At the outset of independence 18 years ago, Kazakhstan's leaders promised that the country's rich natural resources, with oil and gas reserves among the largest in the world, would soon bring economic prosperity. It appeared that democracy was beginning to take hold in this newly independent state. Nearly two decades later, Kazakhstan has achieved the World Bank's ranking of a "middle economic country," but its economy is straining from the global economic crisis. The country's political system still needs fundamental reform before Kazakhstan can be considered a democracy. Kazakhstan: Unfulfilled Promise examines the development of this ethnically diverse and strategically vital nation, which seeks to play an influential role on the international stage. Praise for the previous edition of Kazakhstan: "This detailed but accessible work will be the definitive work on the newly independent state of Kazakhstan."— Choice "[Olcott]... knows more about Kazakhstan than anyone else in the West."— New York Review of Books "Not only shares the lucid insights and depth of a seasoned observer, it greatly enriches the literature on post-Soviet transitions." —Foreign Affairs

This publication develops a strategic focus for integrating gender concerns into programs and operations of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Kazakhstan. This assessment reviews ADB's experiences in implementing gender mainstreaming in its portfolio in recent years. The assessment method has two main components. The first is a review of the status of gender equality and women's empowerment in the country, based on a literature review, key statistics, policy documents, and key informant interviews. The second analyzes the achievements and challenges in mainstreaming gender equality in ADB's programs and operations, and recommends the way forward to improve outcomes.

Studies in Development Strategy and Systemic Transformation contains eleven essays by Keith Griffin on many of the contemporary leading issues in economic development. Topics covered include the role of culture in long-term economic growth, globalization and economic governance, human development, and the effects of the distribution of productive wealth on the pace of development. There are also discussions of alternative reform strategies in the transition economies and of an investment-led strategy of structural adjustment in Subsaharan Africa.

This year's Human Development Report explains why we have less than a decade to change course and start living within our global carbon budget, and how climate change will create long-run low human development traps, pushing vulnerable people into a downward spiral of deprivation.

Work is constantly reshaped by technological progress. New ways of production are adopted, markets expand, and societies evolve. But some changes provoke more attention than others, in part due to the vast uncertainty involved in making predictions about the future. The 2019 World Development Report will study how the nature of work is changing as a result of advances in technology today. Technological progress disrupts existing systems. A new social contract is needed to smooth the transition and guard against rising inequality. Significant investments in human capital throughout a person’s lifecycle are vital to this effort. If workers are to stay competitive against machines they need to train or retool existing skills. A social protection system that includes a minimum basic level of protection for workers and citizens can complement new forms of employment. Improved private sector policies to encourage startup activity and competition can help countries compete in the digital age. Governments also need to ensure that firms pay their fair share of taxes, in part to fund this new social contract. The 2019 World Development Report presents an analysis of these issues based upon the available evidence.