170,570 research outputs found
Environment Matters at the World Bank : Annual Review 2005
No full textIn line with one of the major themes in
the Bank's Environment Strategy, this 2005 annual
review is devoted to the theme of environmental health.
Viewpoint articles in this edition reflect several external
perspectives: the World Health Organization (WHO) lays out
the panorama of environmental risk factors; a successful
example of combating urban air pollution is provided by the
former mayor of Bogotá; successful strategies to enhance
sanitation among poor people are suggested by a
nongovernmental organization (NGO) - WaterAid - with an
impressive implementation record; and a leading researcher
gives his perspective on indoor air pollution. As usual,
Environment Matters provides a Bank-wide review of our
safeguard policies, and conveys the latest data on our
environmental lending and analytical work. This year's
feature articles all cluster around the main theme of
environmental health: Ruta and Sarraf explain the basics of
economic valuation of health impacts of environmental risks;
Kaufmann summarizes a recent study that provides an overview
of what we know about the effectiveness of interventions in
water and sanitation; Ahmed and Awe return to the theme of
indoor air pollution, with a study from Guatemala; Constant
and Procee explain how the Bank's Clean Air Initiative
works in several regions; and, Tynan concludes the section
with an article on the risks that chemicals pose to human
health. This edition reviews each of the Bank's
Regions. With attention to the environmental health theme,
each Region has chosen a number of issues and projects to
feature in their annual review. This section illustrates the
diversity of issues the Bank is confronting in collaboration
with client countries. The regional reviews are complemented
by the institutional perspectives of the International
Finance Corporation (IFC), which deals with private sector
development, and the World Bank Institute, which is
responsible for capacity building in client countries
Environment Matters at the World Bank, 2009 Annual Review : Banking on Biodiversity
No full textThis issue of environment matters
celebrates the 2010 international year of biodiversity and
describes some of the challenges and opportunities in
protecting biodiversity for the benefit of humankind. From
the world's highest mountain ranges to the lowland
plains, and from the great oceans and coastal wetlands to
agricultural landscapes, nations and communities rely on the
bounty and services of natural ecosystems. Biological
resources and the goods and ecosystem services they provide
underpin every aspect of human life and livelihoods, from
food and water security to general well-being and spiritual
fulfillment. In many countries, it is the poorest of the
poor who are most dependent on these benefits. Yet, as the
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment showed, biodiversity is
under severe threat, as ecosystems are being lost and
degraded more rapidly and extensively than at any comparable
period in our history. Habitat loss and fragmentation,
overexploitation of resources, pollution, invasive alien
species, and, increasingly, climate change will all lead to
further biodiversity loss. One of the key challenges of the
coming decades will be how to reconcile biodiversity
conservation and development if we are to achieve the twin
goals of poverty alleviation and a sustainable future for
all. The World Bank is already a major global funder of
biodiversity initiatives, including support to more than 624
projects in over 122 countries during the last 20 years. It
is actively supporting national actions to safeguard
biodiversity and improve natural resource management. Many
of these projects have supported globally important
protected areas, but efforts have also been made to
mainstream biodiversity conservation in the production
landscape. As well as national efforts, the Bank has
supported numerous partnerships with international
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to promote global and
regional biodiversity initiatives
World Development Indicators 2010
No full textThe 1998 edition of world development
indicators initiated a series of annual reports on progress
toward the International development goals. In the foreword
then, World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn recognized
that 'by reporting regularly and systematically on
progress toward the targets the international community has
set for itself, the author will focus attention on the task
ahead and make those responsible for advancing the
development agenda accountable for results.' The same
vision inspired world leaders to commit themselves to the
millennium development goals. On this, the 10th anniversary
of the millennium declaration, world development indicators
2010 focuses on progress toward the millennium development
goals and the challenges of meeting them
The World Bank Research Observer 16(2)
No full textCounting the world's poor: problems
and possible solutions; by Angus Deaton. Comments on
"counting the world's poor"; by Martin
Ravallion, and T. N. Srinivasan. Ecology, history, and
development : a perspective from rural Southeast Asia; by
Yujiro Hayami. Productivity growth and sustainability in
post-green revolution agriculture: the case of the Indian
and Pakistan Punjab; by Rinku Murgai, Mubarik Ali, and Derek
Byerlee. The politics of Russian enterprise reform:
insiders, local governments, and the obstacles to
restructuring; by Raj M. Desai and Itzhak Goldberg
World Bank Group/World Bank Corporate Scorecards, April 2016
No full textThis pamphlet presents the World Bank Group and World Bank
Corporate Scorecards updated with latest data available for Tier 3
(Performance Tier) as of December 31, 2015. Tiers 1 and 2 present
data from end of fiscal year 2015.
