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Featured Titles
INTERNATIONAL DEBT STATISTICS 2022
By the World Bank
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INTERNATIONAL DEBT STATISTICS
November 2021. 204 pages. Stock no. C211800 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1800-4). US$43.95
International Debt Statistics (IDS), a long-standing annual publication of the World Bank, features external debt statistics and analysis for the 123 low- and middle-income countries that report to the World Bank Debtor Reporting System. IDS 2022 includes (1) an overview analyzing global trends in debt stocks of and debt flows to low- and middle-income countries within the framework of aggregate capital flows (debt and equity); (2) an evaluation of the volume of debt service deferred through the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) in 2020 and the 2021 extension for participating eligible countries, as well as borrowing trends and debt service costs for DSSI-eligible countries that did not participate in the initiative; (3) tables and charts detailing debtor and creditor composition of debt stock and flows, terms of new commitments, and maturity structure of future debt service payments and debt burdens, measured in relation to gross national income and export earnings for each country; (4) one-page summaries per country, plus global, regional, and income group aggregates showing debt stocks and flows, relevant debt indicators, and metadata for six years (2010 and 2016–20); and (5) a user guide describing the tables and content, definitions and rationale for the country and income groupings used in the report, data notes, and information about additional resources and comprehensive datasets available to users online.
Unique in its coverage of the important trends and issues fundamental to the financing of low- and middle-income countries, IDS 2022 is an indispensable resource for governments, economists, investors, financial consultants, academics, bankers, and the entire development community.
WOMEN, BUSINESS AND THE LAW 2022
By the World Bank
WOMEN, BUSINESS AND THE LAW
March 2022. 134 pages. Stock no. C211817 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1817-2). US$43.95
Women, Business and the Law 2022 is the eighth in a series of annual studies measuring the laws and regulations that affect women's economic opportunity in 190 economies. The project presents eight indicators structured around women's interactions with the law as they move through their careers: mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pension. Amid a global pandemic that threatens progress toward gender equality, Women, Business and the Law 2022 identifies barriers to women's economic participation and encourages reform of discriminatory laws. This year, the study also includes pilot research related to childcare and implementation of the law. By examining the economic decisions women make throughout their working lives, as well as the pace of reform over the past 50 years, Women, Business and the Law makes an important contribution to research and policy discussions about the state of women's economic empowerment. The indicators build evidence of the critical relationship between legal gender equality and women's employment and entrepreneurship. Data in Women, Business and the Law 2022 are current as of October 1, 2021.
IMPROVING EFFECTIVE COVERAGE IN HEALTH
Do Financial Incentives Work?
By Damien de Walque, Eeshani Kandpal, Adam Wagstaff, Jed Friedman, Sven Neelsen, Moritz Piatti-Fünfkirchen, Anja Sautmann, Gil Shapira, and Ellen Van De Poel
In many low- and middle-income countries, health coverage has improved dramatically in the past two decades, but health outcomes have not. As such, effective coverage —a measure of service delivery that meets a minimum standard of quality—remains unacceptably low. This Policy Research Report examines one specific policy approach to improving effective coverage: financial incentives in the form of performance-based financing (PBF) or financial incentives to health workers on the front lines. The report draws on a rich set of rigorous studies and new analysis. When compared to business-as-usual, in low-income settings with centralized health systems PBF can result in substantial gains in effective coverage. However, the relative benefits of PBF are less clear when it is compared to two alternative approaches: decentralized facility financing, which provides operating budgets to frontline health services with facility autonomy on allocation, and demand-side financial support for health services (conditional cash transfers and vouchers). While PBF often results in improvements on the margins, closing the substantial gaps in effective health coverage is not yet within reach for many countries. Nonetheless, there are important lessons learned and experiences from the rollout of PBF over the past decade that can guide health policies into the future.
