IEG Fast Track Brief

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Fast Track Briefs inform the World Bank Group (WBG) managers and staff about new evaluation findings and recommendations.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 11
  • Publication
    World Bank Engagement at the State Level : The Cases of Brazil, India, Nigeria and Russia
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-09) World Bank
    Beginning in the late 1990s, the World Bank significantly expanded its engagement at the state level in Brazil, India, Nigeria, and Russia. This pilot cross-country study reviews the selected cases of World Bank's lending and analytic work at the state level in those four large federated countries. In each case, state governments were the Bank's principal development partners. The study looks at the evolution of the four country strategies and the Bank's mode of engagement at the state level, in order to draw lessons from that experience both for the Bank and for its federal and state partners. State-level engagement posed several strategic and operational questions, among them which states to engage, the scope of engagement, and the modalities of engagement. The Bank set out its approach to selecting states in country strategy documents. The findings are worth highlighting. First, the study confirms the desirability of continued selective Bank lending in a few states. However, the poverty impact of those interventions could be enhanced by balancing states' propensity to reform and the concentration of poverty within them, giving greater weight to the needs of poorest states. Second, continued focus on public finance management as the core area appears sound, irrespective of whether engagement is confined to this area or serves as an entry point for broader engagement. And third, there is considerable scope for greater impact from analytic work, knowledge transfer, and expanded knowledge sharing not so much concepts and theories as practical experience of what works and what does not.
  • Publication
    The World Bank’s Country Policy and Institutional Assessment — An Evaluation
    (Washington, DC, 2009-06) World Bank
    The World Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) assess the conduciveness of a country's policy and institutional framework to poverty reduction, sustainable growth, and the effective use of development assistance. It plays an important role in the country performance ratings that have been used for allocating resources from the International Development Association (IDA) to eligible countries since 1980. This evaluation takes the premise that beyond informing IDA allocation, the CPIA is useful as a broad indicator of development effectiveness. It assesses the relevance of the content of the CPIA through a review of the economics literature. It also assesses the reliability of CPIA ratings in two ways-through comparing CPIA ratings with similar indicators, and through reviewing the CPIA ratings generation process. Based on these assessments, the evaluation derives recommendations for enhancing the CPIA.
  • Publication
    Earnings Growth and Employment Creation : An Assessment of World Bank Support in Three Middle-Income Countries
    (Washington, DC, 2009-06) World Bank
    This assessment reviews earnings and employment outcomes in Colombia, Tunisia, and Turkey during 1998-2007, as well as five policy areas (the MILES framework) likely to affect those outcomes: macroeconomic conditions, investment climate, labor regulations, education, and social protection. Employment-related outcomes in the three countries were mixed, with notable progress in economic growth, earnings and poverty reduction, but not in the employment to- population ratio or unemployment rate. This underscores the desirability of focusing on the full set of employment-related variables Gross Domestic Product (GDP), poverty, employment, unemployment, and earnings - in an integrative fashion rather than just on employment when setting the objectives of Bank support. This focus will need better employment-related statistics, an area where the Bank can help further. Bank objectives in the three countries focused more on MILES components than on employment itself. Bank support in the three countries achieved differential progress in the individual MILES components, with the most progress on macro stabilization, followed in approximate order by progress on the investment climate, education, social protection, and labor taxation and regulations. The experience of the three countries illustrates how analytic and advisory activities can be the main instrument of support in those areas where progress in reform is difficult and the need for building engagement and consensus is critical.
  • Publication
    Nepal Country Assistance Evaluation, 2003–08
    (Washington, DC, 2009-05) World Bank
    The FY03-08 evaluation period was one of tumultuous political turmoil, conflict, and dramatic change in Nepal; today, prospects for sustainable peace are brighter, though still fragile. In such difficult and unpredictable conditions, formulating and implementing an effective development assistance strategy and programs were great challenges for development partners, including the Bank. To its credit, the Bank managed to remain constructively engaged in Nepal despite a challenging political and security context and has achieved some significant results on the ground. Nevertheless, the Bank's strategy was poorly adapted to the country's conflict situation and political instability, and until recently (FY08) underwent little adjustment in response to the rapidly-evolving conditions on the ground. Looking forward, Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) recommends that International Development Association (IDA) introduce greater realism into its strategy and program design and keep these flexible against a backdrop of a clear long-term vision, applying frequent course corrections in response to changing circumstances and consulting widely with national stakeholders and development partners. Other than through its existing portfolio of two hydropower projects, International Finance Corporation (IFC) did not make a significant contribution to Nepal's development over most of the review period. IFC's gradual re-engagement beginning in 2006 was successful, resulting in two Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP) investments, an investment in a domestic airline in 2008, a pipeline of investment projects in the financial sector, and a constructive dialogue with the government on the business climate.
  • Publication
    Improving Municipal Management for Cities to Succeed
    (Washington, DC, 2009-03) World Bank
    Cities now host half the world's population and provide 70 percent of world Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Managing them well is vital for development. The Bank has assisted nearly 3,000 municipalities worldwide over the past decade. This Bank assistance has helped strengthen the planning, finance and service provision dimensions of municipal management through 190 operations identified by Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) as municipal development projects (MDPs). Best results for municipalities came through stronger flows of revenues, better financial management, information systems and ability to manage procurement. Weaker results were found in monitoring and evaluation, operations and maintenance, private finance of services and lack of poverty focus. The purpose of this IEG special study is to illuminate the scale and scope of Bank support for municipal development and to draw specific lessons from the achievements and failures of a sample of individual projects. The study focuses on three dimensions of municipal management; planning, finance, and service provision. The planning dimension refers to the capacity of a municipality to forecast and oversee its own progress. It includes information systems, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), city planning, and investment strategies. The finance dimension refers to how a municipality manages the resources needed to provide services to its constituents. It covers financial management, own-resource mobilization, access to credit, and private funding. The service provision dimension refers to the capacity of a municipality to manage the services required by city residents and business people through the effective prioritization of investments, management of competitive procurement, and sustaining of services through operations and maintenance (O&M).
  • Publication
    Improving Effectiveness and Outcomes for the Poor in Health, Nutrition, and Population
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-01) World Bank
    The Bank Group now funds a smaller share of global support for health, nutrition, and population (HNP) than it did a decade ago, but its support remains significant-$17 billion in country-level project financing, in addition to policy advice, analytic work, and engagement in global partnerships by the World Bank and $873 million in private health and pharmaceutical investments by International Finance Corporation (IFC) from 1997 to mid-2008. The Bank Group continues to play an important role and add value in HNP. About two-thirds of the Bank's HNP projects show satisfactory outcomes. Performance can be substantially improved by reducing project complexity, strengthening risk assessment and mitigation, conducting more up-front institutional analysis, and incorporating more evaluation to promote evidence-based decisions. The performance of IFC health investments, mainly hospitals, has improved markedly, but IFC has had limited success at diversifying its health portfolio. The Bank's investments often have a pro-poor focus, but their objectives need to address the poor explicitly and outcomes among the poor need to be monitored. Importantly, the Bank needs to increase support to reduce high fertility and malnutrition among the poor and ensure discussion of HNP in poverty assessments. IFC-financed hospitals mainly benefit the non-poor; IFC needs to support more activities that both make business sense and yield broader benefits for the poor. Adding HNP objectives to Bank projects in other sectors, such as water supply and sanitation, raises the incentive to deliver health benefits. Strengthening the complementarity of investments in HNP and other sectors can also improve outcomes. In IFC, incentives, institutional mechanisms, and an integrated approach to health are needed to improve coordination across units.
