As the old saying goes, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. But of course, what you measure is important too. In this episode of The Development Podcast, we explore how the World Bank Group aims to strengthen its impact with a slimmed-down and focused scorecard. We’ll hear how the scorecard will better measure and track results, as well as identify areas for improvement. We’ll get to the heart of what it means to measure results, why it matters and how it has gained traction...

Creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet has been the vision and mission of the World Bank Group since October 2023. But what does it mean for people and planet? We’ve just wrapped up our series of podcasts exploring these crucial questions, and in this episode we bring you some of the highlights from the last year. We take you on a journey around the world from Samoa to Nepal and hear from youth activists, refugees, entrepreneurs, development partners and leaders from the World...

Does artificial intelligence amount to a dystopian nightmare for the developing world, eliminating jobs and confirming the worse biases across societies? Or could it lead the way to a brighter future, helping to solve critical development issues?  We explore the ways in which artificial intelligence is being used across the globe at a grassroots level in India, Papua New Guinea – as well as get the big picture. Join The Development Podcast! Featured VoicesChristine Zhenwei Qiang, Director,...

Forests are disappearing at an alarming rate of 10 million hectares each year and about 12% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to deforestation and forest degradation. But nature provides the foundation for inclusive growth, jobs, food security, ecosystems and human wellbeing. So, what are the economics of biodiversity and how can we achieve growth whilst protecting forests? Join The Development Podcast on a trip around the globe from Nepal to Costa Rica as we hear from:...

The 2024 World Bank Group-IMF Spring Meetings took place from April 11-18. The focus for this year was on how the World Bank Group can turn its vision – of creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet – into real impact. This includes becoming a better Bank – one that is faster, more effective, and more ambitious.  In this latest episode of The Development Podcast, we draw on some of the highlights from the week. We hear from Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group; Dr Tedros...

As the world celebrates International Womens Day, we take a look at where we are on the march towards gender equality. How big is the gender gap and what would happen if we closed it? What are some stumbling blocks along this journey? And how can international organizations like the World Bank Group and IMF help achieve more progress?   Find out the answers to these questions and more as we speak with Victoire Tomegah Dogbé, Prime Minister of Togo; Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing...

The transition away from fossil fuels could create as many as 30 million ‘green’ jobs in clean energy and low-emissions technologies by 2030. So what is a ‘green job’? How can countries and companies support jobs that benefit people and the planet? And how can young people prepare for green jobs of the future?  Find out the answers to these questions and more as we speak with Ashish Khanna, Practice Manager, Energy and Extractives, West and Central Africa, World Bank; Manoj Sinha, CEO, Husk...

Forced displacement is a development challenge, not only a humanitarian concern. As of September 2023, 114 million people were displaced, and this number continues to grow as conflict and insecurity rise across the globe. Most refugees are hosted by developing countries, and the issues around support and integration of refugee communities are often deeply political. In this episode— the second in our special series on how to end poverty on a livable planet—we're asking the question: How can...

The 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) comes at the heels of the hottest year in human history. Our newest episode of The Development Podcast delves into the impact of the climate crisis and urgent solutions to address it. This episode marks the launch of our new limited series on how to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. Over the next 5 episodes, we’ll explore critical issues affecting planet, people and prosperity. Today, we turn our attention to the planet as we...

The 2023 World Bank Group-IMF Annual Meetings took place from October 9-15 in Marrakech, Morocco, and unveiled the Bank’s bold new vision: creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet. Events and discussions highlighted this new mission, highlighting an expansion in financial capacity, stronger partnerships, deeper engagement with the private sector, and finding more efficient processes.  In this special edition episode of The Development Podcast, we draw on some of the highlights...

Multiple shocks – from COVID-19 to climate change, conflict, crop disease – are crippling food systems, leading to higher food prices and growing hunger.  Up to 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, and projections show that in 2030, over 600 million people will still struggle to feed their families. The way we produce food is also harmful for the planet, generating unsustainable levels of pollution and waste. What can we do to fight the global food crisis, especially in the most...

Meet the International Development Association (IDA), the arm of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries—75 to be exact. It’s the largest single source of donor funds for basic services in these countries and aims to eliminate extreme poverty. IDA’s most recent replenishment, IDA20, resulted in a historic $93 billion financing package for IDA countries for fiscal years 2022-2025. On this episode of The Development Podcast, we explore how IDA works across the world on a range...

