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South Africa’s Fragmented Cities: The Unequal Burden of Labor Market Frictions
Full text linkUsing high-resolution administrative, census, and satellite data, this paper shows that South African cities are characterized by spatial mismatches between where people live and where jobs are located, relative to 20 global peers. Areas within 5 kilometers of commercial centers have 9,300 fewer residents per square kilometer than expected, which is 60 percent below the global median. Poor, dense neighborhoods are most affected. In Johannesburg, a 10-percentile increase in distance from the nearest business hub corresponds to a 3.7-percentile drop in asset wealth (a proxy of household wellbeing) and 4.9-percentile drop in employment. In Cape Town, the declines are 4.0 and 3.7 percentiles, respectively. Employment is 87 percent lower in the poorest decile than the richest in Johannesburg and 61 percent lower in Cape Town. These findings suggest that South Africa’s spatial organization of people and economic activity constrains agglomeration and reinforces inequality. This methodology provides a scalable and standardized data-driven framework to analyze spatial accessibility and agglomeration frictions in complex, data-constrained urban systems
Дорожная карта по улучшению общественного транспорта для Ташкентского региона
Full text linkThis study, requested by the Government of Uzbekistan, aims to support public transport reform. The objective is to develop a roadmap for improvements in public transport in Tashkent city and region that strengthens the delivery of the 2023 Presidential Resolution and align with the objectives and guidance of the draft Public Transport Strategy. This study is initiated by the Ministry of Transport (MoT), in association with the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF) and Agency for
Strategic Reforms (ASR). It is supported by the Korean Green Growth Trust Fund (KGGTF). The study focuses on strategic pillars corresponding to the government’s reform program. The pillars include (1) harmonizing institutional frameworks to support public transport development in the city and region; (2) strengthening open competition and private sector mobilization for public transport and roll out Gross Cost Contract (GCC) to regional corridors; (3) scaling up e-bus adoption through
cost-effective business models and private capital mobilization; and (4) improving bus connectivity and accessibility between the city and the outlying regional towns through evidence-based bus priority design and infrastructure development.Данное исследование, запрошеное правительством Узбекистана, направлено на поддержку реформы общественного транспорта. Цель — разработать дорожную карту по улучшению общественного транспорта в городе и регионе Ташкента, которая укрепит выполнение Президентской резолюции 2023 года и согласует с целями и руководящими принципами проекта Стратегии общественного транспорта. Это исследование инициировано Министерством транспорта (MoT) в сотрудничестве с Министерством экономики и финансов (MoEF) и Агентством по делам
Стратегические реформы (ASR). Он поддерживается Корейским фондом зеленого роста (KGGTF). Исследование сосредоточено на стратегических столпах, соответствующих программе реформ правительства. Столпы включают: (1) гармонизацию институциональных рамок для поддержки развития общественного транспорта в городе и регионе; (2) укрепление открытой конкуренции и мобилизации частного сектора в общественном транспорте, а также внедрение контрактов на валовые затраты (GCC) в региональные коридоры; (3) масштабирование внедрения электронных шин через
экономичные бизнес-модели и привлечение частного капитала; и (4) улучшение автобусного сообщения и доступности между городом и прилегающими региональными населёнными пунктами посредством обоснованного обоснованного проектирования приоритетных автобусов и развития инфраструктуры
Toward a Standard for Landslide Data: Bridging Gaps in Landslide Susceptibility Modeling and Early Warning Systems
Full text linkLandslides claim more than 4,000 lives annually and lead to approximately US$20 billion in economic losses. However, landslide hazard, risk assessment, and early warning systems remain constrained by fragmented, inconsistent, and incomplete data. This study addresses the global data gap by proposing a standardized, interoperable framework for documenting landslide events across countries. Using open-access data and machine learning–based susceptibility modeling in Nepal, the paper assesses the limitations of existing inventories in terms of spatial resolution, temporal updates, and missing attributes such as triggers, volumes, impacts, and soil-geotechnical properties that are critical for hazard prediction and risk modeling. These deficiencies reduce the accuracy and transferability of models, limiting the effectiveness of early warning and risk mitigation strategies. To fill this gap, the paper proposes a tiered data standard aligned with the International Organization for Standardization 19115, the Open Geospatial Consortium standards, and the Sendai Framework indicators, enabling scalable, consistent reporting of landslide events. The framework improves data completeness and model performance and supports risk-informed decision-making. The World Bank is well-positioned to operationalize this standard through its extensive portfolio of landslide mitigation and disaster risk reduction programs. Institutionalizing such a framework can improve global coordination, reduce disaster losses, and protect vulnerable communities
