Public employment services are rapidly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a range of sophisticated digital tools. According to a recent survey, half of the public employment agencies in OECD countries have implemented AI solutions such as chatbots that assist with service inquiries, profiling models to assess jobseeker needs, tools that guide job-search strategies, and […]
South Asia is grappling with significant fiscal challenges that affect its governments’ ability to provide essential public services. Although its tax rates are often higher than average, the region struggles with low tax revenues. This blog explores the reasons behind these low revenues and discusses potential solutions to bridge the revenue gap and strengthen South […]
Vikhsit Bharat : This is the ambitious goal India has set itself of becoming a high-income country by 2047. But reaching this goal will require India to grow almost 8 percent on average for the next 22 years. That would mean an acceleration from the 6.6 percent growth per year that India achieved over the last 25 […]
Central Asia is home to some of the lowest savings rates in the world, and this is particularly true in the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan. According to 2021 Global Findex data, gross domestic savings rates in these two countries stood at just 6.9% and 12.6%, respectively, well below regional averages in Sub-Saharan […]
Generally speaking, political instability, armed conflicts, and low population density create significant challenges to collecting, accessing, and disseminating quality data. This is especially true in central Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Niger), which are relatively vast with low population densities, ranging from 65 inhabitants per km² in Burkina Faso to 14 inhabitants per km² in […]
“How’s your garden?” This was a common question I often heard in Gulu, Uganda. Especially at the start of the country’s two rainy seasons—one beginning in March and the other in September—women frequently exchanged this phrase in markets, hair salons, and even non-profit offices. In Gulu, a garden was not merely an aesthetic feature of […]
The world has experienced a digital revolution that has affected countless aspects of our lives, posing both potential benefits and risks to our wellbeing. This column examines the impact of high-speed internet in Uruguay on young people’s socioemotional wellbeing. Young people report increased worry but reduced loneliness as access to high-speed internet grows. Dissatisfaction with […]
Recent years have seen a global shift towards illiberal forms of governance. Migration is often a central force in these dynamics. This column investigates the two-way interaction between international migration and political regime change. The author shows, first, that substantial immigration into politically fragile democracies can exacerbate institutional weaknesses. Second, democratic decline tends to increase […]
Oil prices held steady on Wednesday after the U.S. barred Chevron from exporting crude from Venezuela, but an expected decision from OPEC+ later this week to increase production in July capped gains. Brent crude futures was up 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $64.15 a barrel by 0852 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 8 […]
The European Union is nearly on track to reach its main climate target for this decade, with countries’ existing CO2-cutting plans set to bring the bloc within one percentage point of the goal, the European Commission said on Wednesday. The EU is on course to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by 54% by 2030, […]
