Nearly 90% of global trade is affected by non-tariff measures. Exporters face an average of more than 15 distinct compliance requirements per shipment. What looks like a simple apple on a grocery shelf is governed by a dense web of agrifood standards—covering safety limits, labeling, audits, and certification. As tariffs decline, these standards increasingly determine who can access global markets. This episode explores how regulatory distance shapes trade flows, why small producers face disproportionate compliance costs, and how the “Adapt, Align, Author” framework can help countries turn standards from barriers into springboards for growth. From quality infrastructure gaps to the economic payoff of certification, we unpack what it takes to compete in today’s rule-based food economy. Generated with AI using wondercraft.ai and guided by our experts. Read more at https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2025

45% of global growth. Nearly 60% of income gains for the poorest. 📊 What if education has been one of the most powerful forces reshaping the global economy? This episode explores new evidence from Distributional Growth Accounting: Education and the Reduction of Global Poverty, 1980–2019, showing that schooling explains roughly one-third of the decline in extreme poverty worldwide. We unpack how expanding secondary and tertiary education transformed labor markets, reduced inequality, and moderated skill premiums across 154 countries. Discover why traditional growth models may be underestimating education’s true economic impact—and what this means for policy today. Generated with AI using wondercraft.ai and guided by our experts. Read more at https://amory-gethin.fr/files/pdf/Gethin2025QJE.pdf?deliveryName=DM272505

1.8 billion people today—and 2.6 billion by 2050. Frontier Market Economies are countries that sit between low-income and emerging markets: more developed than the poorest economies, with some access to global financial markets, but still facing significant structural constraints. This episode dives into the world’s biggest jobs challenge, unpacking why slowing investment, volatile capital flows, and rising debt risks are holding these economies back—and what has worked for those that succeeded. Drawing on insights from the Global Economic Prospects 2026, we explore how smart policy choices can turn demographic pressure into a driver of sustainable growth. Generated with AI using wondercraft.ai and guided by our experts.

Read more here at https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/a8c9b8ba-4558-4195-9826-1185f0b41283/content

Global growth looks resilient—but is it? In 2025, global GDP grew 2.7%, yet 1 in 4 developing countries is poorer than before the pandemic. This episode looks beyond the headlines to uncover a slowing global economy, deepening divergence, rising debt, and the race to create jobs for 1.2 billion young people. We explore why fiscal rules and private investment may be the difference between a temporary rebound and lasting stability.

Generated with AI using wondercraft.ai and guided by our experts.

Read the full report here at https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/global-economic-prospects

$60 a barrel. A 2.7 million-barrel-per-day surplus. The global oil market is heading into one of its biggest oversupply moments outside major crises. This episode unpacks what falling energy prices really mean for development—why cheaper oil can create fiscal space, support disinflation, and open opportunities to reform subsidies and invest in growth, while history warns against trying to control volatile markets. Generated with AI using wondercraft.ai and guided by our experts. Read the full report here at https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/d08d3ee8-e38a-4f02-8ade-95b9c6075c0b

📦 A metal box boosted trade by 1,240%. 🩺 A simple checklist cut surgical deaths by 47%. 🔌 A plug that fits a socket keeps economies running. This episode unpacks the World Development Report 2025’s idea of standards as the “invisible infrastructure” behind growth, trust, and public goods. From global trade and FDI to healthcare, education, air quality, and AI, we explore how getting the rules right—and making them work in practice—can transform development outcomes worldwide. Generated with AI using wondercraft.ai and guided by our experts. Read the full report here at https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2025

Investment accelerations can lift output growth to nearly 6% a year and cut poverty rates by 0.5 percentage points annually—but they’ve become far rarer. This episode uncovers why single reforms no longer spark growth and how coordinated policy packages—combining fiscal stability, openness, and strong institutions—dramatically raise the odds of both public and private investment takeoff. Learn how countries can translate reforms into real jobs, higher productivity, and greater poverty reduction. Generated with AI using wondercraft.ai and guided by our experts. Read the full report here at https://www.worldbank.org/en/research/publication/accelerating-investment

Can a simple bank account offer better protection than a sea wall? This episode challenges the top-down view of climate resilience, arguing that the most effective path to climate resilience starts with people - and it begins with economic growth . We explore why a 10% rise in GDP saves millions, how "ambiguity aversion" paralyzes decision-making, and the surprising ways government safety nets can accidentally increase risk through "moral hazard." Discover why empowering individuals with data, finance, and market access is the most effective strategy for a changing world. Generated with AI using wondercraft.ai and guided by our experts. Read the full report here at https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/rethinking-resilience