How do we address climate change, reduce poverty, and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet? Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time, and no country is immune. On this episode of The Development Podcast, we hone in on voices across Africa about the experience of climate change and how it intersects with poverty, and we hear from Richard Damania, World Bank’s Chief Economist for Sustainable Development in Washington, DC. Tune in as we speak with Cathy Kamamu, a farmer...

Migration is a development challenge. About 184 million people—2.3 percent of the world’s population—live outside of their country of nationality, and almost half of them are in low- and middle-income countries. In this episode of The Development Podcast, we explore the conversation around migration, from global economic imbalances, demographic changes, and conflict, to the opportunities it can bring to people and host communities. To unpack this and more, we speak to Xavier Devictor, the...

The 2023 World Bank Group-IMF Spring Meetings took place from April 10-16, amidst a backdrop of challenges: from stress in the banking sector, persistent inflation, rising debt, climate change and of course Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Addressing this instability, and looking to a future free from poverty, was at the heart of the discussions which involved dozens of contributors from across the globe. In this latest episode of The Development Podcast, we draw on some of the...

There is still a disproportionate amount of work women tend to in caring for others, which has far-reaching consequences beyond personal and societal fractures. What impact does unpaid carework, or labor, have on these women’s economic prospects, and how can we support them? To answer these questions, we speak with Laura Rawlings, Lead Economist for the World Bank’s Gender Group, Nguyen Thi Kieu Trang (KT), Marketing and Communications Manager with CARE International in Vietnam, and Jyoti...

There is a growing breadth and depth to fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) around the world as we mark one year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The spillover effects of war can be seen with displacement of populations, high energy and food prices, shocks to natural disasters and more. What is the World Bank Group’s role and long term strategy to addressing FCV? Axel Van Trotsenburg, the World Bank’s Managing Director of Operations, the Honorable John Dabi, Deputy Commissioner of South...

The recently released January edition of this year’s Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report warns that the global economy is dangerously close to a recession, with small states in particular the most vulnerable to shocks and economic recovery. Hear from one of the GEP’s lead report authors, Dana Vorisek, the Hon. Tiofilusi Tiueti, Minister for Finance and Tonga World Bank Governor, and Anna Kay, a female-owned restauranteur in Jamaica, as they speak to the impacts of a global worsening economy.

The past twelve months have been turbulent for the global economy. Conflict, inflation, food supply crises and the long tail of the Covid-19 pandemic have caused shockwaves across the world. In this episode of The Development Podcast we speak to World Bank Group chief economist Indermit Gill who explains what went wrong in 2022. We also get an update from Egyptian baker and restaurant owner Dareen Akkad. Listen now!

COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and other crises have dealt the biggest setback to global poverty reduction in decades. 2020 alone saw the largest one-year increase in extreme poverty since global monitoring began. Ruth Hill, a lead economist at the World Bank discusses the recent Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report and we hear from Sonia Cifuentes in Bogota, Colombia, about how a government cash transfer program helped her when she needed support to cover the basics for herself and her children.

This year’s World Bank Group-IMF Annual Meetings took place against the backdrop of a series of overlapping crises. The impact of COVID, climate change and conflict were the focus for delegates who gathered in Washington DC. This special edition of The Development Podcast features some of the key discussions.

How can we put people and communities at the center of the transition away from coal? In this episode of The Development Podcast, we hear about the challenges and opportunities with Elizabeth Ruppert Bulmer, Lead Economist with the Social Protection & Jobs Global Practice and Rachel Perks, Senior Mining Specialist with the Energy & Extractives Global Practice, both at the World Bank. We also hear from new solar panel owners in rural India, and from Reema Nanavaty, director of India’s...

What happens when global growth slows, and inflation rises? On the latest episode of The Development Podcast, we explain why stagflation matters, where we’ve seen it before, and what governments can do to temper it. World Bank forecasting expert Franziska Ohnsorge, and debt expert Marcello Estevão give the big picture, while Mexican economist Enrique Cárdenas explains what it felt like to experience stagflation during the so-called “lost decade” of the 1980s.