POLICY RESEARCH REPORTS
March 2022. 200 pages. Stock no. C211825 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1825-7). US$49.50
THE CHANGING WEALTH OF NATIONS 2021
Managing Assets for the Future
By the World Bank
It is now clear that a narrow focus on the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) is insufficient to achieve humanity's aspirations for sustainable prosperity. Well-functioning ecosystems and educated populations are requisites for sustainable well-being. These and other too-often neglected ingredients of national wealth must be addressed if the development path is to be sustainable. The Changing Wealth of Nations 2021: Managing Assets for the Future provides the most comprehensive accounting of the wealth of nations, an in-depth analysis of its evolution, and pathways to build wealth for the future. This report—and the accompanying global database—firmly establishes comprehensive wealth as a measure of sustainability and a key component of country analytics. This report provides a new set of tools and analysis to help policy makers navigate risks and to guide collective action. Wealth accounts can be applied in macroeconomic analysis to such areas of major policy concern as climate change and natural resource management. This report can be used to look beyond GDP, to gauge nations' economic well-being, and to promote sustainable prosperity.
December 2021. 500 pages. Stock no. C211590 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1590-4). US$60.50
THE TRADE AND CLIMATE CHANGE NEXUS
By Paul Brenton and Vicky Chemutai
October 2021. 138 pages. Stock no. C211770 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1770-0). US$43.95
While trade exacerbates climate change, it is also a central part of the solution because it has the potential to enhance mitigation and adaptation. This timely report explores the different ways in which trade and climate change intersect. Trade contributes to the emissions that cause global warming and is itself also affected by climate change through changing comparative advantages. The report also confronts several myths concerning trade and climate change. The Trade and Climate Change Nexus: The Urgency and Opportunities for Developing Countries focuses on the impacts of, and adjustments to, climate change in developing countries and on how future trade opportunities will be affected by both the changing climate and the policy responses to address it. The report discusses how trade can provide the goods and services that drive mitigation and adaptation. It also addresses how climate change creates immense challenges for developing countries, but also new opportunities to promote trade diversification in the transition to a low-carbon world. Suitable trade and environmental policies can offer effective economic incentives to attain both sustainable growth and poverty reduction.
DEEP TRADE AGREEMENTS
Anchoring Global Value Chains in Latin America and the Caribbean
Edited by Michele Ruta and Nadia Rocha
March 2022. 220 pages. Stock no. C211824 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1824-0). US$49.50
The Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region has untapped potential for trade and global value chains (GVCs) to grow in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This report, based on new data and evidence, shows that “deep” trade agreements can drive policy reforms and help the region overcome some of its disadvantageous fundamentals. Four priority areas of deep integration—trade facilitation, regulatory cooperation, services, and state support—can improve the GVC participation of LAC countries: Trade facilitation can reduce border delays and ease problems stemming from the remoteness of LAC countries. Regulatory cooperation can help LAC countries access larger markets by reducing the costs of nontariff measures. Opening the service economy can compensate for factor endowment scarcity, facilitating access to skills and technology. Regulating competition and state support to state-owned enterprises can improve the quality of economic institutions.
These reforms are all the more important as global trade tensions persist and economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Clifton Cortez, John Arzinos, and Christian De la Medina Soto
Despite legal and social advances in the past two decades, sexual and gender minorities continue to face widespread discrimination and violence in many countries. This discrimination and violence lead to exclusion, which adversely impacts their lives, as well as the communities and economies in which they live. A major barrier to addressing this stigma and sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI)-based exclusion is the lack of SOGI-specific data. Robust, quantitative data on differential development experiences and outcomes of sexual and gender minorities— especially those in developing countries—is extremely thin. Equality of Opportunity for Sexual and Gender Minorities assesses the unique challenges that sexual and gender minorities face in six important areas: (1) criminalization and SOGI, (2) access to education, (3) access to the labor market, (4) access to public services and social protection, (5) civil and political inclusion, and (6) protection from hate crimes. The first in a series of studies, the report will be expanded from the 16 countries included here to a wider set of countries for a more in-depth quantitative analysis and to identify possible correlations with socioeconomic outcomes. It will seek to deepen knowledge, facilitate peer learning of good practices, and increase the inclusion of sexual and gender minorities. Targeting is a commonly used, but much debated, policy within global social assistance practice. This book examines the well-known dilemmas in light of the growing body of experience, new implementation capacities, and the potential to bring new data and data science to bear. Chapter 1 presents factors that shape choices around how to target different parts of social assistance. Chapter 2 updates the global empirics around the costs of focusing benefits on the poor or vulnerable. Chapter 3 illustrates the options that must be made in moving to implementable definitions and procedures. Chapter 4 provides a treatment of delivery systems and processes and room for improvement. Chapter 5 discusses the choice between targeting methods and how differences in purposes and contexts shape those. Chapter 6 summarizes and updates the know-how with respect to the data and inference used by the different household-specific targeting methods. Chapter 7 contains a deep primer on measurement issues, explaining how better measurement can lead to clearer understanding of targeting issues. Chapter 8 explores machine learning algorithms for household-specific mechanisms for eligibility determination.
