The World Bank Research Observer

1986 - 2025

Current editor(s): Peter Lanjouw

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Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK.
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Volume 34, issue 2, 2019

What Explains Uneven Female Labor Force Participation Levels and Trends in Developing Countries? pp. 161-197

Stephan Klasen

Jobs and Land Use within Cities: A Survey of Theory, Evidence, and Policy pp. 198-238

Arti Grover and Somik V Lall

Beyond Poverty Escapes—Social Mobility in Developing Countries: A Review Article pp. 239-273

Vegard Iversen, Anirudh Krishna and Kunal Sen

The Turnaround of the Swedish Economy: Lessons from Large Business Sector Reforms pp. 274-308

Fredrik Heyman, Pehr-Johan Norbäck and Lars Persson

Gender Matters in Economic Empowerment Interventions: A Research Review pp. 309-346

Mayra Buvinić and Megan O'Donnell

Volume 34, issue 1, 2019

The World Bank Human Capital Index: A Guide pp. 1-33

Aart Kraay

Governance and Women's Economic and Political Participation: Power Inequalities, Formal Constraints and Norms pp. 34-64

Annamaria Milazzo and Markus Goldstein

Globalization and Structural Change around the World, 1985–2015 pp. 65-94

Adrian Wood

Changing Behavioral Patterns Related to Maternity and Childbirth in Rural and Poor Populations: A Critical Review pp. 95-118

Ariadna Garcia-Prado

Long-Term Impacts of Conditional Cash Transfers: Review of the Evidence pp. 119-159

Teresa Molina Millán, Tania Barham, Karen Macours, John Maluccio and Marco Stampini

Volume 33, issue 2, 2018

Mobile Money and the Economy: A Review of the Evidence pp. 135-188

Janine Aron

Industrial Policy, Information, and Government Capacity pp. 189-217

William Maloney and Gaurav Nayyar

A Mixed-Method Review of Cash Transfers and Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries pp. 218-258

Ana Maria Buller, Amber Peterman, Meghna Ranganathan, Alexandra Bleile, Melissa Hidrobo and Lori Heise

Myth-Busting? Confronting Six Common Perceptions about Unconditional Cash Transfers as a Poverty Reduction Strategy in Africa pp. 259-298

Sudhanshu Handa, Silvio Daidone, Amber Peterman, Benjamin Davis, Audrey Pereira, Tia Palermo and Jennifer Yablonski

Volume 33, issue 1, 2018

The Whys of Social Exclusion: Insights from Behavioral Economics pp. 1-33

Karla Hoff and James Walsh

Generalization in the Tropics – Development Policy, Randomized Controlled Trials, and External Validity pp. 34-64

Jörg Peters, Jörg Langbein and Gareth Roberts

Privatization in Developing Countries: What Are the Lessons of Recent Experience? pp. 65-102

Saul Estrin and Adeline Pelletier

Public-Private Partnerships in Developing Countries: The Emerging Evidence-based Critique pp. 103-134

James Leigland

Volume 32, issue 2, 2017

How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence pp. 127-154

David McKenzie

Debunking the Stereotype of the Lazy Welfare Recipient: Evidence from Cash Transfer Programs pp. 155-184

Abhijit Banerjee, Rema Hanna, Gabriel E. Kreindler and Benjamin Olken

The Impacts of Fiscal Openness pp. 185-210

Paolo de Renzio and Joachim Wehner

The Opportunities and Challenges of Digitizing Government-to-Person Payments pp. 211-226

Leora Klapper and Dorothe Singer

Volume 32, issue 1, 2017

“Well-fare” Economics of Groundwater in South Asia pp. 1-20

Hanan Jacoby

Minimum Wages in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Primer pp. 21-74

Haroon Bhorat, Ravi Kanbur and Benjamin Stanwix

Improving Learning Outcomes in South Asia: Findings from a Decade of Impact Evaluations pp. 75-106

Salman Asim, Robert S. Chase, Amit Dar and Achim Schmillen

Big Numbers about Small Children: Estimating the Economic Benefits of Addressing Undernutrition pp. 107-125

Harold Alderman, Jere Behrman and Chloe Puett

Volume 31, issue 2, 2016

Decentralization of Health and Education in Developing Countries: A Quality-Adjusted Review of the Empirical Literature pp. 199-241

