The Pacific region is expected to contract by 0.6% in 2021, and to grow by 4.7% in 2022. This issue of the Pacific Economic Monitor explores how the region can reopen and rebuild. Besides safely resuming travel and protecting health, a resilient recovery will depend on promoting fiscal sustainability and strengthening economic management, including regional cooperation to revitalize tourism.

Priority assessment methods are relatively well developed for commodity improvement programs, however, innovation is needed for other, newer areas of research which have impact pathways that are harder to predict. Focusing on priority setting practices for agricultural research, this book analyzes various priority assessment methods and research in the context of real-world experiences and new innovations. Chapters present methods that have been used to articulate, explore and assess impact pathways and research priorities, while also considering their strengths and weaknesses and drawing together methodological lessons.

This publication reviews 91 impact evaluations of transport interventions in developing countries, summarizes findings on outcomes, identifies evidence gaps, and proposes ways forward. Most of the studies reviewed find significant effects on at least one of the outcomes investigated. However, impact evaluation has given relatively little coverage to major areas of investment, such as urban and sustainable transport, transport corridors, and efficiency enhancing measures. New methods and increasing openness of geospatial data provide scope to generate more innovative impact studies in this sector.

This report aims to support impact evaluation in the energy sector by assessing what has been produced against what might be possible. It reviews 85 impact evaluations of energy interventions in developing countries, summarizes findings on outcomes, identifies evidence gaps, and proposes ways forward. It notes that impact evaluation has so far focused on rural electrification and improved cookstoves, while most investments are in power generation and transmission. It highlights where future impact evaluation investments can best contribute new evidence and how such studies could be approached.

This book offers guidance on the principles, methods, and practice of impact evaluation. It contains material for a range of audiences, from those who may use or manage impact evaluations to applied researchers. Impact evaluation is an empirical approach to estimating the causal effects of interventions, in terms of both magnitude and statistical significance. Expanded use of impact evaluation techniques is critical to rigorously derive knowledge from development operations and for development investments and policies to become more evidence-based and effective. To help backstop more use of impact evaluation approaches, this book introduces core concepts, methods, and considerations for planning, designing, managing, and implementing impact evaluation, supplemented by examples. The topics covered range from impact evaluation purposes to basic principles, specific methodologies, and guidance on field implementation. It has materials for a range of audiences, from those who are interested in understanding evidence on "what works" in development, to those who will contribute to expanding the evidence base as applied researchers.