricultural transformation in ways that are more productive, sustainable, and inclusive. This report presents a comprehensive and development-oriented analysis of how AI can be responsibly deployed across agrifood systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It moves beyond hype to deliver a grounded roadmap of applications, prerequisites, and investment priorities, while emphasizing ethical, inclusive, and scalable use.Publication Using Building Regulations to Lower Risks from Disasters and Strengthen Private Sector Resilience(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-27) Cardenas, Gina; Biasiucci, GiovanniUsing data from the World Bank Business Ready (B-READY) 2024 project and the United Nations University’s World Risk Index (WRI), this Brief finds that streamlined, transparent building regulations can lower disaster risks across income levels, primarily by enhancing economies’ capacities to anticipate, prepare for, recover, and learn from natural shocks. is also helps _rms reduce disruptions to their operations. Yet building regulations alone are not enough. Accessible public services (such as digital platforms, hazard mapping, and simplified permitting processes) are essential enablers that lower the cost of compliance with regulations, encourage adherence, and help make buildings safer and more resilient. Together, sound and effectively enforced regulations and public service delivery foster a private sector and a business environment that is more resilient to disasters, which, in turn, promotes long-term, sustainable economic growth. The Brief emphasizes that building regulations are not just a preventive measure but a vital adaptation strategy that helps economies become disaster-ready and also more attractive to investors.