Bringing together history and economics,
this paper presents a historical and processual
understanding of women's economic marginalization in
Sub-Saharan Africa from the pre-colonial period to the end
of colonial rule. It is not that women have not been
economically active or productive; it is rather that they
have often not been able to claim the proceeds of their
labor or have it formally accounted for. The paper focuses

This paper studies the credit market
implications and real effects of one the largest borrower
bailout programs in history, enacted by the government of
India against the backdrop of the 2008-2009 financial
crisis. The study finds that the stimulus program had no
effect on productivity, wages, or consumption, but led to
significant changes in credit allocation and an increase in
defaults. Post-program loan performance declines faster in

In the past dozen years, a literature
has developed arguing that urbanization has unfolded
differently in post-independence Sub-Saharan Africa than in
the rest of the developing world, with implications for
African economic growth overall. While African countries are
more urbanized than other countries at comparable levels of
income, it is well-recognized that total and sector gross
domestic product data are of very low quality, especially in

This report was produced for the Global
Program on Forced Displacement and describes why and how to
conduct political economy analysis (PEA) of forced
displacement. It also illustrates how PEA may contribute to
understanding forced displacement crises with nine case
studies: Casamance (Senegal), Colombia, Cote dapos;Ivoire,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, the Philippines,
Somalia, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe. Forced displacement is

This roadmap for environmental and
natural resources law enforcement (ENRLE) sets forth a
course of action for the World Bank's ENRLE community
of practice for FY2013-15. It outlines for senior management
a strategy to mobilize and strengthen the Bank's
engagement in the fight against environmental and natural
resource crime. The roadmap also serves as a mobilizing tool
for staff and management in regional departments to

Over the seven years from 2004 through
2011, Cambodian economic growth was tremendous, ranking amid
the best in the world. Moreover, household consumption
increased by nearly 40 percent. And this growth was
pro-poor, not only reducing inequality, but also
proportionally boosting poor people's consumption
further and faster than that of the non-poor. As a result,
the poverty rate dropped from 52.2 to 20.5 percent,

This report provides Mayors and other policymakers with a policy framework and diagnostic tools to anticipate and implement strategies that can avoid their cities from locking into irreversible physical and social structures. At the core of the policy framework are the three main dimensions of urban development.
· Planning— where the focus is on making land transactions easier, and making land use regulations more responsive to emerging needs especially to coordinate land use planning with infrastructure, natural resource management, and risks from hazards;

This paper explains the major issues and
lessons derived from the national forest management program
and REDD+ initiatives in Tanzania. It finds that addressing
the most important drivers of forest degradation and
deforestation, in particular the country energy needs and
landownership, is essential for success in reducing
emissions regardless of the type of program implemented. It
also finds that, through the national program, forest users

The oil, gas, and mining unit series
publishes reviews and analyses of sector experience from
around the world as well as new findings from analytical
work. It places particular emphasis on how the experience
and knowledge gained relates to developing country policy
makers, communities affected by extractive industries,
extractive industry enterprises, and civil society
organizations. This paper explores the divergent experiences

Disasters are increasing worldwide, with
more devastating effects than ever before. While the
absolute number of disasters around the world has almost
doubled since the 1980s, the average number of natural
disasters in Middle East and North Africa (MNA) has almost
tripled over the same period of time. In the MNA, the
interplay of natural disasters, rapid urbanization, water
scarcity, and climate change has emerged as a serious

Most of the world's population now
lives in urban areas, and in developing regions the
proportion living in cities and towns has risen from 35
percent in 1990 to 45 percent in 2010, from 1.4 billion to
2.5 billion people (Jacobsen et al. 2012). A 2008 World Bank
analysis estimated that a third of people living on less
than US$2 per day reside in urban areas, and United Nation
or UN-habitat estimates that just under 40 percent of urban

This paper is a review of the experience of the Asian Coalition for Community Action (ACCA) Program operated by the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR).