Books in the Directions in Development series

Assesses the state of early childhood development (ECD) in MENA from before birth through age five, examining multiple dimensions of early development including health, nutrition, socio-emotional development, early learning, and early work.

Zimbabwe's poor export performance derives from unpredictable macroeconomics, anti-export bias, and industrial policies undermining investor confidence. To inverse this trend, the government needs to introduce economy-wide incentives that align trade policies with national objectives, to increase competitiveness and promote sustained growth.

Examines the state of out-of-school youth in Sub-Saharan Africa. It analyses factors that lead youth to drop out of school and reviews policies and programs designed to keep youth in school, bring youth back to school, or to transition out-of-school youth into the workforce.

Examines the state of out-of-school youth in Sub-Saharan Africa. It analyses factors that lead youth to drop out of school and reviews policies and programs designed to keep youth in school, bring youth back to school, or to transition out-of-school youth into the workforce.

Shares information on the environmental harms in Sindh, Pakistan, which in 2009 resulted in more than 40,000 premature deaths and costs equivalent to 15% of the province's GDP, and to provide an interdisciplinary framework for bringing about improved environmental conditions in Sindh.

Examines recent trends in Croatia in trade, productivity, innovation performance and policy governance framework, to help identify priorities for the development of the country's Smart Specialization Strategy, which is an ex-ante conditionality for access to the EU's Structural and Investment Funds over the 2014-20 programming period.

Do current stylized facts about African agriculture and rural livelihoods reflect reality? In rapidly-changing and data-scarce environments they risk being outdated and misleading. This report re-examines conventional wisdom about African farmers, from the bottom up and recognising the complexities involved.

Provides a narrative description of the institutional and management decisions, infrastructure, systems and processes, impact, and lessons learned and policy implications for developing countries from Korea's multi-decade Digital Governance experience.