Future Development

Colombian coffee grower Jose Eliecer Sierra picks coffee fruits at a plantation in Pueblorrico, Colombia March 11, 2019. Picture taken March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez - RC14ED1E2770

Is informality bad for business?

Sandra Rozo and Hernan Winkler · Friday, October 11, 2019

ATTENTION EDITORS - IMAGE 1 OF 22 OF PICTURE PACKAGE '7 BILLION, 7 STORIES - OVERCROWDED IN HONG KONG. SEARCH 'MONG KOK' FOR ALL IMAGES - People cross a street in Mong Kok district in Hong Kong, October 4, 2011. Mong Kok has the highest population density in the world, with 130,000 in one square kilometre. The world's population will reach seven billion on 31 October 2011, according to projections by the United Nations, which says this global milestone presents both an opportunity and a challenge for the planet. While more people are living longer and healthier lives, says the U.N., gaps between rich and poor are widening and more people than ever are vulnerable to food insecurity and water shortages. Picture taken October 4, 2011. REUTERS/Bobby Yip (CHINA - Tags: SOCIETY) - LM2E7AE147B01

Double tipping points in 2019: When the world became mostly rich and largely old

Homi Kharas and Wolfgang Fengler

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Abdulahi Abuker weaves threads into traditional garments, preserving a Somali tradition that is under threat from a flood of inexpensive clothes imported from China and other countries, in the Madina district of Mogadishu, Somalia.September 13, 2019.Picture taken September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Feisal Omar - RC1156B19070

Somalia’s path to stability

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

A general view of Firdos Square, one of the main squares of Baghdad April 29, 2014. Iraq is now gripped by its worst violence since the heights of its 2005-2008 sectarian war, and Sunni Islamist insurgents who target Shi'ites have been regaining ground in the country over the past year. But despite the instability, daily life continues in poor Shi'ite neighbourhoods of Baghdad such as Al-Fdhiliya and Sadr City - a sprawling slum marred by poor infrastructure and overcrowding. Reuters photographer Ahmed Jadallah spent time documenting the community and their daily life. Picture taken April 29, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY POLITICS)ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 01 OF 32 FOR PACKAGE 'SOCCER, SALONS AND SWIMMING IN SADR CITY'. TO FIND ALL IMAGES SEARCH 'SADR JADALLAH' - GM1EA5T16KX01

Getting reconstruction right and wrong: Lessons from Iraq

Hideki Matsunaga

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Air crew and volunteers unload aid from a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) transport plane carrying donated aid for Myanmar's flood victims at Yangon international airport in Yangon on August 10, 2015. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun - GF20000018961

A note on current problems with ODA as a statistical measure

Thursday, September 26, 2019

A student reacts to the camera as a teacher teaches the 2013 curriculum inside a classroom at Cempaka Putih district in Jakarta, October 15, 2014. Indonesia plans to discontinue early next year the widely criticised school curriculum that emphasises moral and religious education, a minister said on Monday. Picture taken October 15, 2014. REUTERS/Beawiharta (INDONESIA - Tags: EDUCATION POLITICS) - GM1EAC81NZV01

No learner left behind: Embracing the leapfrog mindset to achieve the SDGs

Rebecca Winthrop and Lauren Ziegler

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The pan-aurora borealis is visible over Vancouver, British Columbia and Seattle, Washington at night in this NASA handout photo received by Reuters on February 10, 2012. REUTERS/NASA/Handout (CANADA - Tags: ENVIRONMENT) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - GM1E82B0OFX01

The geography of poverty hotspots

Jennifer L. Cohen, Raj M. Desai, and Homi Kharas

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

A worker uses his feet to spread rice for drying at a rice mill on the outskirts of Kolkata, India, January 31, 2019.Picture taken January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri - RC15F688B6B0

Getting specific to leave no one behind

Homi Kharas and John McArthur

Monday, September 23, 2019

People shop for food in Djemaa El Fna square in Marrakesh July 8, 2010. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (MOROCCO - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL) - GM1E67L0L0U01

5 steps to reshape economic geography and rejuvenate the Middle East and North Africa

Somik V. Lall and Ayah Mahgoub

Friday, September 20, 2019

A man, recuperating from dengue fever, talks to a doctor in a hospital of Manila, Philippines, August 23, 2019. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez - RC14EDA78C00

Achieving universal health coverage through value-based care and public-private collaboration

Mark McClellan, Lucas Scherdel, Andrea Thoumi, and Krishna Udayakumar

Friday, September 20, 2019

Residents fill containers with water from a polluted river in Cape Town, South Africa, February 2, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings - RC126C105D10

The invisible water crisis

Richard Damania

Monday, September 16, 2019

Technicians maintain a robotic bartender inside a space modul-like structure before its official opening in Prague, Czech Republic, November 28, 2018. REUTERS/David W Cerny - RC149B21AD60

Why should Czechia take Industry 4.0 seriously?

Anwar Aridi and Daniel Querejazu

Friday, September 13, 2019

A person dressed in ebola protective apparel is seen inside an ebola care facility at the Bwera general hospital near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Bwera, Uganda, June 14, 2019. REUTERS/James Akena? - RC11E436E5B0

Are the multilaterals ready to act on pandemic prevention and other global public goods?

Kaci Kennedy McDade and Gavin Yamey

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Railways and a container yard are seen at the Khorgos border crossing point, east of the country's biggest city and commercial hub Almaty, Kazakhstan, October 19, 2015. Kazakhstan wants to establish itself as a major trading hub between China and Europe and get a share of a $600 billion market, but it will have to end tough, often time-wasting, regulations that hurt its reputation as a cross-border trading partner. Picture taken October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov - GF20000033627

Connecting Central Asia to the world

Wolfgang Fengler and Paul Vallely

Monday, September 9, 2019

A factory employee works in a thread spinning factory in Cairo, Egypt, July 5, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RC1339B685A0

The curse of (uncontested) imports

Friday, September 6, 2019

Contributors

Homi Kharas

Interim Vice President and Director - Global Economy and Development

Shanta Devarajan

Professor of the Practice of Development - Georgetown University

Shanta_WB

Wolfgang Fengler

Lead Economist, Trade and Competitiveness - World Bank

wolfgangfengler

Indermit Gill

Nonresident Senior Fellow - Global Economy and Development

Professor of the Practice of Public Policy - Duke University

About Future Development

This blog was first launched in September 2013 by the World Bank in an effort to hold governments more accountable to poor people and offer solutions to the most prominent development challenges. Continuing this goal, Future Development was re-launched in January 2015 at brookings.edu.

For archived content, visit worldbank.org »