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U.S. post-crisis trade weakness in 4 charts
Trade growth has slowed sharply since the 2007-2009 financial crisis. An analysis of U.S. trade data shows that trade between unaffiliated firms (arm’s-length trade) – as opposed to trade between firms...
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How can teachers cultivate (or hinder) students’ socio-emotional skills?
Socio-emotional skills are the new hot topic in education. Governments, ministers of education, policymakers, education experts, psychologists, economists, international organizations, and others have...
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The active ingredient of inequality
In a post-Piketty world, few people need to be convinced that inequality is important. But which inequality do we care most about? Or, to paraphrase the title of Amartya Sen’s famous 1979 Tanner...
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Should emerging markets worry about U.S. monetary policy announcements?
Emerging economies are routinely affected by monetary policy announcements in the US. This was starkly evident on May 22, 2013, when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke first spoke of the...
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Human development accounting
The rate of change in human development outcomes varies considerably across countries over long periods of time, as reflected in the two histograms below (Figure 1). For 78 countries in the period...
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Which features of procurement systems increase competition and reduce...
Public procurement of services, works and supplies is estimated to account for 15-20% of GDP in developing countries, and up to 50% or more of total government expenditure. Efficient and effective...
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Adversity gets in the brain
“Individuality is the product of both biological inheritance and personal experience,” said Professor Charles A. Nelson during a recent presentation at the World Bank. Professor Nelson has been...
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Energy prices fell 6 percent in June — Pink Sheet
Energy commodity prices declined 6 percent in June, led by a 7.5 percent plunge in oil, the World Bank’s Pink Sheet said. Agriculture prices dropped nearly 2 percent, with most groups easing,...
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Rural electrification: How much does Sub-Saharan Africa need the grid?
An intense debate continues on how best to provide electricity to the 1.1 billion people currently without access to it -- of whom 600 million are living in Sub-Saharan Africa, many of them in rural...
View ArticleRejuvenating regionalism
Regionalism can have three dimensions: trade integration, regulatory cooperation and infrastructural coordination. In a thought provoking blog, Shanta Devarajan argues for a drastic shift in focus,...
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Spending on bling: What explains the demand for status goods?
When people spend money, their decisions are often influenced by the desire to signal wealth and attain social status. This insight is not entirely new – even Adam Smith, in the Wealth of Nations,...
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Fredo or Michael? Parents play favorites among siblings
In The Godfather II, Vito Corleone chooses his younger son, Michael, instead of his older son, Fredo, as his successor. This decision is based on Michael's intelligence and ability. Fredo, who is...
View ArticleThe growing economic clout of the biggest emerging markets in five charts
Global economic growth is accelerating. After registering the slowest pace since the 2007-2009 financial crisis in 2016, global growth is expected to rise to a 2.7 percent pace this year and 2.9...
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Most commodity price indexes rose in July, led by metals – Pink Sheet
Energy commodity prices increased 3 percent in July, led by a 3 percent gain in oil and 8 percent surge in coal, the World Bank’s Pink Sheet noted. Agriculture prices rose 1 percent, led by 2 percent...
View ArticleBetter information to improve service delivery: New evidence
Countries around the world have experimented with “school report cards”: providing parents with information about the quality of their school so that they can demand higher quality service for their...
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Unraveling the dynamics of agricultural input subsidies
Inorganic fertilizer use by smallholder farmers is one way to boost soil fertility and associated crop-yields and farm incomes. Yet fertilizer use remains the lowest where yield increase is needed the...
View ArticleUnderstanding the effects of the world’s largest workfare program
As the world’s largest workfare program, India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has attracted much attention. Yet its impacts on agriculture have been relatively...
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Most commodity price indexes rose in August, led by metals – Pink Sheet
Energy commodity prices increased 4 percent in August, led by a 5 percent gain in oil and 10 percent surge in coal, the World Bank’s Pink Sheet noted. Metals and mineral prices increased 8 percent, led...
View ArticleBuilding cities for innovation and growth
Cities now drive as much as 80% of global GDP. They also consume close to two-thirds of the world’s energy and produce over 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions. And given the sheer scale of urban...
View ArticleUnbundling and targeting the business environment for firm growth
There are many views about how a country develops. Some view institutions as the key determinant, while others emphasize the fundamental importance of human capital. Still others highlight the...
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