Development Research Group

International trade has historically been a force for development and poverty reduction. But trade is increasingly viewed as contributing to inequality and risk, depleting natural resources, and threatening the environment. To better understand the role of international trade on development outcomes and their sustainability and inclusivity, the World Bank and the editorial team from the Journal of International Economics are hosting a research conference in Washington, DC on September 12-13, 2024.

Note: A call for papers is open until May 15, 2024.

DaTax conducts cutting-edge analytical work with micro tax data, aimed at supporting the development of equitable and sustainable public finance systems. The partners work in close collaboration with tax administrations and Ministries of Finance in over 15 developing countries globally. The analysis feeds directly into policy design and helps build partner countries’ analytical capacity.

Through a combination of micro evidence—the behavior of taxpayers, firms, workers, and consumers—and macro evidence, DaTax studies macroeconomic outcomes and cross-country patterns across stages of development. 

Land institutions and policies will be critical to help African countries respond to the challenges of climate change, urban expansion, structural transformation, and gender equality. Yet, many African land registries command little trust due to poor performance and wealth bias in service delivery. This publication draws on a wealth of data, examples, and studies from Africa and beyond to show that regulatory and institutional reforms can harness countries' potential by improving the quality, coverage, usefulness, and sustainability of documented land rights.

How can a programming language born from sheer necessity rise to global prominence? The story of Lua, a lightweight programming language that has gained worldwide influence, is a fascinating tale of the journey from a Brazilian innovation effort at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro to the global stage of technology.

This blog post is part of a series on the potential role industrial policy can, should, or shouldn’t play in government economic policy in low- and middle-income countries. Also see:

Productivity as a guide for industrial policies

Micro-industrial policy: The empirical evidence on whether governments can successfully directly support firms

Macro-industrial policy: Is the public procurement system an effective policy tool?