The World Bank Group promotes small and medium enterprise (SME) growth through both systemic and targeted interventions. Targeting means focusing benefits on one size-class of firms to the exclusion of others. Targeted support for SMEs is a big business for the World Bank Group, averaging around...

Global Development Finance-the World Bank's annual report on the external financing of developing countries-provides monitoring and analysis of development finance, identifying key emerging trends and policy challenges in international financial flows that are likely to affect the growth...

The 2007 Global Monitoring Report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) assesses the contributions of developing countries, developed countries, and international financial institutions toward meeting universally agreed development commitments. Fourth in a series of annual reports leading...

This third edition of the Global Monitoring Report examines the commitments and actions of donors, international financial institutions, and developing countries to implement the Millennium Declaration, signed by 189 countries in 2000. Many countries are off track to meet the Millennium...

The last 25 years have witnessed unprecedented changes around the world-many of them for the better. In all continents, numerous countries have embarked on a path of international integration, economic reform, technological modernization, and democratic participation. As result, economies that...

The unanticipated spike in international food prices in 2007-08 hit many developing countries hard. International prices for food and other agricultural products increased by more than 100 percent between early 2007 and mid-2008. Prices for food cereals more than doubled; and those for rice...

Development economics and policy are due for a redesign. In the past few decades, research from across the natural and social sciences has provided stunning insight into the way people think and make decisions. Whereas the first generation of development policy was based on the assumption that...

Intro -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- Methodology -- Sources and definitions -- Country groups -- Regional groups -- Income groups -- Summary tables -- Regional and income group aggregate tables -- Country tables -- Albania -- Algeria -- Angola -- Argentina -- Armenia -- Azerbaijan --...

Jobs provide higher earnings and better benefits as countries grow, but they are also a driver of development. Poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empowering women lead to greater investments in children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do,...