The World Bank Group Corporate Scorecard monitors the
implementation of the World Bank Group Strategy. The Scorecard
provides an apex view of the results and performance indicators
of the three World Bank Group institutions—the World Bank (WB),
the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral
Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The World Bank Group
Corporate Scorecard is complemented by the World Bank Corporate
Scorecard as well as the revised IFC and MIGA Scorecards
Trends in Corruption and Regulatory Burden in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
No full textThis study assesses levels and trends in
corruption and the administrative burden from government
regulation of private firms. It is largely based on the
fourth round of the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD)-World Bank Business Environment and
Enterprise Performance Surveys (BEEPS) covering over 11,000
firms in 29 countries in Europe and Central Asia (ECA). The
report provides an update of the progress that ECA countries
have made since 2005, extends (in certain respects) the
analysis of corruption and regulatory burden on firms
provided in the earlier Anticorruption in Transition (ACT)
reports covering the period from 1999 to 2005, and in
several instances provides comparisons of ECA countries to
similar countries outside of the region using the World Bank
enterprise surveys and other sources of data. Despite making
significant progress on administrative bribery overall,
corruption is cited more frequently by firms in the region
as an obstacle to doing business than any other problem,
with the exception of tax rates. In part, this continued
perception of corruption as one of the most serious problems
for business may reflect slower progress on other aspects of
corruption not measured directly in firm-state interactions
covered by the BEEPS
World Bank Group Evaluation Principles
No full textThe World Bank Group is committed to
its twin goals: to eradicate extreme poverty and boost
shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. The World Bank
Group’s Forward Look – A Vision for the World Bank Group in
2030 outlines how the World Bank Group strives to achieve
these goals in close partnership with our shareholders:
first, by working to accelerate inclusive and sustainable
economic growth; second, by helping countries to invest more
effectively in people; and third, by fostering resilience to
global shocks and threats.Implementing the Forward Look and
contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable
Development Goals require the World Bank Group to
continually adapt to rapidly changing situations based on
evidence of what works and what does not. Timely and
appropriate adaptive management requires building a culture
of continuous improvement and problem-solving, based on
evidence. Evaluation plays a key role in generating the
evidence about what works in different contexts, and in
identifying lessons for World Bank Group stakeholders. The
2015 External Review of the Independent Evaluation Group
(IEG) recommended that the World Bank Group develop an
“institution-wide, principles-based living evaluation
policy” that outlines the principles, criteria, and
accountabilities for evaluation across the organization. In
response, World Bank Group Management and IEG have jointly
developed common principles for evaluation in the World Bank
Group, which form the foundation of this document. The
common principles include core principles for evaluation,
and principles for selecting, conducting, and using
evaluations. These aim to strengthen accountability and
learning for evidence-based decision making and program
improvement to enhance development results. They are
designed to: (a) align the World Bank Group’s evaluative
efforts with global challenges and the World Bank Group’s
strategic focus; (b) clarify the roles and responsibilities
of key actors and encourage synergy among them throughout
the evaluation process; and (c) ensure that all World Bank
Group evaluations are robust, of high quality, and credible
Learning in World Bank Lending (Approach Paper)
No full textThe World Bank has a comparative
advantage in development knowledge that is valued by
countries and its partners. This knowledge sets it apart
from other development organizations and helps it attract
partners, funding, and new business. The World Bank aims to
promote the use of the best global and country knowledge
available to inform operations. The World Bank’s knowledge
