WORLD Policy Analysis Center

The WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) is committed to improving the quantity and quality of globally comparative data available to policymakers, citizens, civil society, and researchers on laws and policies that work to support human rights, including economic opportunity, social and civic engagement, human health, development, well-being, and equity. WORLD has built the largest independent source of data on national laws and policies that matter to health, economic security, education, and equal opportunities with thousands of quantitative measures for all 193 UN member states. WORLD engages in a rigorous research process to gather and transform massive quantities of legal and policy data into quantifiable, accessible, user-friendly resources, including interactive maps, tables, and downloadable datasets. With an international, multilingual, and multidisciplinary team, WORLD has worked to carefully select and analyze the best global sources of information to minimize errors. In addition, WORLD has analyzed this data to identify effective policies and laws, publish original research, and offer evidence-based policy recommendations. Through partnerships with organizations around the globe, WORLD aims to translate its global policy data into community- and country-level improvements.

Longitudinal data on laws and policy in this collection highlights the progress African countries have made over the past 20 to 30 years in advancing legal rights that matter to early childhood and gender equality. This data when merged with microdata on outcomes enables researchers to test questions about the impact of different policy design at scale. These analyses can highlight both the direct expected benefits, as well as other benefits that accrue from changing laws that strengthen equal opportunities. For example, laws prohibiting domestic violence matter to children’s nutritional outcomes. Moreover, historical data enables the study of longer-term benefits of laws and policies, such as the intergenerational benefits for children of mothers who had access to tuition-free secondary education. Data from this collection has been used in published cross-country quasi-experimental studies looking at the impact of laws on infant mortality, child nutrition, reproductive health, education, gender norms, and experiences of intimate partner violence, among others.

Until now, finding laws that lay the foundation for equality in these areas required searching for applicable legislation for each country. While important efforts, such as the ILO’s NATLEX database or UNESCO’s Observatory on the Right to Education, pulled together legislation related to work and education, the scope of these databases made it challenging to find the most relevant pieces of legislation and the most up-to-date laws were not always available. To support policymakers, advocates, and researchers seeking to find the laws that matter to specific policy areas, the WORLD Policy Analysis Center has created this initiative that brings together all relevant pieces of legislation for all 193 countries across five policy areas that matter deeply to equality. For more details on these studies, please visit WORLD’s website.