Publicación: South Asia Macro Poverty Outlook, April 2026: Country-by-Country Analysis and Projections for the Developing World © 2026 The World Bank Group.

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/5953856e-853c-40cc-b08a-19e4eeef322c This edition of the Macro Poverty Outlooks periodical contains country-by-country forecasts and overviews for GDP, fiscal, debt and poverty indicators for the developing countries of South Asia region. Macroeconomic indicators such as population, gross domestic product, and gross domestic product per capita, and where available, other indicators such as primary school enrollment, life expectancy at birth, total greenhouse gas emissions and inflation, among others, are included for each country. In addition to the World Bank’s most recent forecasts, key conditions and challenges, recent developments and outlook are briefly described for each country in the region. © 2026 The World Bank Group.

Publicación: Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan Macro Poverty Outlook, April 2026: Country-by-Country Analysis and Projections for the Developing World © 2026 The World Bank Group.

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/ad42185b-f5e4-499a-92bc-b13e56f44b98 This edition of the Macro Poverty Outlooks periodical contains country-by-country forecasts and overviews for GDP, fiscal, debt and poverty indicators for the developing countries of Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan region. Macroeconomic indicators such as population, gross domestic product, and gross domestic product per capita, and where available, other indicators such as primary school enrollment, life expectancy at birth, total greenhouse gas emissions and inflation, among others, are included for each country. In addition to the World Bank’s most recent forecasts, key conditions and challenges, recent developments and outlook are briefly described for each country in the region. © 2026 The World Bank Group.

Publicación: Advancing the Jobs Agenda: Toward Self-Reliance in Refugee Situations © 2026 The World Bank Group.

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/3ccdd18b-0462-4bf1-ac30-5a8fae71f145 This paper synthesizes recent evidence on refugee self-reliance in low- and middle-income countries, clarifying definitions, reviewing measurement approaches, and assessing the effectiveness of policies and programs that foster self-reliance. Refugee self-reliance varies across contexts. It is lowest in camps, and higher in urban, non-camp settings that offer better access to jobs and markets. Host country policies that provide refugees with secure legal status, the right to work, and freedom of movement consistently correlate with higher employment and earnings. Programmatic interventions to support economic participation and self-reliance show heterogeneous impacts. Active labor market and entrepreneurship support programs typically yield modest gains in the short term, while “graduation” programs deliver larger improvements in welfare. The paper argues that enabling policies, combined with targeted, context-specific support, and use of national systems can improve refugee self-reliance, lower hosting costs, maximize the impact of financing for refugee situations, and transform fiscal costs into development gains for host countries. More rigorous evidence is needed on long-term impacts, demand-side job creation, and large-scale government-led policy reforms, underscoring the need to integrate empirical evaluation into policy and program design. © 2026 The World Bank Group.

Publicación: Viet Nam Rising: Pathways to High Income Future © 2026 The World Bank Group.

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/902ed8ba-9528-4b8a-a91d-440b32d46733 "This report explores policies to achieve Viet Nam's goal of becoming a high-income economy by 2045. This bold ambition will require not only faster economic growth than over the last four decades but also a new growth model and better jobs to avoid the middle-income trap. The report proposes a comprehensive reform agenda of five connected policy packages to achieve this goal: (i) strengthening private initiatives of domestic firms, (ii) investing in resilient infrastructure and green growth, (iii) upskilling the labor force, (iv) ensuring an equitable distribution of gains, and (v) modernizing institutions for a fast, resilient and inclusive growth trajectory." © 2026 The World Bank Group.

Publicación: Navigating Social Assistance: Insights and Experiences of Public Housing Residents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia © 2026 The World Bank Group,

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/d84bf939-ddfb-43d9-95f4-5b3d9cfc9aa5 This policy paper aims to understand the barriers faced by urban poor Malaysians in Kuala Lumpur in accessing SA, as well as their experiences in navigating the SA system. This case study focuses on the ease of access to SA of residents in PPR, who comprise a majority of urban poor Malaysians, as well as their experiences with its implementation and delivery. The paper is part of a two-paper series that seeks to provide a comprehensive analysis of the exclusion of intended populations. The first paper concentrates on targeting and design, while this second paper focuses on delivery and implementation. This policy paper begins by presenting an overview of the main SA programs in Malaysia. The following section provides details of the focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews conducted, along with a brief profile of the respondents. The subsequent section analyzes the findings of the qualitative survey, organized into topics such as access to and application for SA, adequacy and management of benefits, delivery of benefits, grievance redress mechanisms, satisfaction with and perception of SA, and suggestions from respondents. This section concludes with areas for potential future investigation. The paper ends with a section on reform priorities, offering discussions and policy recommendations for the Government’s consideration. © 2026 The World Bank Group,

Publicación: Europe and Central Asia Macro Poverty Outlook, April 2026: Country-by-Country Analysis and Projections for the Developing World © 2026 The World Bank Group,

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/e84a8d78-fc83-465b-99c6-2a39846d25f0 This edition of the Macro Poverty Outlooks periodical contains country-by-country forecasts and overviews for GDP, fiscal, debt and poverty indicators for the developing countries of the Europe and Central Asia region. Macroeconomic indicators such as population, gross domestic product, and gross domestic product per capita, and where available, other indicators such as primary school enrollment, life expectancy at birth, total greenhouse gas emissions and inflation, among others, are included for each country. In addition to the World Bank’s most recent forecasts, key conditions and challenges, recent developments and outlook are briefly described for each country in the region. © 2026 The World Bank Group,

Publicación: Using Survey Data to Understand the Health Needs of Difficult to Reach Populations: Evidence from a Community Survey Regarding the Individual and Contextual Correlates of Sex Life Happiness among European Men with Men © 2026 The World Bank Group,

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/dc802220-66bb-4d55-a928-c614b00d24ff Being happy with one’s sex life is an important facet of sexual health. Several studies have found associations between sex life happiness and a range of individual (or proximate) and contextual (usually country-level) factors amongst men who have sex with men (MSM). Using a novel dataset, the 2017 European Men-Who-Have-Sex-With-Men Internet Survey (EMIS-2017), this paper simultaneously explores the association of both individual and contextual variables, sex life happiness, and health. Understanding and quantifying this link is important for policy makers concerned with improving health outcomes in minority, and often marginalized, populations. Results: Recency of sex and/or being in a steady sexual relationship had the largest positive associations with higher self-reported sex life happiness. Being single had the largest negative association. Among individual-level factors, not having experienced homophobia and being out to a majority of one’s social network were most strongly associated with sex life happiness. At the country-level, there is evidence that living in a country with a more authoritarian political regime is associated with less sex life happiness. Mediation analysis shows that authoritarian regimes are also indirectly negatively associated with sex life happiness via the likelihood of being open about one’s sexuality. This study provides a strong basis for further research exploring the potentially complex associations between proximate and contextual variables in determining sex life happiness amongst populations of men who have sex with men. © 2026 The World Bank Group,