The digital age has ushered in an era of transformation for money, triggering debates about the role of cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, and the possible encroachment of Big Tech into the monetary system. In the midst of this upheaval, central bankers, economists, and the private sector are grappling with fundamental questions about the […]
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the U.S. economy had dodged a recession feared by many experts just six months ago. The world economy has proven more resilient than expected despite acute strains from multiple shocks, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, forecasting only a slight slowing of global growth this […]
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 […]
Education is a foundation for good jobs and the surest way out of poverty. We know a good education equips learners with important foundational skills—literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional competencies—which are essential for work and life. These skills help today’s children become tomorrow’s productive workers and enable workers to reskill or upskill later in life. Investing […]
What makes a country a great place to start and grow a business? Among low-income economies across the world, only 29% have a single centralized website dedicated to providing regulatory information pertaining to international trade. In high-income economies, the same number stands at 67% . The World Bank’s new Business Ready (B-READY) project shines a light on this […]
Over the past year, I’ve seen a growing interest in, and a stronger demand for, better tools to prepare for and respond to crises. Our partners in government, the private sector, civil society, foundations, and other development organizations send us the same message time and time again: In the face of crisis, we need greater […]
The last coal mine in Wałbrzych, Poland closed in the 1990s, leaving a region that had long relied on mining facing severe economic disruption. Unemployment soared, local businesses suffered, and an entire way of life built around the coal industry seemed to disappear overnight. By 2000, only one-tenth of the jobs lost in the mining […]
Picture two houses—one with old windows, no insulation, and older appliances, and the other featuring simple energy-efficient upgrades and equipment. The difference between these neighboring houses is more than just aesthetics. Those living in the first house could ending up paying up to five times more for heating in winter than the better-off family just […]
Safe assets are financial instruments that maintain a stable value even after adverse macroeconomic shocks. This column explores how banks supply safe assets through securitisation and evaluates the consequences for financial stability. As safe assets become scarcer, banks increasingly rely on securitisation to produce safe assets, relaxing screening standards in the process. This lowers loan […]
Imagine getting to work on a program that will bring internet access and digitally enabled services to 180 million people. Opportunities like these illustrate the meaningful role institutions like the World Bank, and teams across the institution like ours, can play in addressing urgent development challenges that can drastically improve people’s lives. In Eastern and […]