December 2021. 182 pages. Stock no. C211774 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1774-8). US$43.95
REVISITING TARGETING IN SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
A New Look at Old Dilemmas
Edited by Margaret Grosh, Phillippe Leite, Matthew Wai-Poi, and Emil Tesliuc
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
PERSPECTIVES
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES
March 2022. 500 pages. Stock no. C211814 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1814-1). US$73.00
RESHAPING GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS IN LIGHT OF COVID-19
Implications for Trade and Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries
By Paul Brenton, Michael J. Ferrantino, and Maryla Maliszewska
March 2022. 184 pages. Stock no. C211821 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1821-9). US$43.95
Global value chains (GVCs) have driven dramatic expansions in trade, productivity, and economic growth in developing countries. This book examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on GVCs and explores whether they can continue to be a driver of trade and development. The report reviews previous crises and what these tell us about the resilience of GVC firms to shocks. It then explores simulations from a global economic model of the potential longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on developing countries and other key factors shaping the global economy, including the evolving role of China, increasing trade restrictions, and policy responses to global warming. The analysis shows that while there are risks associated with GVCs, especially those concentrated around key nodes and where opportunities to find alternative suppliers or buyers are limited, there are mechanisms by which GVCs maintain trade relationships during a crisis, paving the way for a strong trade-led recovery. Measures are identified that can enhance the resilience of GVCs in low-income countries.
This report finds that policies that maintain and enhance trade can contribute toward crisis management and recovery. Measures to meet climate change commitments will have profound impacts, leading to a shift away from carbon-intensive GVCs, while new opportunities for trade will arise in GVCs that are less carbon intensive.
WALKING THE TALK
Reimagining Primary Health Care after COVID-19
By Enis Bariş,Rachel Silverman, Huihui Wang, Feng Zhao, and Muhammad Ali Pate
February 2022. 224 pages. Stock no. C211768 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1768-7). US$43.95
Very few topics in global health have been as controversial as primary health care since it was introduced half a century ago as the panacea for providing health care to the masses.
In this book, the authors propose an innovative unifying framework bringing together four requirements to reimagine primary health care and ensure a transition from (1) a limited package of low-quality services to a broader range of higher-quality primary care and public health services; (2) fragmented care to person-centered integrated care; (3) inequity in access to fairness and accountability regardless of one's ability and willingness to pay; and (4) fragility to resilience, particularly in times of pent-up demand as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Schemes are presented to “walk the talk” for high quality, integrated, continuous, comprehensive, and community-oriented primary health care. Finally, the authors indicate how the World Bank Group and its development partners could join efforts to help countries deliver on reimagined primary health care through technical advice and financial assistance for global- and country-level dialogue for advocacy.
