This book is about development and measuring development progress. While precise definitions may vary, development is, at heart, a process of building wealth—the produced, natural, human, and institutional capital which is the source of income and wellbeing.

Over the last two decades Samoa has suffered major damage from two cyclones in 1990-91, minor damage from a third cyclone in 2004, and an earthquake tsunami in 2009. Changes in the scale and impact of these types of natural disasters are likely to be important consequences of climate change for the country because the...

This paper examines the relationship between openness and within-country regional inequality across 28 countries over the period 1975-2005, paying special attention to whether increases in global trade affect the developed and developing world differently. Using a combination of static and dynamic panel data analysis, we find that while increases in trade per se do not...

Interest in investment climates has emerged relatively recently. In the 1960s and 1970s, governments in many countries believed they should play a direct role in rural credit, input supply, production, trade, transport, distribution, and even marketing. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, government-dominated systems fell into disgrace because of poor performance. For the rural sector...

This report discusses emissions, impacts, and policy constraints faced by Indonesia to cope with climate change. It highlights several key gaps in policies and mechanisms in sectors related to climate change. The report provides the most up-to-date information on Indonesia and climate change that can serve as a starting point for further discussions on the...