Improving the World Bank's Development Effectiveness : What Does Evaluation Show?
The pace of change in the overall performance of the developing world has not altered markedly over the past 20 years. The number of people living in extreme poverty declined from 1.5 billion in 1980 (40 percent of population), to 1.2 billion in 19...
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| Language: | English |
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Washington, DC: World Bank
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/01/12716325/improving-world-banks-development-effectiveness-evaluation-show http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7225 |
| Summary: | The pace of change in the overall
performance of the developing world has not altered markedly
over the past 20 years. The number of people living in
extreme poverty declined from 1.5 billion in 1980 (40
percent of population), to 1.2 billion in 1990 (28 percent
of population), to 1.1 billion in 2001 (21 percent of
population). Growth per capita has followed much the same
profile. In the 1980s, only about two-thirds of developing
countries showed positive per capita income growth, and this
percentage remains unchanged. Life expectancy and literacy
indicators show overall improvements, but some regions show
worrisome trends. There has been slow and steady progress in
overall development outcomes during the period, but the
speed and scale of change remain static. These averages, of
course, mask huge differences across regions, with very
worrisome increases in poverty and continued low growth in
Sub-Saharan Africa. The Bank has transformed itself
significantly in the past 10 years, and should be ready for
further adjustments to current climate of rapid change.
Greater selectivity, more flexibility, and improved
efficiency within its chosen areas of intervention are
needed going forward if a global institution such as the
Bank is to remain useful and relevant and show concrete
results in a fast-changing world. |
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