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Country Scan

Country Scan

01

I was tasked by senior leadership at a major international development institution to design a new diagnostic tool for analyzing a nation's economic growth. The goal was to help economists more quickly understand a country's economic story by standardizing the initial analytical steps of a regular economic growth report. On average, this report is completed for about 15 countries each year.

 

The tool I designed was based on a framework of 20 guiding questions—10 macroeconomic and 10 microeconomic—developed by subject matter experts. The tool uses benchmarking to show a country's relative performance across a variety of topics, including productivity, trade, and human capital. Using a two-step process, it applies Manhattan distance calculations and other econometric techniques to suggest key parameters for analysis.

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A crucial part of my design was building in flexibility. The tool intentionally requires users to input final selections, reinforcing the idea that growth analysis is an art as much as it is a science. This design produces 100 expert-informed charts in seconds, which economists then use to inform the first chapter of their growth reports and identify topics for deeper, subsequent analysis.

Coverage

  • 197 countries
  • 1970-latest year
  • 22 economic sectors
  • Disaggreation by firm size, genders, levels of education, etc. when applicable
  • ISIC trade product classification​​

Methodologies

 
  • ​Growth decompositions
  • Macro econometric instruments
  • Manhattan distance techniques
  • Firm-level survey analysis

Data Sources

  • World Development Indicators 
  • IMF World Economic Outlook
  • IMF Balance of Payments 
  • World Integrated Trade Systems​
  • World Bank Enterprise Surveys
  • ​Kaufman and Kraay Worldwide Governance Indicators
  • World Economic Forum
  • Transparency International
  • Barro & Lee
  • Economist Intelligence Unit
  • INSEAD
  • ...among many others

The User Experience

First, the ​user would navigate to an intranet SharePoint page. Here, they would click the 'Data Generator' and follow five guided steps:

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  1. Identify the target country they are working on​

  2. Select historical periods and recent periods for the analysis. They could choose to conduct a structural break test or assessment of GDP growth (which are automated on the page) to inform their selection. 

  3. Identify possible structurally similar countries for benchmarking. The tool allowed for parameters to explore which countries could make sense.​

  4. Identify aspirational countries for benchmarking. The tool features options for selecting key aspirational indicators (e.g. higher growth, more jobs, etc.), to place weights on the importance of said indicators, and then suggests possible peers.

  5. Based on selections, the tool generates a customized database. This database is downloaded as a CSV. 

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Next, the ​user would download the Excel interface. The CSV database is uploaded into the Excel tool which then generates 100 customized graphs and tables.

Excel Interface - Sample Outputs

Data Generator - Sample Outputs

​To build the Country Growth Scan tool, I took the following steps: 

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  1. Consulted with subject matter experts on which key indicators and methodologies to include for their growth topic within the tool. 

  2. Downloaded, cleaned, and consolidated the data from all sources.

  3. Wrote Stata code that a) calculated relevant indicators and b) generated the customized panel database based on user inputs.

  4. Oversaw and worked with an analyst who

    1. ​Coded the initial user online interface in R Shiny.

    2. Used R Studio to write the code for the "Data Generator" page.

  5. Designed and built the user interface in Excel, writing the Excel formulas to create the dynamic charts and data tables.

  6. Created a landing page in SharePoint Online to house the Data Generator, Excel Interface, and methodology notes. ​

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Importantly, as a I designed and built the tool, I met regularly with both leadership and a focus group of country economists. These sessions ensured the tool was meeting the needs of country economists, as well as up to the quality standard expected by leadership. 

How I Built It

DISCLAIMER:

The tool developed on this page was delivered to the World Bank Group. The tool itself is a property of the World Bank Group. The data utilized for the tool was publicly available data. The methodologies were developed by World Bank Group economists. 

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