1. Research & Outlook

Poverty and Inequality

April 26, 2024
The Poverty and Inequality Research Program has two main objectives: (1) improve current data as well as methods and tools for poverty and inequality analysis and (2) use the improved data and existing data sources to better understand the economic and social processes determining the extent of poverty and inequality and to assess the effectiveness of specific policies in reducing poverty.
Featured
  • 2021 SPF Annual Report

    Longitudinal Survey of Forced Migrant Children from Venezuela - VenRePs-Kids

    Brief, 2024
    It is estimated that by early 2021, there were more than 110 million displaced people, of whom 41% are children under the age of 18. One of the main obstacles to progress in this field is the lack of longitudinal data and information on the human development status of children. The Longitudinal Survey of Forced Migrant Children (VenRePs-Kids) was developed to contribute in this direction.
    Spanish Version |  Discrimination Toward Migrants During Crises |  Life out of the Shadows (Feature Story)
  • GWP Social Research for Conservation Insight and Impact Evaluation

    Process and Implementation Evaluation Methods

    Book Chapter, September 2023
    This chapter, co-authored by Michael Woolcock, appears in the book Oxford Handbook of Social Program Design and Implementation Evaluation. The book creates a comprehensive and actionable toolbox of evaluation methodologies that can be used to examine social programs throughout their life cycle.
  • Collage of images related to the World Development Report 2023

    World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies

    Report, 2023
    Mobility is an integral part of the development process. It is a mechanism for reallocating labor across economic sectors and geographical areas. It enables adaptation to shocks, stresses, and imbalances. Cross-border mobility inevitably comes with economic and social consequences for those who move, their communities of origin, and their destinations. The World Development Report (WDR) is taking a fresh look at these issues. It aims to shift from a narrow focus on labor markets for migrants and legal protection for refugees to a more holistic perspective — one that recognizes the humanity of migrants and the complexity of the societies of origin and destination.
    Main Messages |  Download the Full Report |  Concept Note |  WDR 2023 Learning Events
  • Why Social Sustainability is Critical for the Climate Agenda

    Social Sustainability in Development: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century

    Book, March 2023
    All development is about people: the transformative process to equip, link, and enable groups of people to drive change and create something new to benefit society. Social Sustainability in Development: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century seeks to advance the concept of social sustainability and sharpen its analytical foundations. By identifying interventions that work to promote the components of social sustainability and highlighting the evidence of their links to key development outcomes, this book provides a foundation for using social sustainability to help address the many challenges of our time

LATEST WORKING PAPERS

Lives, Livelihoods, and Learning: A Global Perspective on the Well-Being Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Benoit Decerf, Jed Friedman, Arthur Mendes, Steven Pennings, Nishant Yonzan 
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10728, March 2024

Right to Education: Forced Migration and Child Education Outcomes
Juan F. Vargas, Sandra V. Rozo
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10720, March 2024

Little Nomads: Economic and Social Impacts of Migration on Children
Magdalena Cortina, Juan Miguel Jimenez, Sandra V. Rozo
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10686, January 2024

Impacts of Extremist Ideologies on Refugees' Integration: Evidence from Afghan Refugees in Tajikistan
Laurent Bossavie, Sandra V. Rozo, María José Urbina
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10612, November 2023

Using Large Language Models for Qualitative Analysis can Introduce Serious Bias
Julian Ashwin, Aditya Chhabra, Vijayendra Rao
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10597, November 2023

The Fine Line between Nudging and Nagging: Increasing Take-up Rates through Social Media Platforms
Andrés Moya, Sandra V. Rozo, María José Urbina 
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10590, October 2023

Reconceptualizing Global Multidimensional Poverty Measurement, with Illustration on Nigerian Data
Benoit Decerf, Kike Fonton
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10577, October 2023

More Working Papers

LATEST JOURNAL ARTICLES

Intergenerational mobility around the world: A new database
Roy van der Weide, Christoph Lakner, Daniel Gerszon Mahler, Ambar Narayan, Rakesh Gupta
Journal of Development Economics, vol. 166, January 2024 | Working Paper Version

Asset transfers and anti-poverty programs: Experimental evidence from Tanzania
Sarah Baird, Craig McIntosh, Berk Özler, Utz Pape
Journal of Development Economics, vol. 166, January 2024 | Working Paper Version 

Transnational Terrorism and the Internet
Quy-Toan Do, Nicolas Gomez-Parra, Bob Rijkers
Journal of Development Economics, vol. 164, September 2023

Money versus Kudos: The impact of incentivizing local politicians in India
Ghazala Mansuri, Nethra Palaniswamy, Vijayendra Rao, Slesh A. Shrestha
Journal of Public Economics, vol. 224, August 2023 | Working Paper Version

Improving the Well-Being of Adolescent Girls in Developing Countries
Katy Bergstrom, Berk Ozler
The World Bank Research Observer, vol. 38, no. 2, August 2023 | Working Paper Version

Impacts of a Large-Scale Parenting Program: Experimental Evidence from Chile
Pedro Carneiro, Emanuela Galasso, Italo Lopez Garcia, Paula Bedregal, Miguel Cordero
Journal of Political Economy, July 2023 | Working Paper Version

The Unintended Consequences of Deportations: Evidence from Firm Behavior in El Salvador
Antonella Bandiera, Lelys Dinarte, Sandra V Rozo, Carlos Schmidt-Padilla, Maria Micael Sviastchi, Hernan Winkler
Economic Development and Cultural Change, vol. 71, July 2023 | Working Paper Version

The Unintended Consequences of Deportations: Evidence from Firm Behavior in El Salvador
Antonella Bandiera, Lelys Dinarte Diaz, Sandra V. Rozo, Carlos Schmidt-Padilla, María Micaela Sviatschi, and Hernan Winkler
Economic Development and Cultural Change, vol. 70, June 2023 | Working Paper Version

LATEST BLOGS AND ARTICLES

The long slog of publishing in economics
Berk Özler | Development Impact | March 11, 2024

Women on teams and in leadership matters for other women, men, and organizations
Kathleen Beegle, Emanuela Galasso, Mahvish Shaukat | Development Impact | February 26, 2024

Should we evaluate more algorithms?
Berk Özler | Development Impact | Feburary 7, 2024

What can (or should) we expect from public works? Part 2
Kathleen Beegle, Emanuela Galasso | Development Impact | January 23, 2024

Exploring business reform committees: Insights and key learnings
Dorina Georgie, Vavarun Eknath, Michael Woolcock | Let's Talk Development | December 5, 2023

Updated estimates of the Prosperity Gap
Zander Prinsloo, Aart Kraay, Christoph Lakner, Berk Özler, Benoît Decerf, Dean Mitchell Jolliffe, Olivier Sterck, Nishant Yonzan | Data Blog, October 26, 2023

A generation of children are at risk of learning losses in Myanmar
Sutirtha Sinha Roy, Roy Van Der Weide, Saurav Dev Bhatta, Mar Mar Thwin | East Asia & Pacific On The Rise | October 24, 2023

TEAM MEMBERS

Benoit Decerf
Research Economist

Quy-Toan Do
Lead Economist

Jed Friedman
Lead Economist | Acting Manager

Emanuela Galasso
Senior Economist

Eeshani Kandpal
Senior Economist

Berk Ozler
Lead Economist

Vijayendra Rao
Lead Economist

Sandra Rozo
Senior Economist

Roy van der Weide
Senior Economist

Michael Woolcock
Lead Social Scientist

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Datasets

Poverty and Inequality Platform (formerly PovcalNet)

Seminar Series

Development Research Group

Development Impact Blog

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