World Bank Speak Out

East Asia Update: Testing Times Ahead

The World Bank’s latest review of the economies of the East Asia and Pacific Region, the East Asia Pacific Update, has been released. With the slowdown of the US economy, what spillover effects will it have on East Asia and the Pacific? With China as a powerful regional locomotive, has the region "decoupled" from the US economy? Will the region’s economic fundamentals be strong enough to help it weather the volatility? With its large reserves, could the region withstand further shock if the financial situation in the US worsens? These are some of the questions addressed in the report. Vikram Nehru, World Bank Chief Economist for the East Asia and Pacific Region, will be online on Tuesday, April 8, at 11:00 a.m. EDT to discuss the findings of the Update. You may access the new edition at www.worldbank.org/eapupdate and submit in advance your questions to Mr. Nehru here.

China Quarterly Update

According to the latest World Bank China Quarterly Update, China's economic growth has begun to inch down from its record rates earlier in 2007, while food prices are lifting inflation. The update finds that the global outlook has weakened and is uncertain, but concludes that China is likely to grow robustly in 2008 and is well-positioned to stimulate demand if needed. The report also includes an explanation of how the recently released improved estimates of China's GDP affect our understanding of country economies and of poverty rates. Discuss the report with Louis Kuijs, Senior Economist and author of the report, and David Dollar, World Bank Country Director for China. The live discussion will be held on February 19, 2008 at 10pm in Beijing, China, which is 9am in Washington, DC (EST) and 14:00 UTC/GMT.

Louis Kuijs

Derek Byerlee

World Development Report 2008

Dan Biller

East Asia Update

Emmanuel Skoufias

Opportunities for Indigenous Peoples in Latin America

Fraud and Corruption

Suzanne Folsom

Climate Change Call for Action

In this study, which is focused on Latin America, we have looked at the profile of the households that receive remittances, and we find that the profile is very different across different regions and subregions.

Indeed, the Bank lends not only to safety nets but more generally to the social sectors: education, health, and other social services represent about one third of the Bank's lending to the Latin American region.

Remittances are used by poor households to pay for food, nondurables, housing, and also for human development, that is, for paying for schools and for health services.