In South Asia, the modern microfinance movement was born in Bangladesh in the 1970s as a response to the prevailing poverty conditions among its vast rural population. Astonishing growth rates in Bangladesh, particularly during 1990s, created a new dimension for microfinance worldwide as...

The West Bengal experience of reforms in power sector provides key learning on the sequencing, design and implementation of reforms program. The smooth restructuring of the power sector in West Bengal, characterized by a vibrant civil society, unionized and influential public sector workforce,...

Ten years after the World Bank institutionalized the use of Communications for Development, the Water and Sanitation Program for Latin America and the Caribbean and the World Bank office in Peru held the 'constructive dialogue: communications for development of water, sanitation, and...

New forces are at work in the agricultural sector: the growth of markets and private entrepreneurship, the changing global demand for food and other agricultural products, the rise of multinationals, and the expansion of integrated food chains. To realize the potential benefits, the public...