World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
Not a member yet
39632 research outputs found
Sort by
Lessons for Improving Public Service Quality from a Mixed-Methods Evaluation of an Unsuccessful Teacher Training Program in Nepal
Get PDFThis study demonstrates rigorously that an at-scale government training program for secondary teachers in Nepal had little or no impact on student learning. It then documents five sets of weaknesses related to training uptake, training-session management, teacher subject knowledge, teacher adoption of new classroom practices, and student knowledge of earlier-grade curriculum content, each of which plausibly explains some, but not all, of the program’s failure. While weaknesses in trainer and teacher motivation may have contributed to the program’s disappointing performance, the study argues that time, resource, and capacity constraints of both trainers and teachers, and a mismatch between policy design and student learning needs, also limited program success. These results highlight the need to broaden common accountability-focused conceptions of how to improve public service quality
Field-Scale Rice Area and Yield Mapping in Sri Lanka with Optical Remote Sensing and Limited Training Data
Get PDFRice is a staple crop for over half the world’s population, and accurate, timely information on its planted area and production is crucial for food security and agricultural policy, particularly in developing nations like Sri Lanka. However, reliable rice monitoring in regions like Sri Lanka faces significant challenges due to frequent cloud cover and the fragmented nature of small-holder farms. This research introduces a novel, cost-effective method for mapping rice planted area and yield at field scales in Sri Lanka using optical satellite data. The rice planted fields were identified and mapped using a phenologically-tuned image classification algorithm that high-lights rice presence by observing water occurrence during transplanting and vegetation activity during subsequent crop growth. To estimate yields, a random forest regression model was trained at the district level by incorporating a satellite-derived chlorophyll index and environmental variables and subsequently applied at the field level. The approach has enabled the creation of two decades (2000–2022) of reliable, field-scale rice area and yield estimates, achieving map accuracies between 70% and over 90% and yield estimations with less than 20% RMSE. These highly granular results, which were previously unattainable through traditional surveys, show strong correlation with government statistics. They also demonstrate the ad-vantages of a rule-based, phenology-driven classification over purely statistical machine learning models for long-term consistency in dynamic agricultural environments. This work highlights the significant potential of remote sensing to provide accurate and detailed insights into rice cultivation, supporting policy decisions and enhancing food security in Sri Lanka and other cloud-prone regions
The Changing Wealth of Nations: Estimating Global Carbon Storage of Mangrove Ecosystems
Get PDFThe objective of this report is to provide estimates
of global carbon storage in mangrove ecosystems
by developing a dataset of mangrove biomass and
soil carbon stocks at a country level across six years
between 1996 and 2020. This assessment is carried
out in support of the World Bank’s new edition of
its wealth report, The Changing Wealth of Nations
(CWON). CWON 2024 will be the fifth report in a
flagship series that has attracted global attention to
wealth as a complementary metric to gross domestic
product for assessing economic prosperity. The aim is
to improve the measurement of nations’ wealth, with
a focus on renewable natural capital; and enhance
understanding of the role comprehensive wealth and
especially natural capital play in ensuring growth,
sustainability, and resilience to shocks and stressors
such as climate change.
The results of this assessment will inform the
inclusion of mangrove carbon storage as a
form of renewable natural capital and improve
understanding of the broad range of mangrove
ecosystem service
Sierra Leone Economic Update, November 2025: Enabling the Private Sector for Growth and Job Creation
No full textSierra Leone’s economy continues to navigate complex domestic and global challenges constraining growth and jeopardizing macro stability. Fiscal policies remained loose, and the deficit continued to exceed budget targets for the fourth consecutive year, hurting policy credibility and debt sustainability. While inflation pressures have moderated and the currency has stabilized, external buffers have eroded leaving the economy more vulnerable to shocks. Job creation is a major challenge. The absence of a vibrant private sector contributes to the growth and jobs deficit. Access to finance, land, electricity, skills and regulatory inefficiencies, coupled with chronic macroeconomic instability and underdeveloped trade and competition frameworks–all pose systemic constraints. Weak financial management is a pervasive, cross-cutting constraint to fiscal policy credibility, effectiveness, and oversight. Monetary policy is de facto governed by its fiscal dominance. A banking-sovereign nexus continues to weigh on private sector lending and poses a risk to macroeconomic stability. External accounts remain under pressure as reserves continue to decline, despite an improvement in the trade balance. Looking ahead, growth is projected at 4.3 percent in 2025 and expected to recover to 4.6 percent by 2027. However, risk to growth persists amidst global trade uncertainties, and health and climate risks. Key drivers will include continued agricultural productivity gains, mining expansions, and services sector resilience. Further, scaling up Feed Salone and private sector-led agricultural value chains is vital to boosting food security, export diversification, and inclusive job creation
Methodological Guidelines on Assessing Household Disability: Related Costs and Their Implication for Participation
Get PDFPersons with disabilities and their families face substantial disability-related costs which may not be covered by social programs and policies. These costs may be direct (out of pocket expenses) or indirect (reduced education or employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and their caregivers) and can be financially draining, increase vulnerability and poverty as well as limit participation and inclusion.
