Public procurement contracts worldwide often face high risks of cost overruns and project delays, raising questions about the scope for contract modifications. This column examines the impact of eased renegotiation rules on procurement outcomes in the Czech Republic between 2015 and 2020. Easing renegotiation rules did not substantially change procurement outcomes but led to a […]
As consumers, we have grown accustomed to blazing-fast deliveries with a click of an app —sometimes in as little as 10 minutes. While we enjoy this speed and convenience, we rarely pause to consider the added safety risks placed on delivery drivers racing against the clock. Commercial motorcycles are more than just vehicles, they are […]
What explains why grants to women-owned microenterprises often fail to yield improvements in business outcomes, especially as compared to grants to men’s microenterprises? This is the topic tackled in the new working paper “Mitigating the Impact of Household Expropriation on Female Entrepreneurship: Experimental Evidence from Ghana,” by Francisco Campos, Adriana Conconi, Elwyn Davies, Marine Gassier, […]
Peter Drucker, often called the father of modern management, once wrote that “innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship…the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth.” In development, innovation does something similar: It endows resources with a new capacity to create outcomes. In turn, outcomes are what give innovation purpose. At […]
Where do jobs come from, and how can we learn more about firms that create them? Governments need to know which firms create employment, how shocks are passed on along supply chains, and how the benefits of trade reach workers. Tracking such information in a comprehensive manner and over an extended period can be challenging. […]
Europe’s recent energy crisis generated large windfall rents for electricity producers. Yet, most EU governments responded with costly downstream measures that left wholesale prices – and producer profits – largely untouched. This column shows that Spain and Portugal charted a different course by intervening directly in the wholesale market, decoupling electricity prices from gas. This […]
Social status can have a long-lasting influence on people’s health and longevity. This column explores the lifespan of royals – whose status is determined by hereditary rules – between 1669 and 2022. While royals still live longer than their average subject, the gap has shrunk significantly since the 19th century. Even today, monarchs consistently outlive […]
Artificial intelligence tools can now produce highly realistic text, images, and videos at almost no cost, prompting concerns that the proliferation of fabricated content may mean mainstream news outlets lose both the trust and demand of their audience. This column reports the results of a field experiment in partnership with one of Germany’s most respected […]
The facility will consist of USD and euro loans. VFS Global, the Zurich and Dubai headquartered provider of outsourced visa and consular services, is looking to raise the equivalent of $2 billion in term loans to refinance an existing debt and pay fees and expenses. The financing will be split in US dollar and euro […]
GCC lenders account for 30% of USD issuances by EM banks this year. Debt issuances by banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are set to remain strong through 2026 after exceeding $60 billion so far this year, Fitch Ratings said in a new report. Excluding certificates of deposit (CDs), issuances will hit $40 billion […]
