Are Capital Incentives Slowing the Diffusion of Cloud, Big Data, and AI?
We live in a world overflowing with data, yet turning this abundance into economic growth and job creation remains a significant challenge. Cloud computing has
Basel endgame: Bank capital requirements and the future of international standard setting
Since the 1970s, banking regulators have worked to set minimum standards for internationally active banks. The latest agreement, Basel III, was introduced following the 2008
Regulation and growth: Lessons from nearly 50 years of product market reforms
Product market regulation reforms directly affect firm entry, innovation and reallocation, and thus productivity and economic growth. This column leverages the 2025 update of the
Understanding country income: World Bank Group income classifications for FY26 (July 1, 2025–June, 2026)
Every year, the World Bank Group classifies the world’s economies into four income groups: low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high. These classifications, updated each year on July
Gender role attitudes and female labour supply
Increasing women’s labour force participation and career progression is a key priority for policymakers in developing and developed economies alike. A central question is whether
Beyond words: Fed chair voice sentiments and US bank stock price crash risk
Investors and policymakers increasingly rely on verbal guidance rather than policy moves. This column examines whether the emotional sentiment of the chair of the Federal
The looming global debt disaster
Despite a succession of shocks since 2020, the global economy has held up remarkably well—so far. But the margin for error is dwindling. Total global
The World Bank’s new global poverty lines in 2021 prices
The World Bank has revised its estimates of global poverty to reflect new data on prices and national poverty lines from more than 160 countries
A smarter way to grow rice
“Have you had your rice today?” In Viet Nam, this everyday greeting reflects just how central rice is to life—so essential that the day doesn’t
The global growth slowdown is bad news for trust in government
GDP growth appears to be on a global slowdown. This column uses survey data from individuals across 161 countries since 1990 and data for the
