World Bank Development Economics

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 — 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Explore the latest insights from the World Bank’s Development Data Group: ▪️ 831 million people projected to live below $3/day in 2025 ▪️ 123 million forcibly displaced in 2024 ▪️ 93% global youth literacy rate last year These figures come from the 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲, featuring new data across People, Prosperity, Planet, Infrastructure, and Digital—including poverty, education, health, environment, and more. Also in this issue: the redesigned 𝗣𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 (𝗣𝗜𝗣), #ChartOfTheMonth (below), a call for research submissions on survey innovations, and fresh data blogs and a video from the 2025 #WBGMeetings’ Data Playground. Read more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/emdaPSv5

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁! Submit your paper or extended abstract to present at the 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜 conference, organized by the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) – the World Bank’s flagship household survey program – in partnership with Northwestern University’s Global Poverty Research Lab (GPRL) and The World Bank Data Academy.   We are seeking research on innovations, challenges, or empirical findings related to the design, implementation, or analysis of household surveys and the measurement of development outcomes.   We particularly encourage submissions on: ▪️ Measurement of jobs and household businesses ▪️ Socioeconomic enablers for success in the labor market ▪️ Applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve survey measurement   Send your paper to surveymethods@worldbank.org by 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟯𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱. If you don’t have a paper, you can still join the conference on 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟴–𝟵, in person or online. ➡️ Register here: https://lnkd.in/e_G5kpSq ➡️ More information: https://lnkd.in/e2782iMF Andrew Dillon, Deepika Nagesh, Gero Carletto, Talip Kilic, Dean Jolliffe, Amparo Palacios Lopez, Philip Wollburg, Kathleen Beegle, David Rothschild, Lisandro Martin, Frauke Kreuter

What are the welfare impacts of #import bans and how are they shaped by evasion? A new working paper by Erhan Artuc, Guillermo Falcone, Guido Porto, and Bob Rijkers explores Nigeria’s experience with bans on imported goods. Three findings stand out: ▪️ Bans are poorly enforced, and boost informal trade. ▪️ Prices of banned goods rise 10% on average, though evasion softens the impact. Goods that are easier to smuggle see smaller price hikes. ▪️ Bans reduce welfare and hit the rich hardest. Poor households partially offset losses by earning income selling banned goods. Evasion mitigates some of the adverse effects of bans but its benefits are regressive, favoring wealthier households. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eA7t8jta

Lagos’ journey to better urban mobility offers valuable lessons for other cities. Our recent study of the Lagos Bus Reform Initiative reveals that 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀—cheaper fares, cleaner air, and improved access—while highlighting the need to support affected drivers and design for coexistence. As cities grow, targeted investments and thoughtful policies can help both public and private transit thrive together. Read our new blog to learn more about the future of urban transport in emerging economies: ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ecawf3m7 Authors: Alice Duhaut, Geetika Nagpal, Daniel Björkegren, Nick Tsivanidis #Nigeria #Lagos

Fresh statistics from the 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲 (𝗚𝗘𝗠𝘀) are now available on The World Bank Group’s #Data360 platform: https://lnkd.in/eTC3igjH. These new datasets offer a detailed view of default and recovery performance across public, private, and sovereign lending in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), showing that investment risks are often lower than commonly perceived. Here are the average annual rates for the past decades: ▪️ Private lending default rate: 3.54%, with recovery at 72.9% ▪️ Public lending default rate: 2.61%, recovery at 85.8% ▪️ Sovereign and sovereign-guaranteed lending default rate: 0.77%, recovery at 95.1% Featuring granular metrics by sector, region, income group, and project type, this release provides deep insight for investors, policymakers, and researchers. Understand risk, unlock opportunity. Explore the GEMs data. 𝘎𝘌𝘔𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 2009 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 European Investment Bank (EIB) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 IFC - International Finance Corporation. 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘌𝘔𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘋𝘉𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘍𝘐𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦.

Has #greendebt reduced carbon emissions? A new working paper by Juan José Cortina, Claudio Raddatz, Sergio Schmukler, and Tomas Williams analyzes issuances by over 50,000 firms between 2012 and 2023 and finds that green debt led to carbon emission reductions equivalent to as much as 15% of global annual emissions. The study highlights four key findings: ▪️ Green debt has surged: annual issuance of green bonds and syndicated loans has risen ninefold since 2018 ▪️ Large, high-emission firms are the main issuers of green debt. These firms primarily rely on conventional borrowing before turning to green instruments, but their large size leads to outsized aggregate consequences for emissions ▪️ Firms’ carbon intensity declines steadily after issuing green debt, while it stays flat or rises after issuing conventional debt  ▪️ Green bonds contribute to reducing emissions by providing financing to large firms that have significant aggregate consequences. Syndicated loans do so by channeling a larger volume of financing to a wider set of firms These results underscore how firm-level financing decisions and debt markets can support decarbonization. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eS_HAeAS

📢 Save the date: Join #WomenBizLaw Manager Tea Trumbic at the session “Leveraging the Law for Women’s Economic Opportunity” on Tuesday, November 4 at 1:45 pm EST during the World Bank’s Law, Justice and Development Week in Washington, DC!   Christopher Stephens will open the session and panelists Sahar Albazar, Nato Kurshitashvili, Smriti S. and Nahla Zeitoun will highlight examples of legal reforms driving women’s economic empowerment in #Azerbaijan, #Egypt and #SierraLeone. The session will also explore the role of legal practitioners and policymakers in advancing gender equality, job creation and economic growth.   🔗 Please mark your calendar to join online: https://lnkd.in/ej8EPqCm   Due to capacity constraints, attendance is currently limited to online participation for those who have not already registered.   #LJDWeek2025 #WomenBizLaw

In case you missed last week, here’s what stood out at the 2025 WBG Annual Meetings: ▪️ Agriculture is not just about food — it’s becoming a jobs engine.  ▪️ Investment is turning from single projects to entire systems.  ▪️ Supporting small farms, linking them to markets and technology is central.  ▪️ Governments, private sector and development partners must work together.    See how these priorities are shaping global action: https://lnkd.in/eFMivH5H #WBGMeetings

Call for Papers: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 (𝗜𝗦𝗼𝗧) 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 The Journal of International Economics, University of Geneva, The World Bank, and CEPR - Centre for Economic Policy Research invite submissions for the second edition of the International Seminar on Trade (ISoT), taking place 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟭–𝟮𝟮, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗮, Switzerland.    ISoT brings together cutting-edge research in empirical, theoretical, and quantitative international trade, and welcomes papers in related fields such as:    ▪️ Economic geography, development, and industrialization  ▪️ Technology, innovation, and digital transformation  ▪️ Climate change and the environment  ▪️ Macroeconomics and finance  ▪️ Economic resilience and crisis management  ▪️ Labor, inequality, and social impacts    Selected papers will be considered for a special issue of the Journal of International Economics.    𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗮𝘁 𝟭𝟭:𝟱𝟵 𝗣𝗠 𝗘𝗦𝗧   ➡️ Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ebX7A4TS

Happy #WorldStatisticsDay!   From survey information to satellite imagery, data powers development, drives economic growth, and supports progress toward a more sustainable future.   Yet an estimated $700 million annual funding gap for data is limiting the ability of countries to make evidence-based decisions.   The Global Data Facility (GDF), established by The World Bank, the United Nations, and development partners, is transforming how we finance data, helping countries strengthen their statistical systems and put data to work for people and the planet.   Learn how the GDF is bridging the global data funding gap: https://lnkd.in/dhcqSheh. #DataForDevelopment #GlobalDataFacility