People living in poverty are
particularly vulnerable to shocks, including those caused by
natural disasters such as floods and droughts. Previous
studies in local contexts have shown that poor people are
also often overrepresented in hazard-prone areas. However,
systematic evidence across countries demonstrating this
finding is lacking. This paper analyzes at the country level
whether poor people are disproportionally exposed to floods

The authors investigate determinants of
individual migration decisions in Vietnam, a country with
increasingly high levels of geographical labor mobility.
Using data from the Vietnam Household Living Standards
Survey (VHLSS) of 2012, the authors find that probability of
migration is strongly associated with individual, household
and community-level characteristics. The probability of
migration is higher for young people and those with

In 2012, the World Bank initiated the
building urban resilience in East Asia program, aimed at
increasing the resilience of cities to disasters and the
impact of climate change by using a risk-based approach to
making public investment decisions. The objective is to
demonstrate a scalable methodology and practical tools for
risk assessment that can be used for city-level investment
decisions. This activity started with engaging selected

Climate change and climate policies will
affect poverty reduction efforts through direct and
immediate impacts on the poor and by affecting factors that
condition poverty reduction, such as economic growth. This
paper explores this relation between climate change and
policies and poverty outcomes by examining three questions:
the (static) impact on poor people's livelihood and
well-being; the impact on the risk for non-poor individuals

The Myanmar Economic Monitor (MEM) aims
to periodically take stock of economic development and
highlight economic prospects and policy priorities in
Myanmar. Myanmar grew at an estimated 8.5 percent in real
terms in 2014/15. The MEM touches on continued recovery in
growth, public consumption, private investment, services,
investment in manufacturing and industry, rebound in
agriculture and the impact of floods. The monitor examines

The Philippines is among the strongest performers in the region, bucking the trend. In the first half (H1) of 2015, among the major economies in the region, the only countries to accelerate their quarterly growth rates were the Philippines, from 5 to 5.6 percent, and Vietnam. In spite of this acceleration, for the two quarters combined, Philippine growth rate came out at 5.3 percent—its lowest half year growth rate since 2011. On the demand side, the strong performance of private domestic demand at 8.1 percent, supported by record low inflation and robust remittances, drove GDP growth.

This issue includes the following
headings: Climate Change and Rural Livelihoods in
Bangladesh; Natural Disasters and Household Well-Being; Road
Improvement and Deforestation, Pathways toward Zero-Carbon
Electricity; The Need for Broader Information in Climate
Change Assessment; Effectiveness of Protected Areas; and
Vulnerability to Malnutrition in the West African Sahel

Megacity Dhaka encounters various kinds
of natural disasters quite frequently owing to its
geographical location and a number of other physical and
environmental conditions including low topography, land
characteristics, multiplicity of rivers and the monsoon
climate. Climate and disaster resilience is not the same in
all parts of a city. Spatial variations in resilience
patterns result from differences in the strengths and

Most reports on refugees deal with the
immediate needs of displaced people. This paper seeks to go
beyond the emergency phase and explore the challenges
surrounding protracted refugee situations. The paper
examines the refugee situation in Sub-Saharan Africa from a
long-term angle, from the perspective of refugees own agency
as well as from the perspective of the host community. The
paper aims to shed light on the economic lives of refugees

This study explores the changing
opportunities for children in Africa. While the definition
of opportunities can be subjective and depend on the
societal context, this report focuses on efforts to build
future human capital, directly (through education and health
investments) and indirectly (through complementary
infrastructure such as safe water, adequate sanitation,
electricity, and so on). It follows the practice of earlier

This paper aims to contribute to
learning on community engagement and community driven
development (CDD) in urban areas. Specifically, the review
describes the World Bank’s use of participatory and CDD
approaches in urban areas between 2003 and 2013; identifies
the challenges of using participatory and CDD approaches in
the urban context; assesses lessons from the application of
CDD in urban areas through case studies; and makes

In the past decade, Latin America and
the Caribbean has achieved impressive social and economic
successes. For the first time in history, more people are in
the middle class than in poverty. Inequality, although still
high, declined markedly. Growth, jobs and effective social
programs have transformed the lives of millions. In a
striking departure from the crisis-prone Latin America of
the past, the region has shown it is better prepared to