In this paper, Saugato Datta and non-resident fellow Sendhil Mullainathan explore the implications of behavioral economics in policy areas as diverse as health, education, agricultural policy, and the design of cash-transfer programs.

The aim of this brief is to review the potential of Quantity-Performance (QP) instruments as a way to channel public funds to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective way.

Keith A. Bezanson and Paul Isenman focus on the challenges inherent in the governance of new global partnerships and show how to avoid or redress their shortcomings.

This paper explores the question of whether or not foreign aid has helped to build state strength and legitimacy in Afghanistan, and not just bolster state capacity to fight a war.

In this paper, Amanda Beatty and Lant Pritchett document the current (slow) rate of improving on learning assessments and explore some of the possibilities for setting more ambitious goals.

This paper makes the case for publishing the details of government procurement contracts. Publication could improve government decision-making and competition for contracts, with the added benefit of lowering costs and corruption.

This paper presents the results of applying the QuODA methodology to agriculture, explains the limitations of the approach, and compares donor performance with the original QuODA results.

In this paper, the authors discuss the rationale for investing in vaccination and construct a metric to measure country commitment to vaccination that would promote accountability and better tracking of performance.

This paper discusses the evolution of India's Universal ID program, the innovative organization and pathbreaking technology behind it, how it is being rolled out, and how robust ID is beginning to be used.

Nancy Birdsall discusses the future role of the World Bank in addressing global commons problems, using the example of climate management and financing to set out the principal-agent problem facing the global development and climate communities.