Global megatrends such as income inequality, climate change, demographic shifts, technological progress, and urbanisation are shaping the future of societies. Yet, their quantitative impacts on development are neither well understood nor established. This paper examines the individual and combined effects of these global forces on poverty, using both cross-section and …
The State of Economic Inclusion Report 2021 sheds light on one of the most intractable challenges faced by development policy makers and practitioners: transforming the economic lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. Economic inclusion programs are a bundle of coordinated, multidimensional interventions that support individuals, households, and …
Jobs are vital for individuals to work their way out of poverty and for promoting shared prosperity. Somalia has few formal social safety nets, and the country is steadily consolidating peace and rebuilding state institutions following decades of conflict. Putting in place a jobs strategy as well as adaptive social …
This report examines inequalities in the access to and use of ICTs in ESCAP member States of East and North-East Asia as well as South-East Asia. It uses the classification and regression tree analysis to explore the ICT gaps between population groups and determine the characteristics and circumstances of individuals …
The Thailand Economic Monitor (TEM) reports on key developments in Thailand’s economy over the past six months, situates these changes in the context of global trends and Thailand’s longer-term economic trajectory, and updates Thailand’s economic and social welfare outlook. Each edition of the TEM also provides an in-depth examination of …
The Thailand Economic Monitor (TEM) reports on key developments in Thailand’s economy over the past six months, situates these changes in the context of global trends and Thailand’s longer-term economic trajectory, and updates Thailand’s economic and social welfare outlook. Each edition of the TEM also provides an in-depth examination of …
The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest crisis facing the world, but unless humans release their grip on nature, it won’t be the last, according to a new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which includes a new experimental index on human progress that takes into account countries’ carbon …
Child poverty is expected to remain above pre-COVID levels for at least five years in high-income countries. Yet, only 2 per cent of government-provided financial relief across OECD and EU countries was allocated specifically to support children and families raising children during the first wave of the pandemic, according to …
The COVID-19 pandemic is increasing poverty and threatening food security. Governments around the world have already invested more than $12 trillion to counteract the economic effects of COVID-19. This investment could contribute to progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but initial analysis indicates that investments for economic recovery do …
Least developed countries (LDCs) have so far been spared from the worst effects of the health emergency, yet the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on their economies, rolling back some of the progress made towards sustainable development and possibly leading to long-term damage. Not only has …
This ILO flagship report examines the evolution of real wages around the world, giving a unique picture of wage trends globally and by region. The 2020-21 edition analyses the relationship of minimum wages and inequality, as well as the wage impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. The 2020-21 edition also reviews …
Globally, there were 809.9 million undernourished people, of which 194.4 million people (24 per cent) were in India in 2016-18. India had around 30.9 per cent (46 millions) of the world’s stunted children under five years of age and 50.9 per cent (25.2 million) of the world’s wasted children in …
Eradication of poverty is an important objective of economic policy. Therefore, measurement of poverty has to be sound as it has significant policy implications. This paper presents the methodology followed by the Expert Group (Rangarajan) and explains some of the issues that were raised after the publication of the Report. …
Effective and progressive civil society movements are critical for tackling poverty and protecting the environment in low-income countries. Strengthening the capacity of citizens and advocacy organisations can therefore be a meaningful contribution to local, national and international efforts to shape development sector policy. But agency is rarely talked about in …
In this review aim to assess how, and to what extent, the National Action Plan for Food and Nutrition 2017-2019 of Indonesia, henceforth known as the “Action Plan,” has considered social inclusion. While social inclusion can consist of many categories, for the purpose of this review, focused on gender, poverty …
This report describes the World Bank’s vision for the future of learning and a strategic approach that lays out the lines of actions needed for education systems to move forward in accelerating learning improvement. This report reviews the current learning crisis, including the extent to which COVID-19 has exacerbated it, …
Social protection programs are primarily focused on influencing household behavior in the short term, increasing consumption to reduce poverty and food insecurity, and promoting investments in human capital. A large body of evidence across numerous settings shows that cash and food transfer programs are highly effective in doing so. However, …
Economic resilience requires future-oriented decision-making around income generation and protection in case of shocks. However, poverty is highly correlated with poor mental health, limiting forward-looking decision-making, thus perpetuating poverty. In this paper, estimate the impacts of Mali's national cash transfer program, Filets Sociaux (Jigis-émèjiri), on measures of psychological well-being, cognition, …
This study assesses the impact of COVID-19 on poverty, food insecurity and diets, accounting for the complex links between the crisis and the incomes and living costs of vulnerable households. Key elements are impacts on labor supply; effects of social distancing; shifts in demand from services involving close contact; increases …
Kenya’s economy has been hit hard by COVID-19, severely affecting incomes and jobs. The economy has been exposed through the dampening effects on domestic activity of the containment measures and behavioral responses, and through trade and travel disruption (affecting key foreign currency earners such as tourism and cut flowers). Real …
Ethiopia’s economy has grown rapidly over the last two decades, leading to significant national poverty reduction, but there were significant differences in the pace and nature of poverty reduction across Ethiopia’s eleven regions. Based on the national poverty line, poverty decreased from 46 percent in 1996 to 24 percent in …
