The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
World maritime trade lost momentum in 2018, with volumes expanding at 2.7 per cent, below the historical averages of 3.0 per cent and 4.1 per cent recorded in 2017. Total volumes are estimated to have reached 11 billion tons, an all-time high, according to UNCTAD records. UNCTAD is projecting 2.6 …
Kenya continues to experience steady economic growth, with real GDP expanding on average by about 5.6 percent over the last five years (2014-2018). In 2019, however, economic activity has softened primarily due to lower agricultural output and weak private sector investment. As a result, the World Bank projects Kenya’s growth …
This paper presents nowcasting of quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) growth in India by developing an econometric framework specific to the country’s economy. “Nowcasting” uses high frequency data to generate estimates of GDP growth. It helps policy makers and market participants overcome decision-making difficulties when official statistics on key variables …
Global GDP growth is decelerating, while trade and industrial production are stagnating. The slowdown has been severe in South Asia, which in recent quarters was no longer the fastest growing region in the world. In most South Asian countries, growth is expected to be below long-run averages this year but …
Africa's Pulse is a biannual publication containing an analysis of the near-term macroeconomic outlook for the region. Each issue also includes a section focusing upon a topic that represents a particular development challenge for the continent. It is produced by the Office of the Chief Economist for the Africa Region …
Ten years on from the global financial crisis, the world economy remains locked in a cycle of low or flat productivity growth despite the injection of more than $10 trillion by central banks. The latest Global Competitiveness Report paints a gloomy picture, yet it also shows that those countries with …
Global value chains (GVCs) powered the surge of international trade after 1990 and now account for almost half of all trade. This shift enabled an unprecedented economic convergence: poor countries grew rapidly and began to catch up with richer countries. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, however, the growth of …
The successful conclusion of the Presidential election in January 2019 represents a historic window of opportunity for Madagascar to break cycles of political instability that abruptly interrupted its development in the past and to leapfrog its economic and social revitalization. Following a prolonged period of economic stagnation, growth accelerated over …
The successful conclusion of the Presidential election in January 2019 represents a historic window of opportunity for Madagascar to break cycles of political instability that abruptly interrupted its development in the past and to leapfrog its economic and social revitalization. Following a prolonged period of economic stagnation, growth accelerated over …
This working paper analyzes the contribution of social protection—especially social assistance—in reducing poverty and inequality and supporting inclusive growth in Asia and the Pacific. The analysis is divided into three main sections. First, it reviews long-standing and emerging challenges to social protection in the region: poverty and inequality, demographic change, …
After more than three decades of average annual growth close to 10 percent, China's economy is transitioning to a 'new normal' of slower but more balanced and sustainable growth. Its old drivers of growth -- a growing labor force, the migration from rural areas to cities, high levels of investments, …
Africa sits at the confluence of two related and mutually reinforcing developmental challenges – poverty and inequality – the solutions for which are a matter of policy choice. Despite the recent spate of economic growth, the continent remains afflicted by entrenched poverty and alarmingly high and rising inequality. The gap …
430 million people will be living in extreme poverty by 2030, despite economic growth reducing poverty by a third. This is 30 million more people than ODI's 2018 assessment, and means the world is significantly off track to achieve the first Sustainable Development Goal. Most countries can afford the investment …
Developing Asia’s gross domestic product is forecast to slow from 5.9% in 2018 to 5.4% in 2019 and 5.5% in 2020. Inflation across developing Asia is forecast to increase from 2.5% in 2018 to 2.7% this year and in 2020. Growth in developing Asia is moderating but remains robust. As …
The moderately positive economic performance since 2000 has provided opportunities for improvements in health outcomes. Africa recorded average real annual GDP growth of 5–6 per cent between 2000 and 2010 before slowing down to about 3 per cent per annum over the period 2010–2015. Economic growth rate is projected to …
Odisha’s Agricultural Policy 2019 is focused on farmers’ well-being and is formulated to build on the inherent strengths of its agriculture and allied sectors, to address the constraints it faces and to make optimal use of resources and opportunities emerging on account of advancement in technology, and the emergence of …
For Tanzania to generate future income and achieve sustainable development, it is essential for the country to invest in its citizens—both children and adults—according to the new World Bank economic analysis for the country. Building on the World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI) and human capital wealth data, the Tanzania …
This report provide information on public investment planning for Uganda disaster risk reduction (DRR) by marking public spending on DRR-related activities in the national budget (applying the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Development Assistance Committee marker to review budget allocation). The research presents findings from a risk-sensitive …
This discussion paper focuses on how, while many countries have made commitments or plans to integrate adaptation into their social and economic plans and policies, an “action gap” exists. A change in commitments and plans has not yet led to a significant difference in the way development is practiced in …
There are currently 31 countries classified as low income, less than half the number in 2001. Rapid growth in low-income countries from 2001 to 2018 allowed many to progress to middle-income status, supported by the commodity price boom of 2001-11, debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative and …
