World Bank

share

Mobile phones: A jaw-dropping decade of success (INFOGRAPHIC)

The mobile revolution has taken over the world: 75 percent of the population now has access to phones. The applications are seemingly endless, from health care to agriculture. Check out the World Bank’s new infographic to see mobile phones' progress—click on either image to enlarge.

Why the wait? The World Bank investigates Sub-Saharan port turnover. Photo: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/vithassan/284900957/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Vít Hassan (Flickr)</a>.

share

Anticompetitive collusion is silently choking Africa's ports

A new study by the World Bank has found a complex answer to a simple question: why does cargo spend weeks in Sub-Saharan ports?

Those mangroves aren't just nice-looking - they could be delivering serious value to nearby farms just by staying put. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aramisfirefly/3306656930/in/photostream/">Matthew Stewart (Flickr)</a>

share

10 African countries will put a price on 'natural capital'

A plot of mangroves could be harvested for $850, then the land sold for $9,000 to a shrimp farmer. Or, alternatively, it could stay standing and offer $16,000 worth of flood protection to everyone nearby.

share

Expensive poo: The World Bank tells us how much poor sanitation costs

Caution: This video shows graphic images of feces.

When people make money, health always seems to be one of their top priorities. Does that make it a good measure of prosperity itself? Photo: Photo: Jean-Pierre Dushime/Mercy Corps

share

What if the best way to measure wealth is ... health?

Health isn't just an optional side benefit of prosperity, one expert argues. It might be the ideal way to measure whether wealth creation is working.

Jim Yong Kim

share

Obama taps development expert to lead World Bank

Jim Yong Kim was announced today as Obama's pick for the next head of the World Bank. We take a quick look at his street cred to see how he stacks up:

share

Through good news and bad, poverty rates keep falling

The natural disasters, food price spikes, global economic crisis, and civil unrest of the past decade might seem to cast a shadow on the prospects for the world’s poor.

Critics say developed countries have broken promises for international aid. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/5491899695/">UK Department for International Development (flickr)</a>

share

As international aid patterns shift, microfinance picks up the slack

With cause for concern about the future of international aid amid the financial crisis faced by rich countries, some developing nations find microfinance playing an increasing role in fueling local growth.

Managing Director of the IMF Christine Lagarde meets China's Vice Premier Wang Qishan, Beijing, China. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/imfphoto/6329172810/in/photostream/">International Monetary Fund (flickr)</a>

share

For China, flush with cash, financial crisis may mean political opportunity

The global financial crisis has shaken up the international seating chart, and China may be vying for a better spot.

Modern conflict reaches all parts of society. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps

share

How the "Violence Trap" Keeps Poor Countries Poor

For developing countries, war is rarely "good for business." War can destroy what few possessions and opportunities the poor have, trapping them in an endless cycle of violence and economic misery.

A government deeply in debt is limited in it ability to implement public programs that would benefit the young and old by providing services such as education and health care. Photo: Matthew DeGalan/Mercy Corps

share

Debt Cancellation: A New Era for the DRC?

Recently, international creditors forgave almost $20 billion in foreign debt amassed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The debt was mostly ac

Photo: James Pradhan/Mercy Corps

share

Better Understanding Indian Poverty

If you want to understand how to fight poverty, ask poor people what it means to be poor.

Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/attila/112812695/">Atti-la (flickr)</a>

share

With Strings Attached

Traditionally, government-sponsored social assistance programs usually follow a straightforward model of giving money to qualified citizens. But what if the programs asked for something in return?

share

Is the era of cheap food over?

A new UN Food and Agriculture Organization report predicts that rising food prices will soon begin to slow. However the BBC decidedly reports that cheap food is a thing of the past:

share

World Bank Supports 'Reverse Prostitution'

The World Bank is investing 1.8 million dollars in an experimental public health program in Tanzania to see whether paying individuals to abstain from unsafe sex will decrease the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission.

Pages