01. Annual Reports & Independent Evaluations
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Publication
Selectivity in Country Strategies: The Evidence
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-01)The World Bank Group (WBG) has adopted a new strategy which sets two ambitious goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. To operationalize the twin goals, the WBG is developing a more evidence-based and selective country engagement model, the Country Partnership Framework (CPF). The Bank Group s activities in any country will be at the intersection of what the Systematic Country Diagnostic reveals, the government s own development priorities and the WBG s comparative advantage (OPCS). While the CPF is sharpening the WBG s focus on strategic selectivity in its country programs, the issue is longstanding. This paper is a first attempt at piecing together the various strands of evidence in order to understand the role and the practice of selectivity in the WBG s country strategies, and explores the link between selectivity and country program outcomes. It reviews selectivity in 105 CASs, including Country Partnership Strategies, during FY09-13. It also provides a synthesis analysis on selectivity issues of 22 CAEs, including Country Partnership Evaluations (CPEs), conducted by IEG during FY05-14. The findings demonstrate that selectivity matters for the overall development outcome of CASs while controlling for other variables such as country ownership, results framework, and GDP per capita. Moreover, the estimations indicate that selectivity is more important in countries with high levels of extreme poverty. Finally, the paper concludes with the key lessons and issues for further research. -
Publication
World Bank Lending for Financial Inclusion: Lessons from Reviews of Select Projects
(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2015)The purpose of the paper is to present a more granular view of such projects through the in-depth focus on a limited number of case studies, with a view to understanding what factors in the design of such lending have helped achieve objectives of expanded access, and what forms of interventions may have been less successful. It examines the nature of Bank lending vehicles, the partnering borrower institutions, the country environments in which its loans were extended, as well as broader elements of good practice that make for loan success. It examines the beneficiaries targeted and results achieved. It aims to draws lessons that suggest what factors could lead to success or failure in Bank operations focused on financial access. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: section two briefly describes the set of the Bank s projects selected for detailed review. Sections three to six contain the core findings of the review. Section 3 focuses on alternative forms of borrower institutions that have served as vehicles for Bank projects, particularly, public sector banks, apex bank structures that include the private sector, rural banks, nonbanks, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and microfinance institutions, in terms of the degree to which the Bank has been able to successfully partner with such institutions to expand financial access. It also looks at alternative forms of Bank loan design, policy-based loans, investment loans and lines of credit, Learning and Innovation Loans (LILs), matching grants, technical assistance and combinations thereof, and reviews evidence on the role of loan structure (including partnerships with other donors/lenders) and project success. Section four considers the effect of the broader business environment, in terms of financial regulation. Section five reviews elements of good practice that have contributed to success in lending that could be applicable to loans with any objective, and examines their application in the present context. Section six tries to construct a bottom line, reviewing available evidence on outcomes and impact; especially in terms of the ultimate beneficiaries reached. Section seven, the final section, summarizes the main messages emerging from the review and concludes with observations about ways forward. -
Publication
Brazil Country Program Evaluation, FY2004-11 : Evaluation of the World Bank Group Program
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2014-10-27)This country program evaluation (CPE) evaluates World Bank Group (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), or the Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) operations in Brazil from FY2004 through FY2011. It seeks to answer two questions: to what extent was the Bank Group program relevant to Brazil's development needs?, and how effective were Bank Group operations in helping to accelerate economic growth and making growth more inclusive and environmentally sustainable? The period reviewed was covered by two country strategies, one for FY2004-07 and the other for FY2008-11. The evaluation comments on aspects of the country partnership strategy (CPS) FY2012-15 with particular reference to its relevance and design. The report aims to extract lessons relevant to future Bank Group operations in Brazil. The study also examines the synergies between lending and knowledge services and the effectiveness of collaboration within the Bank Group and with external development partners. This report has five chapters. Chapter one gives purpose and country context. Chapter two summarizes the Bank Group operations and examines trends and patterns during the evaluation period. Chapters three and four assess the relevance and contributions of these operations to the objectives stated in the country strategies. The concluding chapter draws lessons and recommendations for the Bank Group's future engagement in Brazil. -
Publication
World Bank Group Activities in Situations of Conflict and Violence : An IEG Evaluation
(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2014-07-23)Fragility, conflict, and violence are at the heart of the World Bank Group strategy to attain the twin goals of ending poverty and promoting shared prosperity. Establishment of fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) as one of the cross-cutting solution areas under the Global Practice Vice Presidency reflects the high level of priority attached to this theme. The FCV cross-cutting solution area is expected to enhance a systematic and coordinated approach across the Bank Group. The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank Group contributed to this effort by undertaking an evaluation, World Bank Group Assistance to Low-Income Fragile and Conflict-Affected States: an Independent Evaluation (IEG 2014). This report focused on assessing Bank Group activities in low income countries classified as fragile and conflict-affected. Recognizing the significant implications of conflict and violence to the attainment of the Bank Group s strategic goals the CODE agreed that the follow-up evaluation would capture the different nature of fragility and manifestations of violence in countries not on the World Bank Group list of fragile and conflict-affected situations. The CODE noted that such forms of fragility and violence could include IBRD and blend countries, small island states, fragility due to organized crime and violence, and fragility due to ethnic tensions. The proposed evaluation is intended to respond to this demand and to broaden the Bank Group s perspectives on addressing the development challenges arising from conflict and violence. -
Publication
Learning and Results in World Bank Operations : How the Bank Learns, Evaluation 1
(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2014-07)Knowledge, learning, and innovation are one of eight objectives that will be monitored in the Bank's new strategy. The independent evaluation group (IEG) is conducting a program of learning and results evaluations to promote a better understanding of how the World Bank acquires, captures, and transfers knowledge and learning in its lending operations, and what scope there is for improving. The objective of the program is to delineate attributes of effective learning in World Bank lending. These attributes refer to learning into lending (inputs into project design); learning while lending (feedback and modifications of design and implementation while the project is underway); and learning from lending (lessons from the project that were transmitted to other projects). The evaluation program will assess how the Bank can become better at generating, accessing, and using learning and knowledge in its lending operations. It acknowledges the importance of the feedback from knowledge to learning and from learning back to enhanced knowledge. The report is organized as follows: chapter one gives approach and context. Chapter two explores two essential aspects of learning - knowledge exploitation and knowledge exploration and the factors influencing them. Chapter three examines the contribution of mentoring. Chapter four addresses the extent to which incentives, leadership, and culture are aligned to promote learning in lending. Chapter five considers the implications of the report's findings, for the Bank's change process, for IEG, and for the design of the second evaluation in IEG's learning and results series. -
Publication
World Bank Group Support to Health Financing
(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2014-07)The way countries finance health care influences how well a health system performs and achieves its expected outcomes, including how equitable and efficient it is. Countries decide how to mobilize revenues from different sources for financing health care, how to pool revenues in public and private insurance and in a national health system with automatic coverage (risk pooling), and how to purchase care from health care providers. The World Bank has implemented health financing activities in 68 countries during FY03-12. Health financing interventions are found in about 40 percent of the Bank s Health, Nutrition, and Population portfolio. Most projects include interventions on revenue collection from public sources. Almost half of the projects support public health insurance and automatic coverage. More recently, results-based financing (RBF) operations became more prominent. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) delivered a small program in health financing. The evaluation makes five main recommendations: support government commitment and build technical and information capacity; address health financing as a cross-cutting issue at the country level; focus on health financing as a core comparative advantage; integrate all health financing functions; and strengthen monitoring and evaluation in Bank and IFC projects. -
Publication
Moldova Country Opinion Survey Report (July 2013 - June 2014)
(Washington, DC, 2014-03-14)The Country Opinion Survey for FY2013 in Moldova assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Moldova perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Moldova on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Moldova; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Moldova; 3) overall impressions of the WBG s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Moldova; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG s future role in Moldova. -
Publication
Malaysia Country Opinion Survey Report (July 2013 - June 2014)
(Washington, DC, 2014-03-14)The Country Opinion Survey for FY2013 in Malaysia assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Malaysia perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Malaysia on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Malaysia; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Malaysia; 3) overall impressions of the WBG s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Malaysia; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG s future role in Malaysia. -
Publication
Mauritius Country Opinion Survey Report (July 2012 - June 2013)
(Washington, DC, 2014-03-14)The Country Opinion Survey for FY2012 in Mauritius assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Mauritius perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Mauritius on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Mauritius; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Mauritius; 3) overall impressions of the WBG s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Mauritius; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG s future role in Mauritius. -
Publication
Montenegro Country Opinion Survey Report (July 2013 - June 2014)
(Washington, DC, 2014-03-14)The Country Opinion Survey for FY2013 in Montenegro assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Montenegro perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Montenegro on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Montenegro; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Montenegro; 3) overall impressions of the WBG s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Montenegro; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG s future role in Montenegro.