Economic Complexity in Panama: Assessing Opportunities for Productive Diversification
The economy of Panama has thrived for more than a decade, based on a modern service sector on the activities surrounding the Canal.
Research
Research and Impacts of Digital Financial Services
A growing body of rigorous research shows that financial services innovations can have important positive impacts on wellbeing, but also that many do not.
Microfinance: Points of Promise
A majority of the world's impoverished lack adequate access to fi nancial services. Typically, formal banks do not target the poor because lending without collateral is considered too risky.
Long-Range Growth: Economic Development in the Global Network of Air Links
We study the impact of international long-distance flights on the global spatial allocation of economic activity.
Eliminating Legal Barriers from the Perspective of the Informal Economy
This is a technical brief on the legal barriers to economic empowerment that women in the informal economy typically face.
Technology, Informal Workers and Cities: Insights from Ahmedabad (India), Durban (South Africa) and Lima (Peru)
Technology is a key driver of change, not least in the world of work.
Home-Based Workers and Cities
This paper explores the impact of local government policies and urban plans on home-based workers.
Leave No One Behind: A Call to Action for Gender Equality and Women's Economic Empowerment
Empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps at work are central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Yet too many gaps persist. How to accelerate progress?
Searching for the Devil in the Details: Learning About Development Program Design
Motivated by our experience in designing a particular social program, skill set signaling for new entrants to the labor market in Peru, we articulate the need for, and explore the empirical consequenc
Making Technological Innovation Work for Sustainable Development
This paper presents insights and action proposals to better harness technological innovation for sustainable development. We begin with three key insights from scholarship and practice.
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