Documents & Reports
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Global Inequality and Economic Growth : The Three Decades before Covid-19 and Three Decades After (English)
Global income inequality captures income differences among all individuals around the world. Global inequality around the world increased from 1820 to 1990 as incomes in richer countries grew faster than...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11093 Document Date: March 26, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Diana Carolina Garcia Rojas,Nishant Yonzan,Christoph Lakner
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Climate Risk and Poverty in the Middle East and North Africa (English)
The Middle East and North Africa faces significant climate challenges, such as increasing temperatures, heightened flood risks, frequent droughts, and growing air pollution issues. These challenges are...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11092 Document Date: March 25, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Balasubramanian,Chitra,Sandra Baquie,Alan Fuchs
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Buffering Recessions : Labor Market Asymmetries and the Role of Self-Employment (English)
The employment structure in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) differs markedly from that in advanced economies, which has implications for adjustment to cyclical conditions. This paper...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11089 Document Date: March 24, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Loungani,Prakash,Emiliano Evaristo Luttini,Hayley Marie Pallan
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Effective Tax Rates, Firm Size and the Global Minimum Tax (English)
This paper documents new facts on corporate taxation and the revenue potential of corporate minimum taxes, leveraging firm-level tax returns from 16 countries. First, effective tax rates follow a humped-shaped...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11090 Document Date: March 24, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Pierre Bachas,Anne Brockmeyer,Roel Dom,Camille Marine Semelet
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Which Data Do Economists Use to Study Corruption ? A Cross-Section of Corruption Research (English)
This paper examines the data sources and methodologies used in economic research on corruption by analyzing 339 journal articles published in 2022 that include Journal of Economic Literature codes. The...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11091 Document Date: March 24, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: James Anderson,Akanksha Baidya
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TV, TEDx, and Tweets: Measuring the Impacts of a Multi-Pronged Edutainment Program in the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan (English)
The evidence so far is mixed as to whether educational entertainment (or “edutainment”) can create sustainable changes in financial attitudes and behaviors, and few studies have tested such hypotheses...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11088 Document Date: March 21, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Fowler,Ben,Christopher Joseph Heitzig,Khan,Marrium,Renuka Pai,Sakshi Varma
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Ten Consequential and Actionable ‘Social’ Contributions to the Theory, Practice, and Evaluation of Development (English)
Understandings of what is unique and consequential about ‘social’ development vis-à-vis other sectoral domains have evolved considerably over the past eight decades, with the present articulations enjoying...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11087 Document Date: March 19, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Vijayendra Rao,Michael Woolcock
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Understanding Labor Market Demand in Real Time in Argentina and Uruguay (English)
This paper explores how job vacancy data can enhance labor market information systems (LMISs) in Argentina and Uruguay where, as in many countries, data on in-demand skills is lacking. By analyzing job...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11086 Document Date: March 17, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Evelyn Vezza,Zunino,Gonzalo,Laguinge,Luis,Harry Edmund Moroz,Ignacio Raul Apella,Marla Hillary Spivack
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Procuring Low Growth : The Impact of Political Favoritism on Public Procurement and Firm Performance in Bulgaria (English)
This paper assesses the impact of favoritism in public procurement on private sector productivity growth. To this end, it combines three novel microeconomic data sets: administrative data on firms, including...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11085 Document Date: March 13, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Fazekas,Mihaly,Poltoratskaya,Viktoriia,Marc Tobias Schiffbauer,Tóth,Bence
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Impacts and Spillovers of a Low-Cost Multifaceted Economic Inclusion Program in Chad (English)
This study analyzes the direct effects and local spillovers of a low-cost multifaceted economic inclusion program through a randomized controlled trial in Chad. The intervention included group savings...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11084 Document Date: March 12, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Patrick Premand,Pascale Schnitzer
