01. Annual Reports & Independent Evaluations

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Housing Finance: World Bank Group Support for Housing Finance

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-04-20) Independent Evaluation Group

Access to adequate housing is critically important to the health and wellbeing of the world’s population. Yet, despite the fact that this statement is part of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and has been on the global policy agenda for many years, hundreds of millions of people continue to live in inadequate conditions with little or no access to decent housing. The demand for housing solutions will increase as urbanization and population growth persists. The United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) has estimated that the number of people living in slums around the world will rise to 900 million by 2020 if nothing is done. Asia and Africa will face special challenges, because urbanization in those regions is proceeding rapidly. Housing is frequently unaffordable to all but the top earners. A recent report estimates a housing affordability gap affecting 330 million households, with 200 million households in the developing world living in slums (McKinsey Global Institute 2014). Research has shown that more and better housing increases the welfare of occupants. Homeownership may increase stability and civic engagement, and provide financial security in old age. Improvements in housing also have important benefits to the economy. Housing construction and home improvement generate demand for professional, skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled labor; and allow many micro and small businesses to flourish. The housing market is an important component of national economies and housing booms and busts can have significant effects on the macro economy and financial sector. The core purpose of this learning product is to generate knowledge and provide lessons learned from World Bank Group support to housing finance. Lessons were derived primarily from evaluated interventions in the form of World Bank loans or International Finance Corporation (IFC) investments and advisory services. World Bank technical assistance and knowledge products and interventions on housing finance matters were considered when provided in the context of lending operations. One limitation faced in preparation of this learning product was the lack of coverage of stand-alone World Bank advisory services.
Results in the Latin America and Caribbean Region, 2016, Volume 7

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-04) World Bank ; Palladini, Eric

Over the last decade, the countries of the Latin America and the Caribbean region experienced a deep economic and social transformation which lifted millions out of poverty and swelled the ranks of the middle class. Strong economic growth driven by both domestic reforms and a favorable global economic environment, was responsible for this progress. Complementary social programs, made possible by growing fiscal space, helped finance programs that supported the poor and disadvantaged. Economic tailwinds have now receded and much of the region is now working to hold on to the recent economic and social gains. Governments are having to adjust to the new global conditions which an increasing number of analysts are regarding as 'the new normal'. This means that the region will need to work harder to (i) revive economic growth through productivity gains and stable macroeconomic policies; (ii) invest in sustainable cities and infrastructure for an increasingly urban population; and (iii) help the poor get out of poverty through quality education and health services and affordable social protection programs.
Lessons from Land Administration Projects: A Review of Project Performance Assessments

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-03-31) Independent Evaluation Group

Land rights and the systems that administer them can vary significantly across the world and within countries (World Bank 2003). For a number of reasons, land rights may be unclear or insecure. Securing land rights plays an important role in driving economic growth and poverty reduction. In recent years there has been increasing awareness of the relevance of land tenure issues to food security, climate change, rapid urbanization, informality, and indigenous peoples’ rights. The World Bank Group has a long history of developing and implementing projects aimed at securing land rights through a variety of interventions. This note synthesizes cross-cutting findings from 14 Independent Evaluation Group assessments of land administration projects that the World Bank has supported from 1998 to 2014. The project-level assessments reviewed for this report contain a wealth of information about how the Bank Group approached different problems related to strengthening land administration systems in diverse environments. This information is relevant to both land administration specialists and experts in other fields whose work is impacted by land tenure issues.
Supporting Transformational Change for Poverty Reduction and Shared Prosperity: Lessons from World Bank Group Experience

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02-25) Independent Evaluation Group

Transformational engagements are a critical pillar of the World Bank Group’s strategy for achieving its twin goals of extreme poverty elimination and shared prosperity. This learning product uses evaluative evidence from the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) to understand the mechanisms and conditions for transformational engagements and the implications for the World Bank Group if it seeks to rely on such engagements to more effectively pursue its goals.
2015 Sustainability Review

(Washington, DC, 2015-10) World Bank

The 2015 Sustainability Review provides insights into activities undertaken to manage environmental, social, and economic impacts in the World Bank’s internal business operations. The content and data in this document relate to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), together the World Bank.
2015 GRI Index