Hooked on Subsidies : The Case for Reform
No full textThis Report goes beyond diagnosing subsidy problems to provide clear, evidence based, and politically grounded guidance for policy makers on reform paths. It offers a comprehensive overview of the costs and benefits of subsidies, along with strategies for reform. It outlines pathways for accounting, designing, assessing, and restructuring subsidies to improve policy outcomes and generate significant public savings. The Report also offers a roadmap for securing public and stakeholder support and addressing political economy constraints, offering examples from successful cases where political economy challenges were addressed. By recognizing these constraints, the Report helps policy makers chart realistic paths forward by focusing first on the most costly and inefficient subsidies, prioritizing reforms that are politically feasible, and addressing not just subsidy design but also implementation and governance. Above all, it reassures policy makers that incremental steps are both possible and worthwhile—and that even partial reforms can deliver meaningful fiscal and developmental gains
Restoring the Princess: A Case Study in Disaster Response, Recovery, and Resilience from the Sint Maarten Airport Terminal Reconstruction
No full textThe reconstruction of Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) in Sint Maarten represents one of the most comprehensive airport disaster recovery efforts in recent history. When Category 5 Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the terminal in September 2017, they threatened the economic lifeline of the entire island. Seven years later, in November 2024, the terminal reopened as a stronger, more efficient, and more customer-friendly version of itself. The story of PJIA’s reconstruction exemplifies how institutional leadership, effective stakeholder engagement, adherence to international standards and cooperation, and unwavering commitment can transform catastrophic setback into opportunity. This case study examines the Princess’s complex journey from destruction to renewal, offering critical insights for airport owners, operators, and regulators in disaster-prone regions and small island states facing similar vulnerabilities in an era of intensifying hurricane risks
How Social Enterprises May Foster Labor Market Inclusion: Economic Channels and a Research Agenda
No full textThis paper advances a set of economic predictions about how employment-oriented social enterprises may foster labor market inclusion. Drawing on economic reasoning, the paper highlights three channels through which social enterprises might provide a distinctive contribution on particular margins. The paper also outlines a research agenda that specifies counterfactual comparisons, measurable outcomes, and data strategies
Copper Mining in Zambia: Regulatory Efficiency Assessment in the Copperbelt and North-Western Provinces
No full textZambia is Africa’s second-largest and the world’s ninth-largest copper producer, with mining—particularly copper extraction—serving as a cornerstone of the national economy. In this context, the Government of Zambia published the National Three Million Tonnes Copper Production Strategy by 2031 to stimulate investment in mineral resource exploration, mining, processing, and the supply of goods and services. While the mining sector is governed by laws aimed at promoting sustainable development and economic diversification, the regulatory environment remains uncertain, with licensing processes that are cumbersome and inefficient. Copper Mining in Zambia: Regulatory Efficiency Assessment in the Copperbelt and North-Western Provinces is a World Bank Group (WBG) pilot project led by the Regulatory Efficiency (DECRE) unit within the Development Economics Policy Indicators Group, implemented in close collaboration with the East Africa team in the Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice and supported by colleagues from the Global Metals and Minerals Department. The assessment adapts and expands the previously tested cross-sectoral data collection and process-mapping methodology of Subnational Business Ready to a sector-specific context, analyzing the regional business environment and detailing the regulatory processes