World Bank

About: World Bank is a other organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poverty. The organization has 7813 authors who have published 21594 publications receiving 1198361 citations. The organization is also known as: World Bank, WB & The World Bank.

Higher Education Quality Assurance in Sub-Saharan Africa: Status, Challenges, Opportunities, and Promising Practices

Abstract: This report maps and assesses the status and practice of higher education quality assurance (QA) in Sub-Saharan Africa. It centers on quality assurance in degree-granting tertiary institutions, but also incorporates, where available, information on other types of tertiary education. A main finding is that structured national-level quality assurance processes in African higher education are a very recent phenomenon and that most countries face major capacity constraints. The research for this report was conducted between November 2005 and December 2006 through document and web reviews, interviews and six detailed country case studies covering Cameroon, Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania. This study has two main purposes, one being to establish a baseline on the status of quality assurance in higher education in Africa. A second is to provide information to education policymakers, stakeholders (including employers) and development partners involved in tertiary education in Africa that may assist them with identification and prioritization of capacity enhancement needs for quality improvement.

Climate Change Policy

Abstract: Having risen from relative obscurity as few as ten years ago, climate change now looms large among environmental policy issues. Its scope is global; the potential environmental and economic impacts are ubiquitous; the potential restrictions on human choices touch the most basic goals of people in all nations; and the sheer scope of the potential response ? a significant shift away from using fossil fuels as the primary energy source in the modern economy ? is daunting. In this paper, we explore the economics of climate change policy. We examine the risks that climate change poses for society, the benefits of protection against the effects of climate change, and the costs of alternative protection policies. We organize our discussion around three broad themes: why costs and benefits matter in assessing climate change policies, as does the uncertainty surrounding them; why well-designed, cost-effective climate policies are essential in addressing the threat of climate change; and why a coherent architecture of international agreements is key to successful policy implementation. We conclude the paper with a summary of key policy lessons and gaps in knowledge.

Africa's Infrastructure: A Time for Transformation

Abstract: This study is part of the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), a project designed to expand the world's knowledge of physical infrastructure in Africa. The AICD will provide a baseline against which future improvements in infrastructure services can be measured, making it possible to monitor the results achieved from donor support. It should also provide a more solid empirical foundation for prioritizing investments and designing policy reforms in the infrastructure sectors in Africa. The AICD is based on an unprecedented effort to collect detailed economic and technical data on the infrastructure sectors in Africa. The project has produced a series of original reports on public expenditure, spending needs, and sector performance in each of the main infrastructure sectors, including energy, information and communication technologies, irrigation, transport, and water and sanitation. The first phase of the AICD focused on 24 countries that together account for 85 percent of the gross domestic product, population, and infrastructure aid flows of Sub-Saharan Africa. Under a second phase of the project, coverage is expanding to include as many of the additional African countries as possible.