The Challenge

Governments sometimes lack the capacity to craft economic policies that respond to rapidly-changing conditions. Now more than ever, as policymakers struggle to help the jobless and restore growth, they need access in real time to new data and reliable information. Often, the most valuable source of this knowledge is other policymakers.

Our Approach

The World Bank Institute’s (WBI's) Growth and Competitiveness practice helps developing country policymakers and practitioners to better create and implement reforms that achieve higher rates of sustained growth while also addressing “shocks and bubbles." 

We do this in several ways:

Practitioner Knowledge Exchange on Economic Reform

We facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience among policymakers and other developing country decisionmakers, using a combination of face-to-face activities, videoconferencing, and interactive online discussions, which we call global dialogues or debates. These exchanges often draw on the expertise of top experts such as Nobel laureates, academics, ministers from developing country governments, and central bank governors who share their views on existing and new approaches to development and associated policies.

Partnerships with Learning Organizations

We work with partner organizations to disseminate the World Bank’s knowledge and data on growth and competitiveness policies. Partners include the Joint Africa Institute, the African Development Bank Institute in Tunis, and the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute (MEFMI), which is a regional training institute delivering courses in 13 Anglophone countries in Africa.

Programs for Leaders

WBI also designs and delivers learning programs on Leadership and Coalition Building to support change agents in their efforts to effect reforms in various sectors of the economy.

Skills & Innovation Policy

The Skills & Innovation Policy program provides policy advice to client countries on the four Knowledge Economy (KE) pillars: economic and institutional regime; education; innovation; and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to help them make the transition to a Knowledge Economy. 

Courses and Learning Products

The Growth and Competitiveness practice also designs and delivers face-to-face courses on social safety nets, labor market policies, and capital flows, as well as a range of e-learning products on related topics.