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Gender Barriers, Structural Transformation, and Economic Development (English)
The representation and significance of women in the labor force have grown significantly over the past five decades around the globe. Using nationally representative data from more than 90 countries, this...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11083 Document Date: March 10, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Chiplunkar,Gaurav,Tatjana Kleineberg
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Firm-Level Climate Change Adaptation : Micro Evidence from 134 Nations (English)
Are firms adapting to climate change? This paper studies this question by combining geocoded World Bank Enterprise Survey data with spatially granular weather data to estimate temperature response functions...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11081 Document Date: March 10, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Claudia N. Berg,Bettarelli,Luca,Furceri,Davide,Ganslmeier,Michael,Arti Grover,Megan Elizabeth Lang,Marc Tobias Schiffbauer
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Businesses of the State in Brazil : The Impact on Employment and Business Dynamism (English)
Businesses of the state (BOS) have regained the public debate in midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as a source of resilience to shocks and a mechanism for technology development and diffusion...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11082 Document Date: March 6, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Brolhato,Sara,Xavier Cirera,Antonio Soares Martins Neto
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Collecting Accurate Data on Intimate Partner Violence : Learnings from Pakistan (English)
Accurate measurement of intimate partner violence is challenging in face-to-face interviews due to concerns about anonymity and privacy, which can deter disclosure. In settings with high illiteracy, self-administered...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11077 Document Date: March 3, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Iqbal,Nasir,Jalal,Amen,Mahmud,Mahreen,Kate Vyborny
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Weather Shocks and Rural Economic Linkages : Evidence from Rajasthan’s Agricultural and Non-Agricultural Sectors (English)
This study examines the complex relationships between rainfall shocks, agricultural productivity, and rural economic activity in Rajasthan, India’s largest state. Using district-level agricultural data...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11079 Document Date: March 3, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Francis Addeah Darko,Akankshita Dey,Ritadhi,S. K.
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Rural Non-Farm Employment in Rajasthan : Determinants, Welfare Effects, and Enterprise Performance (English)
This paper examines rural non-farm employment in Rajasthan, India, using multiple surveys and administrative data. The analysis covers three key aspects: individual and district-level determinants of participation...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11080 Document Date: March 3, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Francis Addeah Darko,Akankshita Dey,Ritadhi,S. K.
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Seeds of Change : The Impact of Ethiopia’s Direct Seed Marketing Approach on Smallholders’ Seed Purchases and Productivity (English)
Several factors contribute to the limited use of improved seed varieties in Ethiopia. Among those, on the supply side, is the restricted availability of seeds in the volume, quality, and timeliness required...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11078 Document Date: March 3, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Dawit Kelemework Mekonnen,Abate,Gashaw T.,Yimam,Seid,Benfica,Rui,Spielman,David J.,Place,Frank
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Bridging Conflicts and Biodiversity Protection : The Critical Role of Reliable and Comparable Data (English)
Biodiversity is essential for ecological stability, human well-being, and economic progress, providing critical ecosystem services such as clean water, food, and climate regulation. However, it faces unprecedented...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11076 Document Date: February 27, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Brian Blankespoor,Susmita Dasgupta,Wheeler,David
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From Conflict to Compromise : Experimental Evidence on Occupational Downgrading in Migration from Myanmar (English)
This paper examines the relationship between violent conflict and the willingness of potential migrants to accept lower skilled work (occupational downgrading). The paper develops a theoretical model of...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11075 Document Date: February 25, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Yashodhan Ghorpade,Muhammad Saad Imtiaz
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Revisiting the Gains from Trade in EMDEs : The Case of Selected East Asian and East African Economies (English)
Following the gains from variety literature, this paper estimates the welfare impact of growth of the variety of imported goods in 28 countries in East Africa and East Asia and compares the results. While...
Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS11072 Document Date: February 24, 2025 Disclosure Status: Disclosed Author: Battogtvor,Enkhmaa,Majune,Socrates Kraido,Angella Faith Montfaucon