(Washington, DC, 2015-10-01) World Bank

This 2015 index of sustainability indicators has been prepared in accordance with the internationally recognized standard for sustainability reporting Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines and complies with the ‘core option.’ The GRI Index provides an overview of sustainability considerations within the World Bank’s lending and analytical services as well as its day-to-day operations and management of staff. The World Bank aims to be comprehensive in its reporting and thus the Index includes indicators from GRIs financial sector supplement. The GRI Index covers activities from fiscal 2015, July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015.
World Bank Group and World Bank Corporate Scorecards, October 2015

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-10) World Bank Group

In July 2013, the World Bank Group launched its Strategy, outlining how it will partner more effectively with clients to help them achieve the ambitious goals of eradicating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity through economic growth, inclusion, sustainability and resilience. In April 2014, the World Bank Group Corporate Scorecard was launched for the first time and the World Bank Scorecard revised to monitor the implementation of the strategy. The World Bank Group Scorecard provides view of the results and performance indicators of the three World Bank Group institutions: the World Bank (WB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). This brochure presents the scorecards, updated with the latest data available in fiscal year 2015. The scorecards are structured in three tiers. A tier one and two presents indicators monitoring aspects of growth, inclusiveness, and sustainability and resilience. Tier three captures the progress in implementing the World Bank Group strategy and includes measures of both operational and organizational effectiveness.
Results in the Latin America and Caribbean Region, 2015, Volume 6

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-10-01) World Bank ; Palladini, Eric

Latin America and the Caribbean (LCR) will be center stage in the global development debate as leaders from around the world convene in Lima, Peru for the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund. Critical progress in poverty reduction has been made in the region over the last decade. The region’s bottom 40 percent of the population saw growth eclipsing that seen by the group in every other region in the world. However, a global slowdown in economic growth and activity challenges these positive strides. The stories in this report embody concrete successes of countries working together with the World Bank. Innovative development approaches were designed and implemented. Individuals, communities, countries, and even regions benefited from better health, education, governance, disaster risk management, and more.
Managing Environmental and Social Risks in Development Policy Financing

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-07-27) Independent Evaluation Group

Effective environmental and social risk management in development policy financing (DPF) is central to achieving the World Bank’s goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. If the World Bank is supporting far-reaching member country reforms that are intended to contribute to the twin goals, then it should seek to understand the impact of those reforms on the poor. It should also ensure that the country’s natural capital and long-term growth prospects will not be undermined. The objective of this learning product is therefore to assess the application of the elements of the World Bank operational policy (OP 8.60) governing DPF related to the implementation of the environmental and social risk management requirements of the policy, and identify lessons learned and good practices. The focus of the study is on Bank actions, policies, procedures, and guidance for environmental and social risk management, based largely on a desk-based portfolio review of a large, random sample of development policy operations (DPOs), complemented by assessment of other relevant documents, and interviews with key stakeholders. This approach requires the Bank to determine whether specific policies supported by a DPO are likely to have significant poverty and social or environmental effects. The Bank emphasized the potential of OP 8.60 to promote positive environmental and social development from the time the policy was approved in 2004.
The Quality of Results Frameworks in Development Policy Operations

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06-24) Independent Evaluation Group

The objective of this review is to synthesize existing evaluative evidence and generate new evidence on the quality of the Results Frameworks (RFs) of development policy operations (DPOs). The study is organized around a number of evaluative questions on various aspects of DPO design, implementation, reporting, and evaluation. Its focus is on the quality of RF, taking objectives and coverage for granted. The study does not cover the scope and coverage of reform programs underpinning DPOs, including the relevance of objectives, or the choice of policy areas and the links between DPOs and country assistance strategies. It generally does not look at program achievements and outcomes, except in cases when it is required for assessing the quality of prior actions (PAs). The structure of the review is: chapter one presents the methodology; chapter two has the findings with respect to the presentation and clarity of RFs; chapter three discusses evidence of the quality of PAs and their contribution to the robustness of RFs; chapter four discusses findings with respect to the use of programmatic approach in DPOs relevant for RFs; chapter five discusses strengths and weaknesses in the ME framework of DPOs; chapter six discusses reporting of DPO results at completion and implications for IEG validation and evaluation of DPOs.