faced by both existing firms and new market entrants engaged in formal mining activities. It focuses on exploration and mining licenses, emphasizing their practical implementation and implications for the mining industry and broader private sector development. As a pilot project, the assessment began in June 2024 with a concept note and background research, followed by data collection between June and September 2025 through email surveys, telephone interviews, and face-to-face interviews conducted in English, Bemba, and Kaonde. The review process verified the accuracy and reliability of the findings, ensured that conclusions were evidence-based, and assessed the feasibility and alignment of proposed reform recommendations with international good practice in the mining sector
Missing Jobs Are a Conversion Problem, Not Just a Demand Problem
No full textIn many low- and middle-income countries, the missing jobs problem is typically framed as a shortfall in labor demand. Yet sustained output growth often coexists with limited durable wage employment, high informality, and weak job upgrading. This paper argues that in such settings the constraint frequently lies not in insufficient labor demand alone, but in weak job conversion, defined as the institutional and market mechanisms that determine whether potential matches between firms and workers are formed, sustained, formalized, and upgraded over time. We develop a surplus-based framework in which expected match surplus shapes vacancy posting, match durability, and investment in productivity-enhancing activities. When hiring and screening frictions, weak skill signaling, mobility barriers, regulatory misalignment, instability, or employer market power depress expected surplus, vacancy creation slows, matches are short-lived, and upgrading stalls. In equilibrium, this reduces observed labor demand and lowers the employment elasticity of growth, so that expansion generates employment without transformation. This perspective unifies missing jobs and missing better jobs within a single framework and clarifies why labor market policies underperform when they fail to address the relevant conversion constraint. Strengthening job conversion by improving matching efficiency, skill alignment, mobility, retention, and regulatory coherence complements growth-oriented reforms and increases the likelihood that output expansion translates into durable employment, rising productivity, and structural transformation
How to Prepare and Execute Performance Based Contracts for Road Asset Management - For Advanced Users
No full textThe Guidelines presented here draw on 25 years of experience in developing performance-based contracting (PBC) programs in developing countries. They offer a practical and adaptable roadmap for road agencies aiming to shift from reactive to proactive asset management. These Guidelines are flexible, accommodating varying levels of government and agency maturity, and can be scaled from pilot initiatives to nationwide programs. Beyond asset management, the Guidelines also address two top priorities for road users: safety and resilience. By providing a structured framework for diagnostics and targeted interventions, they help mitigate risks and enhance the reliability and safety of road infrastructure
Balancing Innovation and Coordination: Institutional Solutions for Effective Climate Action in Malaysia’s Borneo States
No full textThis Subnational Climate Change Institutional Assessment (CCIA) offers an analysis of the institutional environment shaping climate action in Malaysia’s two most resource-rich and ecologically significant states. By examining their governance structures, fiscal mechanisms, and the roles of key stakeholders, this report identifies critical gaps and
strategic opportunities. The focus extends beyond addressing immediate challenges to building a governance framework that is agile, inclusive, and equipped for the long-term complexities of the climate crisis. The analysis complements the broader National CCIA, which addresses federal and national-level perspectives, by providing the state-specific insights necessary for a truly national climate strategy. The report seeks to inform and inspire an emerging paradigm of climate governance in Malaysia—one that skillfully balances local innovation with national cohesion, economic development with environmental sustainability, and immediate needs with future
aspirations. Sarawak and Sabah are not merely critical players in Malaysia’s climate journey; they are testbeds for how a decentralized climate governance system can
rise to meet one of humanity’s greatest challenges. By focusing on the subnational level, the assessment ensures that the distinct priorities, capacities, and challenges of Sarawak and Sabah are given due consideration. Through robust institutional reform and strategic collaboration, these states can lead the way in forging a climate-resilient Malaysi