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São Tomé e Príncipe Relatório Económico: Reformar as Empresas Públicas Para um Maior Crescimento e Geração de Empregos Liderados Pelo Sector Privado
Get PDFThe Sao Tome and Principe Economic Update provides a comprehensive analysis of the country's economic performance, challenges, and prospects. The report is divided into two chapters: Chapter 1, which focuses on the state of the economy, and Chapter 2, which examines the role and performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in contributing to economic growth and job creation.O Atualização Económica de JIOBSão Tomé e Príncipe fornece uma análise abrangente do desempenho económico, desafios e perspetivas do país. O relatório está dividido em dois capítulos: o Capítulo 1, que se centra no estado da economia, e o Capítulo 2, que examina o papel e o desempenho das empresas públicas na contribuição para o crescimento económico e a criação de emprego
Action Plan for a Green Corridor in Almaty Agglomeration, Kazakhstan
Get PDFCentral Asia and Kazakhstan face severe climate challenges from land degradation and desertification, fueled by sand and dust storms, soil erosion, and biodiversity loss. The Greenway to Konaev Pilot Project is part of an ambitious initiative to develop a multi-use greenway linking Almaty to the Kapchagai Reservoir. The project is designed to serve as a model for sustainable landscape restoration and eco-tourism in Kazakhstan, addressing critical environmental, economic, and social needs in the Almaty region. The greenway integrates green infrastructure with eco-tourism and recreational amenities, aiming to create a vibrant corridor that emphasizes natural biodiversity, functionality, aesthetics, and water efficiency in its design principles. The project offers a transformative approach to sustainable landscape restoration, green infrastructure, and eco-tourism in Almaty. By integrating environmental sustainability with economic and community benefits, the greenway will create a vibrant corridor that enhances the region’s resilience and supports local communities. Through this initiative, Almaty Oblast and its partners are setting a new standard for sustainable development in Central Asia, laying the groundwork for an interconnected green network that fosters a healthier, more prosperous, and ecologically resilient future
Enhancing the Safety and Resilience of Dams in the Context of Climate Change and Extreme Hydrological Events: Technical Note
Get PDFNations around the world are increasingly aware of climate change impacts on the water and hydropower sectors, raising concerns about the structural and operational safety of existing and new dams and highlighting the crucial roles of dams in flood and drought mitigation in the long term. To address this, the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), the International Hydropower Association (IHA), and the World Bank have published several guidelines on climate risk assessment. The intent of this Technical Note (TN) is to provide task teams and other stakeholders working on climate-resilient water security, disaster risk management, and infrastructure improvements with information on the analytical tools and processes for (a) incorporating climate change impacts and related risks into the design of dams, and (b) providing guidance on approaches and adaptation measures needed for improving the climate resilience of new and existing dams. This TN thus aims to provide analytical guidance to task teams and clients for improving the climate resilience of large, high-risk hydropower and multipurpose dams that have already been evaluated via the DTF and/or similar climate risk assessment methodologies. It addresses inter alia the impacts of precipitation and extreme flows on a dam’s structural and operational safety; the way in which these extreme hydrometeorological conditions are expected to be exacerbated by climate change; and adaptation measures for enhancing the climate resilience of dams, which can be incorporated into the technical design of dams as well as in the upgrading of dams and in operational procedures
Women’s Economic Empowerment in Bangladesh: An Evidence-Guided Toolkit for More Inclusive Policies
Get PDFThe Women’s Economic Empowerment in Bangladesh: An Evidence-Guided Toolkit for More Inclusive Policies report provides an examination of gender disparities in economic empowerment in Bangladesh. It aims to shed light on the current state of gender inequality by analyzing rich microdata from multiple data sources, thereby fostering insights into women’s labor market outcomes (such as employment, earnings, hours worked) and factors affecting women’s economic empowerment (such as safety, mobility, asset ownership, digital inclusion, and financial inclusion). Based on the descriptive analysis of gender gaps, the report also identifies key constraints on women’s economic empowerment in Bangladesh and presents an evidence-guided policy toolkit to inform policies that promote gender equity and support inclusive, sustainable development in Bangladesh
Embracing a Green Digital Transition Guidance Note: Greening Govtech - Volume 2
Get PDFGovTech can revolutionize how governments provide services, engage with citizens, and manage resources. However, it is important to address the implications of these technological advancements on climate change. Governments must proactively consider the environmental impacts of their technology initiatives and ensure alignment between the digital and green agendas. Sound GovTech policies are critical to climate change adaptation, that is, adjusting to the present and future effects of climate change, and to mitigation, including reducing net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that worsen natural disasters. Volume 2 illustrates the implementation of greening GovTech through three country case studies- Albania, Brazil, and Germany - and outlines an approach to measure its impact on GHG emissions and the environment. This note targets GovTech practitioners, particularly senior officials and managers of public governance projects, and serves as a knowledge resource for stakeholders in the private sector, academia, and civil society. Responding to requests from senior government officials, development partners, and World Bank staff, the note shows public sector practices that embrace a green digital transition. It also presents the Greening GovTech Measurement Approach (GGMA), offering a framework for governments to assess the environmental tradeoffs of green GovTech efforts
In Focus: International Development Association (IDA) Countries: Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Stories
Get PDFThis publication showcases practical examples of how countries, with financing from International Development Association (IDA) and technical assistance support funded by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), are turning this vision into reality one project at a time - for instance through the construction and maintenance of resilient infrastructure as a foundation for the private sector investments needed to create and preserve jobs. The stories demonstrate that resilience isn’t merely about surviving crises; it’s about creating conditions for communities to thrive. For many governments around the world, integrating disaster and climate risk management into development - through better infrastructure planning, delivery, maintenance, and stronger institutions - requires technical assistance to access the information and technologies that can help achieve more resilient development outcomes. When done well, this unlocks new opportunities for inclusive growth and prosperity
Temptation, Self-Control, and the Design of Optimal Unemployment Insurance
Get PDFhis paper studies how the unemployment insurance system should be designed when considering costly self-control. The standard optimal unemployment insurance with dynamic moral hazard features declining benefits over the unemployment spell, without a lower bound on consumption (“immiseration”). As documented in the empirical literature, unemployed workers may be tempted to undervalue the future benefits of job search. The paper models this behavioral bias using costly self-control—a utility cost incurred when a worker’s job search choice deviates from the choice that maximizes current period utility and disregards future utility. Compared with the standard setup with moral hazard alone and without behavioral bias, the optimal system features lower benefit levels, a less rapid decline in benefits over the unemployment spell, a lower bound on consumption for the unemployed, and a one-time reward when a worker returns to work. The findings suggest that food assistance benefits and a back-to-work bonus in many U.S. states are broadly in line with such an optimal unemployment system
Are Green and Digital Skills a Pathway to Jobs in Middle East and North Africa?
