Publication: World Development Report 1997: The State in a Changing World
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Date
1997
ISSN
Published
1997
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
This is the twentieth in the annual series assessing major development issues. The report is devoted to the role and effectiveness of the state: what it should do, how it should do it, and how it can improve in a rapidly changing world. Governments with both centrally-planned and mixed economies are shrinking their market role because of failed state interventions. This report takes an opposite stance: that state's role in the institutional environment underlying the economy, that is, its ability to enforce a rule of law to underpin transactions, is vital to making government contribute more effectively to development. It argues against reducing government to a minimalist state, explaining that development requires an effective state that plays a facilitator role in encouraging and complementing the activities of private businesses and individuals. The report presents a state reform framework strategy: First, focus the state's activities to match its capabilities; and second, look for ways to improve the state's capability by re-invigorating public institutions. Successful and unsuccessful examples of states and state reform provide illustrations.
Citation
“World Bank. 1997. World Development Report 1997: The State in a Changing World. © New York: Oxford University Press. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5980 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Report Series
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