BRIDGING THE TECHNOLOGICAL DIVIDE
Firm Technology Adoption in Developing Countries
By Xavier Cirera, Diego Comin, and Marcio Cruz
Technology is a key driver of economic development. However, the extent to which firms adopt and use technologies and to what purpose is poorly understood. From a technological standpoint, firms largely remain black boxes. This report proposes a new approach to measure and understand the adoption and use of technologies by firms. Specifically, it leverages a new data collection instrument, the Firm-Level Adoption of Technology (FAT) survey, which provides a very rich characterization of the technologies used and the processes of adoption by firms in developing countries. The first section of the report presents the FAT survey. Section 2 describes the patterns of technology adoption across countries and firms. It uncovers new unexplored findings on the variation of technology sophistication across business functions within firms. Section 3 focuses on sector differences in technology sophistication and the challenges to leapfrog technologies. Section 4 shows that technology is positively associated with productivity, employment growth, and wage premiums. Section 5 describes the acceleration of the digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The last part of the report focuses on barriers for adoption (section 6), including the role of infrastructure and management quality, and the key policy instruments that can be used to support firm technology adoption in developing countries (section 7).
WORLD BANK PRODUCTIVITY PROJECT
June 2022. 300 pages. Stock no. C211826 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1826-4). US$54.95
PLACE, PRODUCTIVITY, AND PROSPERITY
Revisiting Spatially Targeted Policies for Regional Development
By Arti Grover, Somik V. Lall, and William F. Maloney
The spatial dimension of productivity and inclusive growth has moved to center stage. While the geographic concentration of economic activity has boosted productivity, growing disparities between prospering places and those left behind have polarized countries, while rapid urbanization has often led to dysfunctional cities. In response, governments have put forward a variety of spatial policies that include special economic zones, business incentives, transport corridors, revival of lagging areas, and development of new urban centers.
Place, Productivity, and Prosperity develops a framework for thinking through such spatially targeted policies and assessing their social value, while presenting new evidence on key empirical issues. It highlights the constraints imposed by path dependence and coordination failures in reorienting the spatial economy, as well as the role of complementary policies, including market institutions, in enhancing the benefits and managing the downside risks with spatially targeted interventions. The framework is applied to evaluate several popular spatial interventions.
WORLD BANK PRODUCTIVITY PROJECT February 2022. 240 pages. Stock no. C211670 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1670-3). US$48.50
INNOVATIONS IN TAX COMPLIANCE
By Roel Dom, Anna Custers, Stephen Davenport, and Wilson Prichard
January 2022. 236 pages. Stock no. C211755 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1755-7). US$53.95
Recent decades have witnessed important progress in strengthening tax systems in developing countries. Yet many areas of reform have remained stubbornly resistant to major improvements; overall revenue collection still falls short of what is needed to support effective governance and service delivery. Tax collection is too often characterized by high rates of evasion among large corporations and the rich, and disproportionate, often hidden, burdens are on lower-income groups. As countries around the world deal with large COVID-19-induced debt burdens, a focus on strengthening tax systems is especially timely. Innovations in Tax Compliance draws on recent research and experience to present a new conceptual framework to guide more effective approaches to reform. Building on the achievements of recent decades, it argues for an expanded focus on the overlapping goals of building trust, navigating political resistance, and tailoring reform to unique local contexts through a focus on identifying the most binding constraints on reform. This focus, it argues, can lead not only to greater compliance, increased fairness, and higher revenues, but can also contribute to the building of state capacity, sustained political support for further reforms, and stronger fiscal contracts between citizens and governments.
THE LONG SHADOW OF INFORMALITY
Challenges and Policies
Edited by Franziska Ohnsorge and Shu Yu
February 2022. 350 pages. Stock no. C211753 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1753-3). US$53.95
A large percentage of workers and firms operate in the informal economy, outside the line of sight of governments in emerging market and developing economies. This may hold back the recovery in these economies from the deep recessions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic—unless governments adopt a broad set of policies to address the challenges of widespread informality. This study is the first comprehensive analysis of the extent of informality and its implications for a durable economic recovery and for long-term development. It finds that pervasive informality is associated with significantly weaker economic outcomes— including lower government resources to combat recessions, lower per capita incomes, greater poverty, less financial development, and weaker investment and productivity.
