The Philippines is among the strongest performers in the region, bucking the trend. In the first half (H1) of 2015, among the major economies in the region, the only countries to accelerate their quarterly growth rates were the Philippines, from 5 to 5.6 percent, and Vietnam. In spite of this acceleration, for the two quarters combined, Philippine growth rate came out at 5.3 percent—its lowest half year growth rate since 2011. On the demand side, the strong performance of private domestic demand at 8.1 percent, supported by record low inflation and robust remittances, drove GDP growth.

In July 2013, the World Bank Group
launched its Strategy, outlining how it will partner more
effectively with clients to help them achieve the ambitious
goals of eradicating extreme poverty and boosting shared
prosperity through economic growth, inclusion,
sustainability and resilience. In April 2014, the World Bank
Group Corporate Scorecard was launched for the first time
and the World Bank Scorecard revised to monitor the

The Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) brings together ten countries with over 620
million people and a combined gross domestic product of more
than USD 2.5 trillion. These countries are well integrated
into the global economy and have benefited from this
integration. And, as evidenced by their adoption of the
ambitious goal of forming an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)
by 2015, they are committed to even deeper regional

Major changes are needed if Africans and
their children are to claim the 21st century. With the
rapidly growing population, 5 percent annual growth is
needed simply to keep the number of poor from rising.
Halving severe poverty by 2015 will require annual growth of
more than 7 percent, along with a more equitable
distribution of income. Trends in Africa will need to change
radically for a catch-up process to materialize. This will

Azerbaijan’s performance on the twin
goals has been commendable. The middle class has doubled in
size and extreme poverty has almost been eliminated in the
space of a decade. At the same time, regional differences
persist, with significantly higher poverty rates in lagging
regions, and Baku dominating overwhelmingly in terms of
share of GDP. Disparities in welfare also persist between
rural and urban areas as well as across social groups. As

The development community is
increasingly accepting the importance of evidence, feedback,
and learning. Some of which is generated through research,
monitoring, and self-evaluation during policy-making,
program design, and implementation. Others come from
feedback from people directly affected by interventions who
have gained a greater voice, be it through third-party
feedback mechanisms, social media, beneficiary surveys, or

Over the past twenty years, Uganda’s
population density has been increasing rapidly, placing
significant pressure on the use of land. Uganda now has a
population density of 194 persons per square kilometer of
arable land, compared to 80 in Kenya and 116 in Ghana. At
present, the majority of Uganda’s population still lives in
rural areas, where the main source of livelihood is
agriculture. However, the proportion of the population

Since the cessation of conflict,
Mozambique has achieved impressive economic growth and has
become an example of successful post conflict reconstruction
and development, moving from a one-party state to a
multiparty democracy and from a socialist, command economy
to a market-based economy. Mozambique’s development has been
strongly supported by foreign aid, and since 2001 average
annual disbursements of official development assistance

This evaluation assesses the outcomes of
World Bank Group’s (WBG’s) development support to the West
Bank and Gaza for the period 2001-09. It covers the programs
of the World Bank - International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (IBRD), International Development
Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC),
and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The
main objectives of the WBG program were broad, reflecting

The World Bank’s assistance strategies
showed strong client orientation and were aligned with
Uganda’s poverty reduction strategy. The programs were
substantially effective in decentralization, public sector
reform, growth and economic transformation, education, and
water and sanitation. However, more could have been done to
help counter the perception of increasing corruption,
improve power supply, reduce transport costs, enhance

This report on the assessment of land
governance in Brazil summarizes and discusses the results of
a series of standardized self-assessments of the land
governance situation in Brazil, conducted entirely by
Brazilian speakers. Therefore, these findings represent the
perception of local experts based on their experience of
news and data available. The main aim of this report are
federal and state authorities directly involved in land

Three of sub-Saharan Africa’s central
economic realities motivate this study. First, agriculture
is the most important sector in most African economies, on
average accounting for nearly one-fourth of GDP. Second, the
private sector is increasingly active in transforming
African agriculture and economies. By 2030, agriculture and
agribusiness are anticipated to become a US$ 1 trillion
industry in Africa, delivering more jobs, income, and