contributes to outcomes directly (by informing clients in
their reform efforts) and indirectly (via World Bank
financing). Knowledge is embedded in World Bank–financed
operations and is an important part of the World Bank’s
value proposition for clients. Managing knowledge in a large
organization like the World Bank is inherently complex. The
World Bank has responded in many ways over the years, and
more recently, developed the Strategic Framework for
Knowledge (SFK). The new Knowledge Compact for Action is the
World Bank’s latest approach to articulate its vision and
approach to knowledge. It aims to transform the World Bank’s
approach to knowledge, positioning it as a “21st century
Knowledge Bank” and to create a dynamic knowledge ecosystem
that facilitates knowledge flows within the Bank and
externally. This evaluation’s broad purpose is to assist the
ongoing efforts of the World Bank and the Committee on
Development Effectiveness to improve learning in World
Bank–financed operations. This evaluation is timely and
relevant because it is aligned with management’s efforts to
renew the World Bank’s leadership in development knowledge
and develop the new Knowledge Compass
Volume 1. Main Report
No full textThe 2012 annual report of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) contains messages from both outgoing President Robert B. Zoellick and incoming President Dr. Jim Yong Kim. The Board of Directors statement highlights the Bank's achievements in 2012. The report showcases the Corporate Scorecard, presented in four tiers, providing information on the Bank's overall performance and results. Tier I provides the global development context. Tier II includes aggregate data collected through the standardized sector indicators. Tier III shows the overall success of Bank activities in achieving their development goals, as well as the Bank's operations effectiveness. Tier IV presents the Bank's organizational effectiveness and modernization. The report also discusses the financial commitments and resources, an operational summary, and World Bank lending by theme and sector for 2007-2012. Additional information on activities and outcomes is available in the annexes.Office of the President (EXC
From World Development Indicators
No full textThe Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals 2017 uses maps, charts and analysis to illustrate, trends, challenges and
measurement issues related to each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The Atlas primarily draws on World
Development Indicators (WDI) - the World Bank's compilation of internationally comparable statistics about global
development and the quality of people's lives
Given the breadth and scope of the SDGs, the editors have been selective, emphasizing issues considered important by
experts in the World Bank's Global Practices and Cross Cutting Solution Areas. Nevertheless, The Atlas aims to reflect
the breadth of the Goals themselves and presents national and regional trends and snapshots of progress towards the
UN's seventeen Sustainable Development Goals: poverty, hunger, health, education, gender, water, energy, jobs,
infrastructure, inequalities, cities, consumption, climate, oceans, the environment, peace, institutions, and partnerships.
Between 1990 and 2013, nearly one billion people were raised out of extreme poverty. Its elimination is now a realistic
prospect, although this will require both sustained growth and reduced inequality. Even then, gender inequalities
continue to hold back human potential.
Undernourishment and stunting have nearly halved since 1990, despite increasing food loss, while the burden of
infectious disease has also declined. Access to water has expanded, but progress on sanitation has been slower. For too
many people, access to healthcare and education still depends on personal financial means.
To date the environmental cost of growth has been high. Accumulated damage to oceanic and terrestrial ecosystems is
considerable. But hopeful signs exist: while greenhouse gas emissions are at record levels, so too is renewable energy
investment.
While physical infrastructure continues to expand, so too does population, so that urban housing and rural access to
roads remain a challenge, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Meanwhile the institutional infrastructure of development strengthens, with more reliable government budgeting and
foreign direct investment recovering from a post-financial crisis decline. Official development assistance, however,
continues to fall short of target levels
- …
