The World Development Report 2011
In this year’s edition, development data are in six tables presenting comparative socioeconomic data for more than 130 economies for the most recent year for which data are available and, for some indicators, for an earlier year. An additional table presents basic indicators for 78 economies with sparse data or with populations of less than 3 million.
The World Development Indicators (WDI) reflects a comprehensive view of the development process. WDI’s six sections recognize the contribution of a wide range of factors: progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and human capital development, environmental sustainability, macroeconomic performance, private sector development and the investment climate, and the global links that influence the external environment for development. WDI is complemented by a separately published database that gives access to more than 900 time-series indicators for 237 economies and regions.
Relevant parts of the World Development Report 2011, Conflict, Security and Development” (2011), are reproduced here below.
Foreword Note:
(Excerpts from introductory note – written by Robert B. Zoellick, President The World Bank Group)
The 2011 World Development Report looks across disciplines and experiences drawn from around the world to offer some ideas and practical recommendations on how to move beyond conflict and fragility and secure development.
The key messages are important for all countries low, middle, and high income—as well as for regional and global institutions: First, institutional legitimacy is the key to stability. When state institutions do not adequately protect citizens, guard against corruption, or provide access to justice; when markets do not provide job opportunities; or when communities have lost social cohesion—the likelihood Robert B. Zoellick, President The World Bank Group Criminal justice
Criminal justice functions and dispute resolution Experience has shown that coordination across justice agencies is critical to reduce impunity, and that effective linkages must exist between the police and other justice institutions, including the judiciary, public prosecutors, and prisons, to address crime and violence. 37
Human rights abuses and future conflict risk Are improvements in human rights correlated with lower risks of confl ict? Countries with recent human rights abuses are far more likely to experience confl ict than countries with a strong history of respect for human rights. Each one-step deterioration on the Political Terror Scale— which measures arbitrary detention for nonviolent political activity, torture, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings—resulted in a more than twofold increase in the risk of civil war in the subsequent year. BOX 2.8
Holding large numbers of political prisoners makes a renewal of civil war twice as likely, while signifi cant numbers of extrajudicial killings make it three times more likely.50 This is best summed up by Walter: “A reasonable interpretation of these results is that greater repression and abuse by a government creates both grievances and signals that those governments are not dependable negotiating partners; suggesting that less coercive and more accountable approaches signifi cantly decrease the risk of civil conflict.”51 Sources: Fearon 2010a; Walter 2010.
“The World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security and Development” (2011), available at
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWDRS/Resources/WDR2011_Full_Text.pdf
World Bank Open Data website (http://data.worldbank.org).