  • Publication
    Nigeria - Country Assistance Evaluation
    (Washington, DC, 2008-09) World Bank
    The period from July 1, 1998 to June 30, 2007 (World Bank fiscal years 99-07) saw a substantial improvement in Nigeria's economic performance and outlook relative to the previous two decades, during which, notwithstanding the expanding production of oil and gas, Nigeria's social indicators deteriorated steadily and the country acquired among the worst reputations for corruption and poor governance. During its second term, the Obasanjo administration built on some actions taken previously to stabilize the economy, created an oil surplus account to prevent the fiscal instability of the earlier period, took significant steps to improve public financial management, put in place important new initiatives on corruption and transparency, and continued the privatization program. During this period, the Bank provided important assistance to the government of Nigeria. In spite of the relatively small weight of the Bank's financial contribution given Nigeria's earnings from oil, the Bank carried a great deal of weight as a source of objective advice and as a means of influencing perceptions of Nigeria in the international community. During the period to mid-2003, however, the Bank had some difficulty in determining the role it should play. A large number of lending operations were started, often without the base of local knowledge needed for success. At the same time, the Bank was slow to invest in analytic work. With the reform team providing clear Nigerian leadership in the second term of President Obasanjo, the Bank adapted its program in many areas to provide effective support. The Bank is well placed to continue to make an important contribution to Nigeria's economic and social progress. For this to occur, it is important that the Nigerian government take all necessary steps to ensure policy continuity as well as to extend and deepen the reforms initiated over the evaluation period-this is of critical importance for the country's long-term economic success.
  • Publication
    IFC in Indonesia : An Independent Country Impact Review
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-09) World Bank
    Independent Evaluation Group's (IEG's) Country Impact Review (CIR) evaluates International Finance Corporation's (IFC's) strategies and operations, and their outcome drivers in Indonesia, during fiscal year (FY) 1990-2006. The review covers the period before, during (FY 1998-2000) and after the most recent economic crisis. The CIR was prepared in parallel with the IEG Country Assistance Evaluation (CAE) of the World Bank's operations during FY 1998-2005, both are intended to inform the next World Bank Group Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Indonesia. While IFC's strategic priorities in Indonesia have been aligned with the country's private sector development needs, it has made little progress in supporting a larger private sector role in infrastructure and in helping deepen the financial markets. Increased private sector participation and IFC support for infrastructure development and for deepening the financial markets will depend on further government reforms. The CIR calls for a stronger IFC role in infrastructure and capital market development, including by strategically and operationally partnering with the World Bank and other Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to help dovetail sector reforms and investments. IFC needs to strengthen the environmental supervision of its Indonesian projects. The current compliance rate on environmental aspects is significantly below the institutional average and should be improved.
  • Publication
    Annual Review of Development Effectiveness 2008 : Shared Global Challenges
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-09) World Bank
    Reducing poverty in any individual country is increasingly intertwined with making progress on shared global challenges fostering global public goods (GPGs) such as climate protection and communicable disease control. This year's Annual Review of Development Effectiveness (ARDE) tracks Bank performance in part one and examines the Bank's work in fostering GPGs in part two. Development outcomes from Bank lending have improved over the medium term. But in FY07 over-optimism in the Bank's ongoing assessment of project performance rose sharply, while the share of projects rated moderately satisfactory or better dropped to 76 percent from 83 percent a year earlier. Vigilance is needed to identify problem projects in real-time and ensure that the FY07 drop in performance does not foreshadow a persistent decline. Practical steps can be taken to better use monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in projects and programs, including proper baseline information and clearer links between outputs and outcomes. The Bank's country-based model has worked relatively well in fostering global public goods when national and global interests dovetail and grants support country investments. But the greatest challenges, such as climate change, arise where local, national and global benefits actual or perceived diverge significantly. Here the country model comes under considerable strain. To more effectively bridge the gap between global needs and country concerns, the Bank should consider: creating dedicated budgets and better incentives for country teams to work on GPGs; better deploying its global knowledge networks; and more powerfully using its standing to give greater voice to developing countries in the governance of global programs.
  • Publication
    Independent Evaluation of IFC’s Development Results 2008 : IFC’s Additionality in Supporting Private Sector Development
    (Washington, DC, 2008-07) World Bank
    This year's annual Independent Evaluation of International Finance Corporation's (IFC's) Development Results (IEDR) reviews the development results related to 174 IFC-supported investment operations that reached early operating maturity during 2005-07. It also reviews, for the first time, preliminary results for IFC advisory services based on a pilot that evaluated 293 operations completed during 2004-06. As a second theme, the report provides a first ex-post look at the "additionality" (or unique role and contribution) of IFC's operations.