Informed decision making requires timely and relevant evidence. This holds for national 
decision makers as well as development practitioners. Here at the World Bank, we have been working on creative solutions that lower the cost of project monitoring and create feedback loops. These feedback loops allow decision makers to assess the impact of their actions and to plan course corrections where needed. They also serve as incentive to act, since most decision makers wish to avoid the possibility of their inaction being exposed in future rounds of feedback and data collection. Feedback loops thus improve development outcomes through two pathways: by providing timely and actionable information and by functioning as an accountability mechanism. SWIFT and IBM are two examples of new tools that make this kind of regular feedback affordable.
Tag Archives: Development
Lifelines for Better Development
Published on http://www.worldbank.org, June 19, 2019
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Resilient infrastructure is about people. Particularly in developing countries,
infrastructure disruptions are an everyday concern that affects people’s well-being, economic prospects, and quality of life.
- There is a significant economic opportunity from investing in resilient infrastructure: the overall net benefit of doing so in developing countries would be $4.2 trillion over the lifetime of new infrastructure.
- For infrastructure investors, governments, development banks and the private sector the message is clear: rather than just spending more, also spend better
Infrastructure is at the heart of lives and livelihoods. It can enable schools and hospitals, businesses and industry, and access to jobs and prosperity. In developing countries, however, disruptions to infrastructure are an everyday concern, reducing opportunities for employment, hampering health and education, and limiting economic growth.
In low and middle-income countries, direct damages from natural hazards to power generation and transport alone cost $18 billion a year, cutting into the already scarce budget of road agencies and power utilities. But the main impact of natural shocks on infrastructure is through the disruptions they impose on people and communities, for instance, businesses unable to keep factories running or use the internet to take orders and process payments; or on the households that don’t have the water they need to prepare meals or on people unable to go to work, send children to school, or get to a hospital.
eC2: Circular Economy and Private Sector Development
Deadline: 26-Jun-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)
This firm consultancy will explore how circular economy (CE) approaches, specifically
among poor people and communities can achieve outcomes that promote poverty reduction, enhanced welfare and create new and expanded employment opportunities. The final output would cover, the potential role of CE in development; case studies and assessment of market potential; different policy approaches for scaling CE, and; recommendations to governments. The consultancy will be based on desk review, economic modeling and detailed case studies that will be selected collaboratively. This EOI was tender for a smaller amount and is now being retendered with an updated amount and TOR.
Is taxing sugar-sweetened beverages a sweet deal?
Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSB)[i] are a well-recognized adversary in the fight against 
obesity and the quest for better public health. Interest in discouraging consumption through higher taxes is growing as more jurisdictions impose them and as we learn more from their experiences. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes are one of three taxes for health highlighted in a recently published report by the Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health.
obesity and the quest for better public health. Interest in discouraging consumption through higher taxes is growing as more jurisdictions impose them and as we learn more from their experiences. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes are one of three taxes for health highlighted in a recently published report by the Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health.Many are asking: are taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages are really a sweet deal? Does such a tax enable policy makers to improve health outcomes by reducing unhealthy consumption? And does it help generate additional tax revenue for more spending on human capital?
Is inclusive growth an oxymoron?
After participating in two events on inequality at the Spring Meetings
– Making Growth Work for the Poor and Income Inequality Matters: How to Ensure Economic Growth Benefits the Many and Not the Few, I received a surprising number of emails asking whether my remarks on the importance of addressing rising inequality meant I had abandoned growth as the main priority for developing countries. One thing I certainly took away from this correspondence: Inequality is too complex a phenomenon to address in a brief session at the Spring Meetings.
Which Way to Livable and Productive Cities? : A Road Map for Sub-Saharan Africa
For African cities to grow economically as they have grown in size, they must create 
productive environments to attract investments, increase economic efficiency, and create livable environments that prevent urban costs from rising with increased population densification. What are the central obstacles that prevent African cities and towns from becoming sustainable engines of economic growth and prosperity? Among the most critical factors that limit the growth and livability of urban areas are land markets, investments in public infrastructure and assets, and the institutions to enable both. To unleash the potential of African cities and towns for delivering services and employment in a livable and environmentally friendly environment, a sequenced approach is needed to reform institutions and policies and to target infrastructure investments. This book lays out three foundations that need fixing to guide cities and towns throughout Sub-Saharan Africa on their way to productivity and livability.
Download full report here.
World Development Report: The Changing Nature of Work
The World Development Report (WDR) 2019: The Changing Nature of Work studies how 
the nature of work is changing as a result of advances in technology today. Fears that robots will take away jobs from people have dominated the discussion over the future of work, but the World Development Report 2019 finds that on balance this appears to be unfounded. Work is constantly reshaped by technological progress. Firms adopt new ways of production, markets expand, and societies evolve. Overall, technology brings opportunity, paving the way to create new jobs, increase productivity, and deliver effective public services. Firms can grow rapidly thanks to digital transformation, expanding their boundaries and reshaping traditional production patterns.
eC2: Pre-Feasibility Study for Affordable and Resilient Settlement Development and Upgrading in Vanuatu
Deadline: 31-Jul-2018 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)
The long-term vision of the Government of Vanuatu is to provide potable water, sanitation, roads, drainage, and electricity to low- and middle-income households in 
selected settlements. Services must conform to appropriate standards, but also be affordable. Infrastructure development must allow for population growth, be resilient to natural hazards, climate change effects (e.g. increased rainfall and sea level rise), and environmental impacts (e.g. soil erosion, concentration of flow, and waste contamination).
This selection is for Consulting services for a firm to carry out and prepare:
Engineering pre-feasibility studies and concept designs for development platforms and infrastructure services at five existing settlement sites and one greenfield site for low-middle income, mixed-use residential development in Greater Port Vila, Vanuatu; and
Preliminary cost estimates for downstream: physical investigations, environmental/social safeguards, design, construction, and supervision.
Millennials Welcome! Young women are revolutionizing the startup scene despite conflicts in MENA
The start-up scene in the Middle East and North Africa region is booming. The growing number of incubators and accelerators that can be found from Beirut, Ramallah, Gaza to Cairo and Casablanca have gained recognition beyond the region. Our team at the MENA Youth Platform has been studying the emerging trends, and one thing is clear: the next revolution will look very different, and young women are at the forefront of innovation such as artificial intelligence. Impressively, a new startup-ecosystem index shows how Tunis and Amman lead the MENA crowd based on an assessment of available human capital, access to finance, the vibrancy of the startup scene, available ICT infrastructure, an enabling macro-context, and global market access.
Closing the gap between policy and practice on women’s land rights
Let’s Talk Development. By: Chris Jochnick, World Bank, March 19, 2018
Momentum is building behind a land rights revolution. Last year, just prior to the World Bank’s Annual Land and Poverty Conference, I wrote about the many factors pushing land to the top of the global agenda. To maintain this momentum we must pay greater attention to gender and women’s land rights.
Land is more than an important asset in the fight against global poverty and gender inequality. For most people living in poverty, it is an essential, indispensable means to leading a healthy, safe, and productive life. Despite this, hundreds of millions of people who depend on land around the world – especially women – lack access or secure tenure rights to it.
