Persuasive evidence demonstrates that gender equality in education is central to economic development. Despite more than two decades of accumulated knowledge and evidence of what works in improving gender equality, progress on the ground remains slow and uneven across countries. What is missing? Given that education is a critical path to accelerate progress toward gender equality and the empowerment of women, what is holding us back? These questions were discussed at the global symposium 'Education: A Critical Path to Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment', which was sponsored by the World...
Persuasive evidence demonstrates that gender equality in education is central to economic development. Despite more than two decades of accumulated kn...
'Risk-Based Supervision of Pension Funds' provides a review of the design and experience of risk-based pension fund supervision in countries that have been leaders in the development of these methods. The utilization of risk-based methods originates primarily in the supervision of banks. In recent years it has increasingly been extended to other types of financial intermediaries, including pension funds and insurers. The trend toward risk-based supervision of pensions reflects an increasing focus on risk management in both banking and insurance based on three key elements: capital...
'Risk-Based Supervision of Pension Funds' provides a review of the design and experience of risk-based pension fund supervision in countries that have...
'Linking Education Policy to Labor Market Outcomes' examines current research and new evidence from Ghana and Pakistan--representative of two of the poorest regions of the world--to assess how education can increase income and help people move out of poverty. This study indicates that in addition to early investments in cognitive and noncognitive skills--which produce a high return and lower the cost of later educational investment by making learning at later ages more efficient--quality, efficiency, and linkages to the broader macro-economic context also matter. Education and relevant skills...
'Linking Education Policy to Labor Market Outcomes' examines current research and new evidence from Ghana and Pakistan--representative of two of the p...
Realizing the potential of young people in Latin America and the Caribbean is essential both to their well-being and to the region's long-term welfare. Young people are often seen as the source of problems that plague the area, namely rising levels of crime and violence, unemployment, and drug use. However, there is little understanding of the problems young people face, the reasons that some engage in risky behaviors, and how best to support the most vulnerable. Youth at Risk in Latin America and the Caribbean attempts to fill this knowledge gap by identifying at-risk youth and providing...
Realizing the potential of young people in Latin America and the Caribbean is essential both to their well-being and to the region's long-term welfare...
Poor people derive most of their income from work. However, there is insufficient understanding of the role of employment and earnings as a link between growth and poverty reduction, especially in low income countries. The 'Making Work Pay' series analyzes the important roles of labor markets, employment, productivity, and labor income in facilitating shared growth and promoting poverty reduction. 'Making Work Pay in Bangladesh' provides a description of the trends in growth, poverty, and labor market outcomes in Bangladesh. It assesses the linkages among changes in output, employment, and...
Poor people derive most of their income from work. However, there is insufficient understanding of the role of employment and earnings as a link betwe...
Poor people derive most of their income from work. However, there is insufficient understanding of the role of employment and earnings as a link between growth and poverty reduction, especially in low income countries. The 'Making Work Pay' series analyzes the important roles of labor markets, employment, productivity, and labor income in facilitating shared growth and promoting poverty reduction. 'Making Work Pay in Nicaragua' provides a description of the trends in growth, poverty, and labor market outcomes in Nicaragua. It assesses the linkages among changes in output, employment, and...
Poor people derive most of their income from work. However, there is insufficient understanding of the role of employment and earnings as a link betwe...
Safety nets are noncontributory transfer programs targeted to the poor or vulnerable. They play important roles in social policy. Safety nets redistribute income, thereby immediately reducing poverty and inequality; they enable households to invest in the human capital of their children and in the livelihoods of their earners; they help households manage risk, both ex ante and ex post; and they allow governments to implement macroeconomic or sectoral reforms that support efficiency and growth. To be effective, safety nets must not only be well intended, but also well designed and well...
Safety nets are noncontributory transfer programs targeted to the poor or vulnerable. They play important roles in social policy. Safety nets redistri...
Population aging is placing enormous pressures on the pension benefits governments are able to provide. The former transition economies of the countries of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe (CESE) face unique challenges. The growth of their aging populations outpaces other European countries, while the growth of their financial markets (essential to fund pension provisions) lags behind. With support and direction from the ERSTE Foundation, an Austrian group focused on Central European policy issues, a World Bank team investigated the challenges faced by these countries against the...
Population aging is placing enormous pressures on the pension benefits governments are able to provide. The former transition economies of the countri...
Although the circumstances in which Kenyan firms must do business have improved since 2004, including an increase in productivity, Kenyan firms still face an adverse business environment. 'An Assessment of the Investment Climate in Kenya' reports on the main impediments to productivity growth identified by managers of Kenyan businesses: -- Lack of access to financing. Despite a favorable lending regime, 90 percent of microenterprises and 60 percent of small firms in Kenya declared that they needed loans, compared to 40 percent of medium-sized and large firms. -- Corruption and crime....
Although the circumstances in which Kenyan firms must do business have improved since 2004, including an increase in productivity, Kenyan firms still ...
'Working in Health' addresses two key questions related to health workforce policy in developing countries: - What is the impact of government wage bill policies on the size of the health wage bill and on health workforce staffing levels in the public sector? - Do current human resources management policies and practices lead to effective use of wage bill resources in the public sector? Health workers play a key role in increasing access to health services for poor people in developing countries. Global and country level estimates show that staffing levels in many developing...
'Working in Health' addresses two key questions related to health workforce policy in developing countries: - What is the impact of government wage bi...