IMPACT EVALUATION IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Theory, Methods, and Practice
By Paul Glewwe and Petra E. Todd
Impact evaluations are studies that attempt to measure the causal impact of a project, program, or policy on one or more outcomes. This book provides a comprehensive exposition of how to conduct impact evaluations. Part I provides an overview of impact evaluations, which are accessible to readers who have few or none of the technical (statistical and econometric) skills that are needed to conduct impact evaluations. Parts II and III make use of statistical and econometric methods and are at a level similar to a graduate-student course but written to make them accessible to the ambitious reader whose skills are not at that level. Part II presents a comprehensive discussion of the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to conduct impact evaluations. Part III presents the main nonexperimental methods that are used to implement impact evaluations when RCTs are not feasible or not recommended. Part IV considers more practical issues when conducting impact evaluations, including designing questionnaires, data collection methods, and survey management. Finally, Part V addresses two topics in impact evaluation: qualitative methods for conducting impact evaluations and cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis.
This comprehensive volume by pioneering researchers in the fi eld is an invaluable guide to the theory and practice of impact evaluation, covering a range of statistical methodologies and topics from sample design to dissemination of results. It will be of tremendous use to researchers planning impact evaluations. Michael Kremer Professor, The University of Chicago; Nobel Prize in Economics 2019 This book is the most rigorous and comprehensive text for evaluating social programs in developing countries. It presents up-to-date methodology and a thorough guide to the empirical problems that arise in real-life evaluations. James J. Heckman Professor, The University of Chicago; Nobel Prize in Economics 2000 Paul Glewwe and Petra Todd have produced an essential reference. Their book combines technical rigor and a wealth of practical advice, born from decades of experience evaluating social programs. Whether it’s understanding the theory behind a crucial technique, choosing the sample size, designing a survey, or deciding how to engage with policy makers, Glewwe and Todd have the answers. This will be the musthave book for impact evaluation amateurs and experts alike. David Evans Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development Paul Glewwe and Petra Todd’s book on impact evaluation is accurate and well written and would be of substantial value to readers, particularly development practitioners hoping to rigorously evaluate their programs and looking to gain insights into the purpose, theory, and mechanics of impact evaluation methods. Jeffery Tanner Senior Economist, The World Bank Group This book is a valuable and comprehensive compendium of the major approaches to impact evaluation, as well as related issues ranging from ethical considerations to the importance of costs as well as benefi ts. Development analysts and practitioners alike will benefi t substantially from the thorough, systematic coverage and from the many insights on conducting impact evaluations. Jere R. Behrman Professor, University of Pennsylvania Rigorous, comprehensive but still accessible, this guide to impact evaluation will be useful for students, practitioners, and applied researchers alike. Stefan Dercon Professor, University of Oxford ISBN 978-1-4648-1497-6 SKU 211497
Impact Evaluation
in International Development
Glewwe & Todd Impact Evaluation
in International Development
THEORY, METHODS, AND PRACTICE
Paul Glewwe and Petra E. Todd
January 2022. 570 pages. Stock no. C211497 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1497-6). US$59.95
QUALITY EARLY LEARNING
Nurturing Children's Potential
Edited by Maria Magdalena Bendini and Amanda E. Devercelli
Multiple fields of inquiry, including neuroscience, developmental and cognitive psychology, education, and economics, have been building evidence to inform the design of early childhood education (ECE) programs. Yet, by and large, this evidence is not produced or systematized in ways that can readily inform program design, and the potential synergies from considering this evidence in a unified, cross-disciplinary, manner are not realized in policy design. This report is written by a group of leading ECE academics and policy practitioners. It synthesizes the latest relevant knowledge from multiple disciplines on how young children learn and it identifies the crucial elements of quality, effective ECE. The volume documents the latest evidence from multiple fields on how young children learn most effectively, what skills they need to succeed in school, and how ECE programs can foster these skills and harness children's ability and motivation to learn. The ultimate goal is to provide key stakeholders, including policy makers and practitioners, with actionable, evidence-based, and cost-effective strategies for the delivery of quality ECE at scale.
