Adult skills and productivity: New evidence from PIAAC 2023
Adult skills play a crucial role in shaping productivity. This column uses data from the 2023 OECD Survey of Adult Skills to analyse the relationship
Lessons for rebuilding Ukraine from economic recoveries after natural disasters
Although the source and duration of the destruction differ, wars and natural disasters disrupt economies in similar ways. This column examines the effects of natural
Hacking the heat: How data innovations can help cities face a rising threat
In Paris, authorities closed more than 1,000 schools — and the summit of the Eiffel Tower — during last month’s heatwave. In Eastern China, the power grid
Finding the signal in the score: How the World Bank Group is aligning the Scorecard and impact evaluations
For years, the World Bank Group’s systems for measuring results operated in parallel tracks: corporate Scorecards that monitored performance through outcome-level targets, and impact evaluations
Post-Pandemic Poverty Estimates for the MENA Region
In the fight against poverty, timely, reliable, and open data is our compass. Without it, we are unable to track progress toward the Sustainable Development
Risks and challenges in global agricultural markets
Agricultural commodity prices continued their downward trend in the second quarter of 2025, with the World Bank’s agricultural price index dropping nearly 7 percent since
The supply side of monetary policy: How floating-rate loans blunt the ECB’s fight against inflation
Central banks raise interest rates to reduce aggregate demand and bring inflation down. This column uses credit register data and product-level price data from the
The battle for trade currency dominance: The dollar vs the renminbi in Argentina
The US dollar has traditionally dominated the invoicing of international trade. But could other currencies one day replace it? This column examines a unique policy
Interlocking directorates and competition in banking
The presence of directors on the boards of competing firms (‘interlocking directorates’) raises concerns about collusion. This column studies the Italian corporate loan market and
Dynamism in generative AI markets since the release of ChatGPT
The success of ChatGPT has raised fears that the excessive concentration of generative AI technology within one or two leading US companies could reduce market
