Accelerating Development: Ideas for Impact
by World Bank Institute for Economic Development
Latest episode
Episode 54 Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet 2026: Why Isn't Having a…
Episode 54 Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet 2026: Why Isn't Having a…
About this podcast
An AI-powered, expert-led podcast on cutting-edge policy solutions for today’s biggest development challenges, direct from our global research network.
🌐 Listen to other languages: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-network/wbginstitute
Episodes
The newest 20 of 65 episodes
- Episode 54 Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet 2026: Why Isn't Having a Job Enough to End Poverty? · 9 min · Season 1 Episode 55Around 811 million people live in extreme poverty, yet many are already working. So why aren't jobs enough to lift people out of poverty? This episode explores the World Bank's…
- Episode 53 External Assessments: What Really Drives Public Service Quality? · 9 min · Season 1 Episode 54More schools, more healthcare workers, bigger budgets—but are public services actually getting better?This episode explores how external assessments reveal hidden gaps in public…
- Episode 52 If You Build It, Will They Click? The Behavioral Science of Digital Government · 10 min · Season 1 Episode 53Nearly 40% of users report difficulty navigating government websites. So why do well-built digital services still lose users? This episode explores how behavioral science can…
- Episode 51 The “So What?” of Employee Surveys: Turning Data into Action · 10 min · Season 1 Episode 52Survey participation jumped from 37% to 69% when employees saw that their feedback could lead to real change. But collecting survey data is only the first step. This episode…
- Episode 50 How Can Resource-Rich Countries Turn Windfalls into Resilience? · 9 min · Season 1 Episode 51Around two-thirds of emerging market and developing economies—and about 90% of low-income countries—depend substantially on commodity exports. This episode explores how…
- Episode 49 Administrative Data: The Government’s Hidden Asset · 9 min · Season 1 Episode 5040% 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…
- Episode 48 Raise Revenue Better: What Makes a Tax System Actually Work? · 10 min · Season 1 Episode 49💰 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…
- Episode 47 The Foundations: Are Governments Measuring What Matters? · 11 min · Season 1 Episode 48Nearly 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…
- Episode 46 The Overview: Unlocking the Data Governments Already Have · 9 min · Season 1 Episode 47$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…
- Episode 45 Can South Asia Stay as the World’s Fastest-Growing Region? · 10 min · Season 1 Episode 46South 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…
- Episode 44 AI Is Ready—but Are Developing Countries? Insights from the World Development Report 2026 · 10 min · Season 1 Episode 45Nearly 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…
- Episode 43 Monitoring, Managing, and Markets: Tools for Clean Air - Managing · 9 min · Season 1 Episode 44Only 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…
- Episode 42 Less Than a Dollar, Lasting Change: Building Growth Mindsets in Indonesia · 12 min · Season 1 Episode 43For 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…
- Episode 41 The Institutions Behind the Switch: Who Keeps the Lights On in Africa? · 11 min · Season 1 Episode 42Can 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…
- Episode 40 Can Countries Escape the Debt Trap? Lessons from the Latest Global Outlook · 8 min · Season 1 Episode 41Can 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…
- Episode 39 How a WhatsApp Game Helped People Resist Health Misinformation · 10 min · Season 1 Episode 40Health 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…
- Episode 38 The Next Growth Model: How East Asia Can Thrive in an AI-Driven World · 9 min · Season 1 Episode 39Global 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…
- Episode 37 When One Shipping Route Stops: The Global Shock Behind Rising Prices and Slower Growth · 10 min · Season 1 Episode 38What 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…
- Episode 36 The Return of Industrial Policy: What's Driving the Surge in Europe and Central Asia? · 11 min · Season 1 Episode 37Europe 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…
- Episode 35 WDR2025 Mini Series: 3 How Do Standards Help Us Breathe Cleaner Air? · 12 min · Season 1 Episode 36Ninety-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…