These costs are related to the person’s specific impairment and the physical and social environment. Direct disability-related costs include disability-specific expenses (those required only by persons with disabilities) such as assistive products, and expenses for everyday goods and services, which are often higher than average for persons with disabilities (for example, higher transportation or utility costs if the
person with disability spends more time at home) or require a specific composition (such as a different food diet). Participation levels directly influence disability-related costs: when children with disabilities attend school or adults engage in work and social life, expenses such as transportation and device maintenance rise. In contrast, staying at home may reduce direct costs but may increase unpaid care needs and indirect costs for families
Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization (EE&D) Opportunities
Get PDFThe steel industry in Pakistan includes both large firms in the organized sector and smaller manufacturers operating in the informal economy; however, the largest 20 companies cater to 80 percent of local steel demand. Contributing an estimated 2 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), steel manufacturing directly employs 200,000 people. Overall steel production in the country was around 8.4 million tonnes for FY24. Steel is an energy-intensive industry, requiring nearly 2.9 gigajoules of energy to produce one tonne of steel. Grid-supplied electricity is the major energy source in steel manufacturing, comprising over 80 percent of the overall energy consumption of an average integrated plant. Primary energy supply to the steel sector accounts for 6 percent of the overall national energy consumption; steel plants consume 6.4 percent of all industrial electricity, 3.7 percent of fuel oil, and 9.3 percent of natural gas. Both on-site fuel consumption and grid electricity contribute to sector emissions. According to Pakistan’s latest greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, steel plants emit almost 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per year, or 2 percent of overall industrial emissions. This note describes decarbonization interventions to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions in the steel sector while increasing industrial competitiveness and providing wider economic and environmental benefits
FY 2025 Botswana Country Opinion Survey Report
Get PDFThe Country Opinion Survey in Botswana assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in better understanding
how stakeholders in Botswana perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from
national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and
civil society in Botswana on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Botswana; 2) their
overall attitudes toward the WBG in Botswana; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and
results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Botswana; and 4)
their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Botswana
Kyrgyz Republic Country Climate and Development Report
Get PDFThe World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs) are a core diagnostic that integrates climate change and development. They help countries prioritize the most impactful actions that can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and boost adaptation and resilience, while delivering on broader development goals. CCDRs build on data and rigorous research and identify main pathways to reduce GHG emissions and climate vulnerabilities, including the costs and challenges as well as benefits and opportunities from doing so. The reports suggest concrete, priority actions to support the low-carbon, resilient transition. As public documents, CCDRs aim to inform governments, citizens, the private sector and development partners and enable engagements with the development and climate agenda. CCDRs feed into other core Bank Group diagnostics, country engagements and operations, and help attract funding and direct financing for high-impact climate action.This Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) on the Kyrgyz Republic aims to support the country’s development goals amid a changing climate. The CCDR considers two policy scenarios up to 2050: the business-as-usual (BAU) and high-growth scenarios. As it quantifies the likely impacts of climate change on the Kyrgyz economy between now and 2050, the report highlights key government actions to best prepare for and adapt to climate impacts (referred to as “with adaptation” measures), with a particular focus on the time horizon up to 2030. The CCDR also outlines a path to net zero emissions by 2050 (referred to as “with mitigation” measures, “decarbonization,” or, simply, “net zero 2050”), highlighting
associated development co-benefits
From Barriers to Bridges: Procompetitive Reforms for Productivity and Jobs in Kenya
Get PDFKenya has made important progress in its economic transformation agenda in the past decade, but significant legal and regulatory hurdles continue to impede competition across multiple sectors. Overcoming these barriers is essential because competition is key to increasing the number of jobs to match Kenya’s growing workforce and improving productivity to enable higher pay. Overall, there is significant room to make Kenya’s regulatory framework less restrictive to competition. Kenya has the highest product market regulation (PMR) score among the available sample of high- and middle-income countries (2.92 compared to an average of 2.27 in middle-income countries and 0.88 for the top five performers), reflecting substantial barriers to market entry, distortions from public ownership, and limitations on trade and investment. The report presents a comprehensive set of reforms to dismantle barriers and foster a more competitive economy. Key cross-cutting recommendations include the following: reform state-owned enterprise (SOE) governance and operations; strengthen competition policy and enforcement; and reduce trade and investment barriers. The report also contains a wide range of sector-specific reforms in the agribusiness, electricity, information and communications technology (ICT), transport, and professional services sectors. Reforms in key input sectors can lift annual labor compensation growth by up to 2 percentage points, equivalent to over 400,000 jobs per year at the average wage in Kenya
Preparing for Demographic, Climate and Technological Change: Global Megatrends and Human Development in the MENA Region
Get PDFThis paper explores how the three megatrends will affect the people of MENA and how, through emerging Human Development (HD) policies, the region can shape these trends and harness new opportunities while managing the risks. It first delves into the impacts of aging, climate change, and technological disruptions, including a discussion of the links between the megatrends and fragility. It next explores the main avenues for shaping the megatrends, the opportunities arising from the megatrends, and the main risks associated with the megatrends. It then summarizes what HD policies can do to support people in addressing the challenges of the three megatrends (annexes elaborate on some of the issues raised)