Accelerating Development: Ideas for Impact

40% of Brazil’s federal civil servants were projected to retire by 2030, while tax auditors with similar experience showed a five-fold difference in gross pay. This episode explores how governments can use...

Ghana doubled property-tax collections with digital tools, Ethiopia increased VAT revenue by almost 50%, and Sierra Leone raised tax payments by 20% by showing taxpayers what local services their taxes supported. This...

Nearly 70% of the indicators used to assess public financial management reforms in Malawi measured changes in form—not whether the system actually worked. This episode, the second on the series from The Government...

$10 billion in annual savings. A potential 40% increase in tax revenue. A 32% greater chance of completing public projects. This episode explores how governments can unlock these gains by using the administrative data...

South Asia remains the world’s fastest-growing region, but growth is expected to slow from 7.0 percent in 2025 to 6.3 percent in 2026 as global energy disruptions create new pressures. This episode explores how trade...

Nearly 1/3 of rural schools in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa lack reliable electricity, while more than two-thirds lack consistent internet access. This episode explores what developing countries need to turn AI’s...

Only 20 percent of monitored days met the WHO’s PM2.5 guideline—and children’s exposure varied sharply across cities, schools, homes, and commutes. This episode explores how personal sensors, GPS tracking, and...

For just $0.69 per student, a six-session program reached more than 2,000 schools in Indonesia. While it did not raise national exam scores, it strengthened students’ belief in effort, improved self-management habits...

Can countries escape the debt trap? As global growth slows to 2.5% and government debt in developing economies has climbed from under 40% to over 70% of GDP since 2010, policymakers face increasingly difficult choices...

Can countries escape the debt trap? As global growth slows to 2.5% and government debt in developing economies has climbed from under 40% to over 70% of GDP since 2010, policymakers face increasingly difficult choices...

Health misinformation is now ranked among the world's 32 most severe global risks, with an estimated economic cost of US$78 billion in 2019. But what if governments could help people recognize misleading information...

Global private investment in generative AI reached $34 billion in 2024, while AI-related exports account for 34% of GDP in Malaysia and 32% in Viet Nam. Yet growth in East Asia and Pacific is projected to slow from 5.0%...

What happens when a single shipping route that carries a large share of the world's energy supply suddenly stops functioning? In March 2026, global oil supply fell by an estimated 10 million barrels per day—roughly...

Europe and Central Asia has announced more than 2,600 industrial policies since 2009 — more than one new intervention every day for sixteen years. But have these policies actually delivered stronger growth, resilience...

Ninety-nine percent of people worldwide breathe air that fails to meet safety standards. In this episode of the World Development Report 2025: Standards for Development mini series, we explore why standards alone are...