This report by the Independent
Evaluation Group (IEG) summarizes the experiences of and
draws lessons from the country program evaluations of four
natural resource-rich countries: the Plurinational State of
Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Zambia. It concludes that
although the challenges identified in these countries are
not unique, they manifest themselves with particular
intensity in three closely interrelated areas that need to

Ecosystem accounting is a coherent and integrated approach to the assessment of

As the global population heads toward 9 billion by 2050, decisions made today will lock countries into growth patterns that may or may not be sustainable in the future. Care must be taken to ensure that cities and roads, factories and farms are designed, managed, and regulated as efficiently as possible to wisely use natural resources while supporting the robust growth developing countries still need.

In past four years, the World Bank, in
close cooperation with the Government of Zimbabwe, and the
support of international partners - has carried out a number
of studies and technical assistance activities in key areas
of the socio-economic recovery. In line with Bank’s Africa
strategy of fostering Africa’s economic transformation and
poverty reduction, the overall goal of these studies has
been to support broad-based development of Zimbabwe by

Poor people living in slums are at
particularly high risk from the impacts of climate change
and natural hazards. They live on the most vulnerable land
within cities, typically areas deemed undesirable by others
and thus affordable. This study analyzes the key challenges
facing the urban poor, given the risks associated with
climate change and disasters, particularly with regard to
the delivery of basic services, and identifies strategies

The country profile for Sweden is based
on data from the enterprise surveys conducted by the World
Bank in 2014. The Enterprise Surveys focus on the many
factors that shape the business environment. These factors
can be accommodating or constraining for firms and play an
important role in whether a country will prosper or not. An
accommodating business environment is one that encourages
firms to operate efficiently. Such conditions strengthen

The importance of agriculture in the
economies of sub-Saharan African countries cannot be
overemphasized. With agriculture accounting for about 65
percent of the region's employment and 75 percent of
its domestic trade, significant progress in reducing hunger
and poverty across the region depends on the development and
transformation of the agricultural sector. Transforming
agriculture from largely a subsistence enterprise to a

Kazakhstan aspires to become one of the
world s 30 most developed economies by 2050. The focus is on
laying the basis for the accelerated diversification of the
economy through industrialization and infrastructure
development, including enhancing human capital to drive
innovation and economic efficiency. This country economic
memorandum report adopts an analytical framework that looks
into options that will be explored to help authorities think

In Africa, farmers have been reluctant
to take up new varieties of staple crops developed to boost
smallholder yields and rural incomes. Low fertilizer use is
often mentioned as a proximate cause, but some believe the
problem originates with incomplete input markets. As a
remedy, African governments have introduced technology
adoption programs with fertilizer subsidies as a core
component. Still, the links between market performance and

This report’s starting point is thus to
acknowledge that despite Sweden’s many virtues, there are
areas in which it can do better, and the task has been to
identify those areas, focusing particularly on the quality
of the investment climate and competitiveness. This has been
done in two main ways. First, by looking at areas of the
business environment captured by databases compiled in the
World Bank Group’s Global Indicators Group—Doing Business,

Pakistan’s trade indicators reflect low
outward orientation, concentration on low value added
activities and an undiversified product mix which out of
line with the fastest growing areas of world demand. The
export share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has remained
low and falling—fro

This set of reports on manufacturing
plans implementation in India includes the following: (1) A
new agenda. Improving the competitiveness of the textiles
and apparel value chain in India report is structured as
follows: section one sets out the context, describing trends
in global markets and in the textiles and apparel supply
chain in India; section two analyzes in detail the choke
points that are hindering the growth of the latter; section