期刊文章

This paper validates a new set of behavioral measures for socioemotional skills across three Sub-Saharan African countries—Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Tanzania—and compares them to widely used self-reported measures. The behavioral measures demons...

Early warning systems are a cornerstone of disaster risk reduction, enabling timely alerts and protective actions that save lives and reduce damages. Yet, despite their documented cost-effectiveness and potential to bolster resilience, early warni...

Using a cross-section of more than 33,000 services firms in 104 low- and middle-income countries from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys, this paper examines whether the female labor share premium of international firms relative to non-internatio...

A long-established and widely used approach to management in government has been the transmission of information up a hierarchy, and centralized decision-making and oversight; colloquially known as ‘command and control’. This paper examines accoun...

Relocating refugees to remote purpose-built settlements offers an alternative to hosting refugees in traditional camps or local communities. Yet, its consequences remain poorly understood. This paper evaluates the well-being and fiscal implication...

This study examines the sustainability and healthiness of Ghana’s current dietary patterns and explores pathways for promoting sustainable healthy diets through agrifood policy interventions. Using secondary data from the Food and Agriculture Orga...

This paper analyzes the welfare impacts of import bans in Nigeria, and how these are shaped by evasion. Bans were not effectively enforced, and contributed to informal trade. The imposition of bans nonetheless increased consumer prices by 5.8% on ...

This paper provides insights into human capital investments during wartime by presenting evidence from three experiments of an online tutoring program for Ukrainian students amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Conducted between early 2023 and mid-2...

Can algorithms enhance the work of bureaucrats in developing countries? Developing economies are often data-poor environments, where individual bureaucrats have substantial discretion over key decisions, such as selecting taxpayers for audits. Exp...

Forecasting the US federal funds rate is important since it impacts global financial conditions, and in turn the real economy. This working paper examines whether artificial intelligence (AI) models could forecast policy rates accurately by inferr...

This study systematically reviews the literature that quantifies the economic benefits of weather observations and forecasts in four weather-dependent economic sectors: agriculture, energy, transport, and disaster-risk management. The review cover...

Gender equality is associated with economic growth and resilience, yet various factors, including climate change, may stall progress toward equal rights for men and women. This paper analyzes historical temperature and precipitation fluctuations w...

While the importance of export diversification is emphasized in development patterns, the gender issues in this process are rarely covered. This paper empirically assesses the contribution of women's sectoral employment to the export diversifi...

Poor nutritional choices and unhealthy behaviors are considered responsible for the rise in childhood overweight and obesity and may reinforce each other, creating a vicious cycle. This paper studies a primary school intervention designed to break...

Rural roads, serving as vital links between remote areas and economic centers, play an indispensable role in rural development. This paper investigates the relationship between rural road development and various economic outcomes in China from 200...

This paper examines the untapped fiscal potential of natural resources in the Central African Republic, focusing on the forestry and mining sectors. The paper analyzes current production levels, tax systems, and revenue generation in both sectors,...

Generative Al and Al have revolutionized a wide range of industries in recent years. Howevermajor use cases have been limited to Large Language Models (LLMs) such as chatbots, codeassistants and text analysis. In this white paper we explore the us...

This policy note examines the role of social safety nets in addressing persistent poverty and inequality in Cameroon. Building on over a decade of implementation, Cameroon’s main safety nets initiative—the Projet Filets Sociaux (PFS)—has laid impo...

We show that monetary policy shocks move long-term government bond yields only when market liquidity is high and arbitrageurs are well capitalized. This liquidity state dependence operates entirely through real term premia, not expectations. Using...