Publications

Time-Bound Labor Access to the United States: A Four-Way Win for the Middle Class, Low-Skill Workers, Border Security, and Migrants

4/11/13

Michael Clemens and Lant Pritchett

The US economy needs low-skill workers now more than ever, and that requires a legal channel for the large-scale, employment-based entry of low-skill workers. The alternative is what the country has now: a giant black market in unauthorized labor that hinders job creation and harms border security. A legal time-bound labor-access program could benefit the American middle class and low-skill workers, improve US border security, and create opportunities for foreign workers.

Restoring US Leadership on Trade and Development

3/28/13

Kimberly Ann Elliott

Regional trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership could leave some poor countries behind. Here are three policy changes to help Congress and President Obama avoid doing so.

A Proposal for IDA-17: Instead of an Income Transfer, Direct the IFC to Invest Its Time, Resources, and Expertise in IDA Countries

3/14/13

Clay Lowery

Instead of giving an income transfer, the IFC should provide financing and its expertise in a way that fits what it does best—investing in the private sector—while giving the IFC incentives to accelerate what it should do even better—taking greater risks in poorer countries.

Innovating for Food Security and Smallholder Livelihoods

3/13/13

Kimberly Ann Elliott

In the face of climate change, land and water scarcity, declining growth in crop yields, and dwindling public budgets, donors will need to be more innovative in how they deliver aid for agriculture.

Implementing a Results-Based Approach to Strengthen IDA Support for Fragile States

3/8/13

Alan Gelb

This brief outlines how to implement a results-based approach in a way consistent with the World Bank’s recent experience with results-based disbursement, including its approval of the new Program for Results (PforR) instrument.

The Need for More Local Procurement in Haiti

2/25/13

Julie Walz and Vijaya Ramachandran

Since the 20120 earthquake, there has been very little direct procurement of goods or services from local businesses, missing a huge opportunity to spur long-term growth. Local procurement not only purchases immediately needed goods or services but helps grow the private sector, create jobs, and encourage entrepreneurs. Spending more money locally can multiply the effect of US assistance.

US Spending in Haiti: The Need for Greater Transparency and Accountability

2/19/13

Vijaya Ramachandran and Julie Walz

The transparency and accountability of US spending in Haiti needs to be improved. Despite the large amount of public money disbursed for earthquake recovery in Haiti, it is nearly impossible to track how the money has been spent and what has been achieved.

Wanted: A Climate Agency for a Bottom-Up World—A Proposal for a New Arm of the World Bank

1/24/13

Nancy Birdsall and Lawrence MacDonald

Climate negotiations have focused on reaching a top-down international agreement and on mobilizing a pool of financial resources. This brief explains the urgent need for a new entity to provide nonfinancial services to faciliate and augment climate action that any nations and private actors take. It explores one possible path for filling the gap: the creation of a new arm of the World Bank.

Greenprint: Three Big Changes for Countries to Cooperate on Climate Change

1/22/13

Aaditya Mattoo and Arvind Subramanian

Few problems are as pressing and as existential for the world as climate change, and few have proven to be as intractable. Three decades of international negotiations on climate change have yielded little by way of action that would substantially slow, let alone reverse, human-caused climate change. Things can be different.

Ideas to Action: