Modern political economy stresses
"society's polarization" as a determinant of
development outcomes. Among the most common dorms of social
conflict are class polarization, and ethnic polarization. A

The purpose ofthis report is to provide guidance to the staff of the World Bank's
Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region with respect to mobilizing cultural assets to
support socioeconomic development in our country and regional work programs. To this

Using household survey data for 1998, the authors assess the distributional impact of the recent economic crisis in the Philippines.

The Global Poverty Report considers
the effects of globalizing markets on poverty in developing
countries. It outlines the channels through which increased
trade openness can affect poverty and examines the evidence

Countries receiving debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative will be among the first to benefit from the new World Bank -- International Monetary Fund approach to strengthening the impact on poverty of concessional assistance in low-income countries.