Bøger i Directions in Development serien

Examines such questions as: What has been the trajectory of Cameroon's economic growth? Which sectors have contributed to growth? What jobs are being created? What types of skills are being used in the sectors where the highest percentages of the population are employed? What are the demand and supply barriers to skills? Which policies and institutions are in play? Are they sufficient?

Assesses the state of early childhood development (ECD) in MENA from before birth through age five, examining multiple dimensions of early development including health, nutrition, socio-emotional development, early learning, and early work.

Cette etude examine les donnees provenant de 40 pays en Afrique subsaharienne pour analyser les causes de la penurie manuelle dans la region. L'etude se penche sur les politiques MPA, la disponibilite des fonds, et les questions liees a la production et la distribution des manuels scolaires qui causent de la penurie manuelle dans les ecoles.

"Human capital refers to a broad range of knowledge, skills, and capabilities that are needed for life and work and that are typically build through quality education. Countries that fail to invest consistently in education often do not experience robust economic growth because investments in physical infrastructure, such as dams, roads, and airports as well as developments in other economic sectors such as banking or information technology, are often constrained and yield low returns in the absence of an adequately educated work force. Human capital development is critical for setting Tanzania on a trajectory toward middle income status, a target it wants to reach by the year 2025. It is projected that a significant share of Tanzania''s economic growth over the coming decades will be concentrated in occupations that require citizens with postsecondary training and skills, as is already the case in middle-income countries. Hence the pressure and the challenge to close systemic gaps and inefficiencies that hamper the education system in the country."

This report provides a systematic review of the evidence on HIV vulnerability and response in all 53 countries of the WHO European Region, stretching from Iceland to the borders of China. It focuses on key populations most at risk of HIV infection: people who inject drugs, sex workers and men who have sex with men. It confirms that these populations are disproportionately affected by the growing HIV epidemic in Europe. Twenty-five percent of HIV diagnoses in Europe are associated with injecting drug use, with much higher proportions in Eastern Europe (33%) than in Western Europe (5%) and Central Europe (7%). Sex between men accounted for 10% of all HIV diagnoses, with higher rates reported in Western Europe (36%), followed by Central Europe (22%) and Eastern Europe (0.5%). HIV remains relatively low among female sex workers who do not inject drugs, (less than 1%), but higher among those who inject drugs (over 10%) as well as among male and transgender sex workers. The analysis highlights the pivotal role of social and structural factors in shaping HIV epidemics and HIV prevention responses. Poverty, marginalization and stigma contribute to the HIV epidemic in Europe and Central Asia. Economic volatility and recession risks are increasing vulnerability to HIV and infections. Barriers to successful HIV responses include the criminalization of sex work, of sex between men, and of drug use combined with social stigmatization, violence and rights violations. HIV prevention requires social and environmental change. The report calls for policymakers and HIV program implementers to target the right policies and programs to maximize the health and social impacts of Europe''s HIV responses and get higher returns on HIV-related investments. The report is a product of a collaboration between the World Bank, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the WHO Regional Office for Europe and UNAIDS.

Assembles a collection of empirical analyses that explore three complementary hypotheses that could help understand why the Dominican Republic continues, to this date, experiencing high economic growth rates with limited poverty reduction.

Drought, excessive heat, typhoons and other natural events can greatly affect agricultural producers. Named peril index insurance is a risk-management tool that could be bundled with other tools to contribute to increased agricultural sustainability and improved food security in developing countries.

Within the past decade the Maldives moved from poverty to middle-income status, introduced democracy, and was hailed as a Millennium Development Goal Plus country. Women face little discrimination in basic aspects of life such as primary education, health and survival - unlike in much of South Asia. This economic and social progress has yet to be fully inclusive, however, and gender inequality endures, despite constitutional guarantees to the contrary. This is at least partly due to a shift in the nature of Islamic practice in the Maldives towards more rigidly patriarchal interpretations. Women's labor force participation is high, but limited to lower echelons of the economy. Women are slightly more likely than men to be unemployed. Despite gender-equal primary schooling, girls' access to tertiary and professional education is hampered by beliefs about girls' and women's mobility, and primacy of household roles over others. Within the home, women face challenges that men do not, such as high risks of domestic violence and little control over household assets. Finally, women have limited presence in politics and governance. Men struggle with different gendered situations. Unemployment is high among young men, who also increasingly are alienated from society and family. This alienation, combined with a lack of strong alternative social structures to replace the breakdown of traditional family structures that has accompanied Maldives' development trajectory, appear to be propelling young men towards greater social conservatism, participation in gangs, drug use and violence. Nonetheless, women are more disadvantaged in more realms of life than are men. Moreover, public support for gender equality and women's rights appears to be declining. These developments are worrying for the future of gender equality in the Maldives, as well as for a more inclusive development model that would offer opportunities to both men and women.

Presents "profiles" or "portraits" of individuals who have limited labour-market attachment. The report looks at such individuals through the lenses of both poverty/welfare status and labour market indicators providing a much richer glimpse into the very different barriers that different groups face.

Examines recent trends in Croatia in trade, productivity, innovation performance and policy governance framework, to help identify priorities for the development of the country's Smart Specialization Strategy, which is an ex-ante conditionality for access to the EU's Structural and Investment Funds over the 2014-20 programming period.

Shares information on the environmental harms in Sindh, Pakistan, which in 2009 resulted in more than 40,000 premature deaths and costs equivalent to 15% of the province's GDP, and to provide an interdisciplinary framework for bringing about improved environmental conditions in Sindh.

Examines the state of out-of-school youth in Sub-Saharan Africa. It analyses factors that lead youth to drop out of school and reviews policies and programs designed to keep youth in school, bring youth back to school, or to transition out-of-school youth into the workforce.