Books by The World Bank

Provides an initial assessment of Libya's labour market and discusses policy options for promoting employability as part of a broader jobs strategy. It is intended as a contribution to evidence on Libya's labour market for the benefit of policy makers, civil society and the broader international community.

From Oil to Cities: Nigeria's Next Transformation serves the critical and timely purpose of understanding the challenges and opportunities of urbanization in Nigeria.

The Democratic Republic of Congo Urbanization Review develops a diagnostic of the current situation of urbanization in DRC, and identifies the key bottlenecks holding back the potential benefits of urbanization.

Provides the most detailed collection of data on Africa available. It pulls together data from different sources, and is an essential tool for policy makers, researchers, and other people interested in Africa.

The unanticipated spike in international food prices in 2007-08 hit many developing countries hard. The food price increases were particularly hard on the poor and near-poor in developing countries. This evaluation assesses the effectiveness of the World Bank Group response in addressing the short-term impacts of the food price crisis and in enhancing the resilience of countries to future shocks.

The government of the Republic of Congo is taking a system approach to reorganising its health system. It is endeavouring to create a political, juridical, and regulatory environment to foster the development of its health care services under government leadership working with the private sector

The World Bank's annual report on the external debt of developing countries includes comprehensive data for 128 countries, as well as summary data for regions and income groups.

Seeks to identify channels of technology transfer and absorption for Southern African enterprises, constraints to greater technology absorption, and discuss policy options open to governments and the private sector in light of relevant international experience. It has been done based on sector and enterprise case studies carried in four countries: South Africa, Mauritius, Lesotho and Namibia.

Reviewing the financial systems of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), this book examines the severity of the limitations on access to finance, and the main factors behind such limitations. It goes on to provide a road map for expanding access and preserving financial stability.

Designed to develop recommendations for a reform program to strengthen the existing policy framework for the public-private interface in the health sector and to improve the delivery of health related goods and services for all Malians.

In Africa, there are stark performance gaps between domestically owned enterprises and foreign-owned enterprises in terms of sales performance, productivity, and ability to reach distant markets. Against this background, this study analyses how industrial clusters could potentially mitigate constraints Africa's micro and small enterprises face and enhance their business performance.

Drawing on case studies from Yemen, Liberia, Haiti, Central African Republic and Aceh, the report offers insights to address fragility by building social cohesion. This report advocates for adapting development interventions to bridge divides across groups, in addition to enhancing the state's capacity to engage with different groups in society.

This joint World Bank/OECD volume is the second edition of a 2006 study which charts donor approaches, experiences, and challenges integrating human rights into development policy. It analyses a range of rationales for donor approaches to human rights and results these have yielded in policies, programs and projects.

Analyses the quality of curricula and assessment and development processes in secondary education in Africa against the background of existing contexts, conditions, and ambitions on the one hand, and current pedagogical thinking on the other.

This paper synthesizes the findings of the country studies, highlighting the factors contributing to more equitable and efficient transitions in secondary education, and offers conclusions and recommendations.

Analyzes the various reasons for poor transport performance seen widely throughout Africa. This book presents a compelling case for a number of national and regional reforms that address the underlying causes of high transport prices and costs and service unpredictability seen in Africa.

The World Bank Group is currently engaged in reflection and debate on how to improve the delivery of development support. Part of this debate concerns strengthening the knowledge agenda. The findings of this evaluation are particularly relevant because they speak directly to questions that the institution is deliberating. In particular, they address four key aspects of the science of delivery: the role of local partners or local knowledge hubs; consultation with clients and other stakeholders in the process of designing knowledge services; delivery of knowledge on issues that are relevant to the client; and improving the way the Bank Group learns from upper-middle-income countries and intermediating this knowledge to other countries. The evaluation assesses knowledge-based activities in nine country programs selected from 48 knowledge-intensive programs supported by the Bank Group. It identifies the factors in the success or failure of those activities as they contribute to policy making or development outcomes. It also identifies areas of strength for the Bank Group as well as areas of weakness or risk. The main objective of the evaluation is to learn lessons from practices in a focus group of high-income and upper-middle-income countries that have knowledge-based programs with the Bank Group. The findings have implications for the Bank Group s knowledge work, including governance and incentives. Over the past 15 years, Bank Group country programs have shifted toward more intensive delivery of knowledge services relative to lending, and this trend is expected to continue. The evaluation was done on economic and sector work and non-lending technical assistance activities selected from a purposive sample of knowledge-intensive country programs. In addition, the evaluation assessed International Finance Corporation Advisory Services for their synergy with the Bank s analytical and advisory activities. The lessons from this evaluation could help leverage the Bank Group s global knowledge to meet the needs of countries that mainly rely on knowledge services and are not pressed for financing."

This is a source to those in the private sector who analyze business opportunities in developing countries and emerging markets. Its thematic presentation consists of six sections covering: world view, states and markets, people, global links, economy, and environment.

This indispensable statistical reference allows you to consult over 800 indicators for more than 150 economies and 14 country groups in more than 90 tables. It provides a current overview of the most recent data available as well as important regional data and income group analysis in six thematic sections: World View, People, Environment, Economy, States and Markets, and Global Links.

Examines conflict as a challenge to economic development. It analyzes the nature, causes and development consequences of modern violence and highlights lessons learned from efforts to prevent or recover from violence.