The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
The World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) is The World Bank’s official open access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products.
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Total publications: 39,504
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Publication October 2025 Update to the Multidimensional Poverty Measure: What’s New(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-24) Lara Ibarra, Gabriel; Nguyen, Minh Cong; Salmeron Gomez, Daylan Alberto; Haddad, Cameron NadimThis note presents the 10th edition of the World Bank’s Multidimensional Poverty Measure (MPM) database, drawing on the latest country data from the Global Monitoring Database (GMD) as of October 2025. The MPM offers a broader view of poverty by examining deprivations along three dimensions of well-being: monetary poverty (measured using the international poverty line at $3.00 per person per day in 2021 PPP), education, and access to basic infrastructure services. This latest edition covers 113 economies for circa 2022, and notably includes India and Nigeria, which drastically increases the population coverage of the MPM globally.Publication When Does a Village Become a Town? Revisiting Pakistan’s Urbanization Using Satellite Data(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-29) Barriga Cabanillas, Oscar; Farooq, Marziya; Meyer, Moritz; Wieser, ChristinaThis study revisits Pakistan’s level of urbanization using satellite imagery and the Degree of Urbanization methodology. While official statistics report that 39 percent of the population resides in urban areas, this analysis reveals that the true figure is closer to 88 percent. The substantial discrepancy arises from Pakistan’s reliance on administrative boundaries that do not reflect actual population density or settlement patterns. The findings indicate that secondary cities and peri-urban areas—not megacities—are the primary drivers of recent urban expansion and are systematically overlooked by the official classifications. The discrepancy between functional and administrative classifications of urban areas has important fiscal and planning implications. Misclassified areas reduce property tax revenues and undermine the planning and provision of critical public services. Moreover, misclassification distorts spatial socioeconomic indicators, masking the true extent of urban-rural disparities and complicating the design of effective, evidence-based public policy.Publication From Awareness to Action? Experimental Evidence on Challenges in Reducing School-Related Gender-Based Violence Through a Multi-Component Program in Zambia(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-29) Friedson-Ridenour, Sophia; Chang, Wei; Ebrahim, Menaal; Jose, Anu; Bedi, Tara; King, Michael; Obbie, Musama; Samuyachi, Kahilu; Barrantes, Carla Z Glave; Garcia, Yenny ChavarriaSchool-related gender-based violence remains widespread in low- and middle-income countries, yet rigorous evidence on effective prevention strategies is limited. This study evaluates the Empowerment Pilot, a multi-component program designed to address school-related gender-based violence in Zambian secondary schools. Employing a mixed- methods approach, the study draws on quantitative data from a cluster randomized controlled trial involving more than 4,467 students across 90 schools, alongside qualitative research. The findings show that violence is prevalent, gendered, and normalized in schools. Although the program increased student discussions about violence, it did not reduce overall levels of violence. Implementation challenges and limited diffusion beyond club participants further limited program impact. The study highlights significant institutional and cultural barriers to reducing school-related gender-based violence and underscores the need for comprehensive, schoolwide strategies that strengthen accountability and address underlying social norms perpetuating violence in resource-constrained contexts.Publication Fast Action for Floods: RCT Evidence on Forecast-based Cash Transfers from Bangladesh and Nepal(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-29) Christian, Paul; Dunsch, Felipe; Heirman, Jonas; Kelley, Erin; Kondylis, Florence; Lane, Gregory; Waidler, Jennifer; Adusumalli, Nidhila; Batmunkh, Odbayar; Malhotra, KritiAs increasingly frequent extreme weather events disrupt lives, institutions are turning to early-warning systems and advance preparation to accelerate aid delivery. A randomized controlled trial in Bangladesh and Nepal tested whether providing cash within days of a flood leads to greater benefits than delivering the same assistance months later—or if it simply shifts the timing of benefits without improving overall welfare. The results suggest that timely cash assistance leads to overall gains in food security and psychosocial well-being. This evidence supports efforts to forecast crises and release disaster relief quickly.Publication Advancing the Jobs Agenda: Toward Self-Reliance in Refugee Situations(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-29) Sarzin, ZaraThis 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.