Reform and Growth: Evaluating the World Bank Experience

by R. Kyle Peters (Editor)

Overview

Although the quest for growth remains as elusive as it was more than a decade ago, there is now much greater consensus on the policies and institutional changes that are needed to foster growth and economic development. But debate continues on the timing, sequencing, and local adaptation of these reforms. Furthermore, although the benefits of reform are well documented—the reasons as to why and when reforms occur still remain somewhat unclear. Many countries go through long periods of stagnation or even decline, without being able to create an environment for change, while others seem able to break the hold of vested interests and start following paths of reform.In October 2004, the Operations Evaluation Department (OED) of the World Bank held a conference on the Effectiveness of Policies and Reform. This event provided a forum at which participants—over 500 government officials, civil society representatives, and World Bank staff—could discuss how to improve the effectiveness of World Bank support for development policies and reform programs.Included in this volume are the contributions of distinguished development practitioners on issues such as: the links between good performance and policy change; how windows of opportunity can best be used to promote reform; how ownership of policies and reform programs can be encouraged; and how developed country policies can be improved to create a better global environment for development.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781412805230
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/11/2005
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ajay Chhibber is director of the Operations Evaluation Department of the World Bank and was World Bank country director for Turkey from 1997 to 2003.

R. Kyle Peters is senior manager, Country Evaluation and Regional Relations, in the Operations Evaluation Department of the World Bank.

Barbara J. Yale is a consultant with the Operations Evaluation Department of the World Bank.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements, Foreword, Overview, Part 1: Policy Reforms in the Developing World: Lessons from Bangladesh, Part 2: Effectiveness of Bank Support for Policy Reform, Part 3: Lessons from Country Program Evaluations, Part 4: Middle-Income Country Programs: Lessons from Brazil, China, and Tunisia, Part 5: Lessons from Post-Conflict Countries, Part 6: Poverty Reduction Strategies, Part 7: Improving the International Context for Reform, Index 205

Editorial Reviews

This volume is the product of a 2004 conference convened by the World Bank's Operations Evaluation Department (OED) to examine the effectiveness of the bank's development policies… This volume represents a relatively thorough assessment of the World Bank's recent emphasis on reform and structural change, both in principle and in the context of the experiences of a number of developing countries. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections.” —I.Hossein-Zadeh, Choice "This volume represents a relatively thorough assessment of the World Bank's recent emphasis on reform and structural change, both in principle and in the context of the experiences of a number of developing countries." —I. Hossein-Zadeh, Drake University

From the Publisher