The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
Risk asset prices have rebounded following the precipitous fall early in the year, while benchmark interest rates have declined, leading to an overall easing of financial conditions. Swift and bold actions by central banks aimed at addressing severe market stress have boosted market sentiment, including in emerging markets, where asset …
The 2020 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) from Startup Genome and Global Entrepreneurship Network is the world’s most comprehensive and widely-read research on startup ecosystems. The GSER now ranks the top 140 startup ecosystems from an assessment of several hundreds. GEN works to build smarter entrepreneurial ecosystems in every national …
The report finds that climate change and its mitigation will increasingly affect macroeconomic variables essential to the conduct of monetary policy. It highlights the need for central banks to strengthen their analytical toolkits, integrating climate risks into their economic models and forecasting tools.
South Asia entered the COVID-19 crisis with a low level of preparedness: The COVID-19 outbreak hit South Asia at a time when the SDGs were gaining traction and countries had begun to make some progress. Gaps in public health infrastructure, basic sanitation facilities and access to broadband connectivity have been …
Global investment sentiment waned amid the sharp economic downturn triggered by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The governments and central banks of many economies launched fiscal stimulus packages and eased monetary policies to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19. Emerging East Asian markets shifted to a more accommodative monetary environment, leading …
This Ordinance may be called the Maharashtra Village Panchayats (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. This Ordinance further to amend the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act. Section 151 (1) (a) of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, (111 of 1959) provides that, if at any time, it appears to the State Government that a panchayat …
As the challenges faced by countries and areas impacted by fragility, conflict and violence threaten to reverse decades of progress and development, the need for regional and international coordination and collaboration to foster stability and the rule of law is greater than ever. This report documents how permeable country borders …
For several weeks now, Africa has been fighting against an invisible enemy: COVID-19. Although the spread in the continent is much lower than in other parts of the world today, it is not less worrying considering the limited capabilities and resources of African countries to mitigate the potentially devastating effects …
Global growth is projected at –4.9 percent in 2020, 1.9 percentage points below the April 2020 World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a more negative impact on activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated, and the recovery is projected to be more gradual than …
Amid huge uncertainties, a disconnect between financial markets and the evolution of the real economy has emerged, a vulnerability that could pose a threat to the recovery should investor risk appetite fade.Other financial system vulnerabilities may be crystallized by the COVID-19 pandemic. High levels of debt may become unmanageable for …
This briefing analyses the opportunities to reduce environmental and climate impacts from electronics by increasing product lifetime, delaying obsolescence and improving their suitability for circular economy business models.
The Grand Bargain recognises that greater data-driven transparency is essential for building trust, improving visibility and accountability of donors and aid organisations, and for enabling a more coordinated and effective response towards affected populations. Published before the Grand Bargain annual meeting in June 2020 and looking forward to the Grand …
In partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Office of the Inspector General of Colombia (Procuraduría General de Colombia), the Forum has led a multistakeholder team to investigate, design and trial the use of blockchain technology for corruption-prone government processes, anchored in the use case of public procurement. …
Global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) will be under severe pressure this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These vital resources are expected to fall sharply from 2019 levels of $1.5 trillion, dropping well below the trough reached during the global financial crisis and undoing the already …
This publication is the outcome of a joint project of UNCTAD and the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) on landlocked developing countries entitled “Identifying Growth Opportunities and Supporting Measures to Facilitate Investment in Commodity Value Chains in Landlocked Countries”. Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) face multiple development challenges. On the one …
Texas Women’s Foundation has released the findings of its Economic Issues for Women in Texas 2020 report, which examines the economic status of Texas women in regard to gender, race, and ethnicity. It showed that women make up half the population in the state—a significant part of the workforce—but still …
Flood Re is a governmental scheme which, among other things, guarantees insurance affordability and encourages self-protection. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are vital for local economies; their survival is one of the holy grails of economic recovery when flooding impacts communities. Nonetheless, SMEs remain being the least prepared in times …
A Bill further to amend the Andhra Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2005. The proposed Andhra Pradesh Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeks to revise the tax rates on petrol and diesel. The revision will result in a revenue gain of Rs 566 cr per annum approximately.
This report provides a high-level framework for any investors looking to shape real-world outcomes in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A focus on shaping SDG outcomes involves broadening the analysis of individual investees’ financially material ESG issues, to also include a parallel analysis of the most important outcomes …
Digital connectivity has increased rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa. While the global digital divide is still large, the gap with the rest of the world is narrowing fast. Internet penetration in the region has increased tenfold since the early 2000s, compared with a threefold increase in the rest of the world. …