Get PDFTo what extent are green and digital skills being demanded in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)? We answer this question using over 276,000 online job postings between January 2022 and March 2023 across six MENA countries. We triangulate these data with selected labor force survey data and other information to reveal four key insights: (i) In MENA economies, digital skills demand is quite high across all sectors, while green skills demand is mostly concentrated in the energy sector. Nearly one in three jobs advertised online (37 percent) require at least one digital skill. In contrast, only 6 percent of jobs advertised online require at least one green skill; but this proportion is 26 percent within the energy sector. (ii) Despite its concentration in the energy sector, green skills demand is starting to also emerge in sectors not typically thought of as ‘green’, e.g. finance, retail trade, arts and entertainment etc. (iii) Most digital and green job opportunities require high levels of education. Nearly 80 percent of digital jobs and 73 percent of green jobs require tertiary education. (iv) The demand for green and digital skills is rapidly evolving and can be highly unpredictable. For instance, nearly a quarter of digital jobs across the region (23 percent) are now asking for AI skills. The bottom-line is that, for MENA, green and digital skills demand is bigger and closer than many might believe. Given the magnitude, permeability, and unpredictability of this skillsdemand, merely providing narrowly defined technical skills will not work. Governments need to focus on creating an adaptive skills ecosystem and focus on facilitation not just provision. For this, governments should prioritize strong foundations, flexible pathways, and better information for youth. They should also recognize digital skills as increasingly foundational for formal labor market entry – and potentially also as gateway skills for emerging areas, including green skills
From Policy to Practice: Lessons from the Implementation of the Refugee Work Rights Policy in Ethiopia
Get PDFThis paper examines the early implementation of Ethiopia’s refugee work rights policy, with a focus on the issuance of permits that enable refugees to engage in economic activities. Building on significant legal and institutional advances under the 2019 Refugee Proclamation and subsequent directives, the analysis explores how these reforms are being operationalized in practice. Using a mixed-methods approach, combining document review, administrative data analysis, and semi-structured interviews, the paper identifies both progress and remaining challenges. Permit issuance has increased since the adoption of detailed operational guidance in 2024, reflecting the Government of Ethiopia’s commitment to operationalizing its progressive legal framework and ensuring that refugees can exercise their right to work. However, take-up remains modest, with about 5.2 percent of the working-age population holding a permit. Preliminary evidence suggests that coordination gaps, limited subnational capacity, low awareness among refugees and employers, and disincentives to formalize in a largely informal labor market are contributing to the low take-up. The paper offers policy suggestions, grounded in the Ethiopian context and emerging evidence, to help translate legal commitments into improved labor market outcomes for refugees
A Decade of Partnership: Working Together for a More Resilient Tanzania
Get PDFEmbracing resilience not as an add-on, but as a core pillar of its growth strategy, over the past decade, Tanzania has been demonstrating how resilience can be systematically embedded into national development. This transformation has been driven by a long-term, multi-phase collaboration between the Government of
Tanzania, local communities, the World Bank, development partners, and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). GFDRR is helping Tanzania shift from fragmented interventions to a cohesive resilience agenda. Through upstream diagnostics, spatial planning, and risk-informed design, GFDRR has supported initiatives that restore ecosystems, reduce risk, and enhance urban livability, while also delivering co-benefits for health, biodiversity, social cohesion, business continuity, and job creation. GFDRR’s engagement in Tanzania has also highlighted the importance of working across scales. Smaller operations in secondary cities - often overlooked in national planning - have served as entry points for broader resilience efforts. Tools and initiatives like the City Scans and the Resilience Academy, initially piloted in select locations, are now being adapted for use in other urban centers. They have helped local governments and universities generate and apply risk data, strengthening decision-making and institutional capacity