Anila Channa and Jean-Paul Faguet

What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries? An Analysis of Divergent Findings in Systematic Reviews pp. 242-270

David Evans and Anna Popova

Producer Insurance and Risk Management Options for Smallholder Farmers pp. 271-289

Vincent H. Smith

Payment by Results in Development Aid: All That Glitters Is Not Gold pp. 290-319

Paul Clist

Volume 31, issue 1, 2016

The Economic Effects of Counterfeiting and Piracy: A Review and Implications for Developing Countries pp. 1-28

Carsten Fink, Keith Maskus and Yi Qian

Measuring Violent Conflict in Micro-level Surveys: Current Practices and Methodological Challenges pp. 29-58

Tilman Brück, Patricia Justino, Philip Verwimp, Alexandra Avdeenko and Andrew Tedesco

Promoting Women's Economic Empowerment: What Works? pp. 59-101

Mayra Buvinić and Rebecca Furst-Nichols

Employer Voices, Employer Demands, and Implications for Public Skills Development Policy Connecting the Labor and Education Sectors pp. 102-134

Wendy Cunningham and Paula Villaseñor

Revisiting the "Cash versus Food" Debate: New Evidence for an Old Puzzle? pp. 135-167

Ugo Gentilini

The Price Is Not Always Right: On the Impacts of Commodity Prices on Households (and Countries) pp. 168-197

Daniel Lederman and Guido Porto

Volume 30, issue 2, 2015

Evidence on Policies to Increase the Development Impacts of International Migration pp. 155-192

David McKenzie and Dean Yang

Child Development in a Changing World: Risks and Opportunities pp. 193-219

Jo Boyden, Stefan Dercon and Abhijeet Singh

Can You Help Someone Become Financially Capable? A Meta-Analysis of the Literature pp. 220-246

Margaret Miller, Julia Reichelstein, Christian Salas and Bilal Zia

Diet Quality, Child Health, and Food Policies in Developing Countries pp. 247-276

Alok Bhargava

Drivers of Entrepreneurship and Post-entry Performance of Newborn Firms in Developing Countries pp. 277-305

Francesco Quatraro and Marco Vivarelli

Volume 30, issue 1, 2015

Firm Dynamics, Productivity Growth, and Job Creation in Developing Countries: The Role of Micro- and Small Enterprises pp. 3-38

Yue Li and Martin Rama

Growing through Cities in Developing Countries pp. 39-73

Gilles Duranton

Does FDI Bring Good Jobs to Host Countries? pp. 74-94

Beata Javorcik

Pathways from Jobs to Social Cohesion pp. 95-123

Frank-Borge Wietzke

Labor Market Regulations: What do we know about their Impacts in Developing Countries? pp. 124-153

Gordon Betcherman

Volume 29, issue 2, 2014

Progress on Global Health Goals: Are the Poor Being Left Behind? pp. 137-162

Adam Wagstaff, Caryn Bredenkamp and Leander R. Buisman

Is Green Growth Good for the Poor? pp. 163-185

Stefan Dercon

Entry Regulation and the Formalization of Microenterprises in Developing Countries pp. 186-201

Miriam Bruhn and David McKenzie

Cash Transfers and Child Labor pp. 202-234

Jacobus de Hoop and Furio Rosati

The Promise of Performance Pay? Reasons for Caution in Policy Prescriptions in the Core Civil Service pp. 235-264

Zahid Hasnain, Nick Manning and Jan Henryk Pierskalla

Volume 29, issue 1, 2014

Inequality in China: An Overview pp. 1-19

John Knight

Can Civil Society Overcome Government Failure in Africa? pp. 20-47

Shantayanan Devarajan, Stuti Khemani and Michael Walton

What Are We Learning from Business Training and Entrepreneurship Evaluations around the Developing World? pp. 48-82

David McKenzie and Christopher Woodruff

Population, Poverty, and Climate Change pp. 83-108

Monica Das Gupta

Orderly Sovereign Debt Restructuring: Missing in Action! (And Likely To Remain So) pp. 109-135

Otaviano Canuto, Brian Pinto and Mona Prasad