The Country Program Evaluation (CPE) will assess the World Bank Group's development assistance to Afghanistan covering the ten-year period 2002-11 since the Bank's re-engagement in the country.
... See More + This evaluation includes the period immediately following the Bank Group's re-engagement in the country through the present. The aim of the evaluation is to inform the strategy for the next phase currently being developed by the country team and to derive lessons to improve performance and enhance the Bank's effectiveness in fragile states. Two Interim Strategy Notes (ISNs)-one covering FY06-08 and one FY09-11-have organized the Bank Group's strategy for Afghanistan into three pillars: 1) building the capacity of the state and its accountability to its citizens, 2) promoting growth of the rural economy and improving rural livelihoods, 3) supporting growth of the formal private sector (including infrastructure). This evaluation will evaluate the three pillars defined by the ISNs.
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By the 1970s, Liberia was politically stable and a lower middle-income country. That was before precipitous calamities took hold. Liberia is at peace, but still fragile, with isolated hostilities and a large number of refugees from Cote d'Ivoire.
... See More + Violence against women has tapered off, but remains an issue of concern. The World Bank Group (WBG) returned to Liberia in 2003. It has since played a crucial role in assisting Liberia's reconstruction and development efforts, serving as one of the key development partners along with the United Nations (UN), the United States (US), European Union (EU) and African Development Bank (AfDB), among others. The overarching aim of the joint Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) of the WBG is to support Liberia's transition from post-conflict recovery to long-term development. The strategy addresses some key constraints on growth as well as enhancing the policy and institutional framework to ensure that growth is increasingly pro-poor. It is fully aligned with the pillars and objectives set out in Liberia's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP).
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During the period FY01-08, the World Bank was Mozambique’s largest development partner, providing over $1.3 billion in International Development Association (IDA) funds.
... See More + The Bank’s strategy, which was aligned with and sought to support the government’s poverty reduction strategy, focused on three pillars: economic growth, including macroeconomic management, financial and private sector development, rural development, and infrastructure; poverty reduction and human development; and governance. The evaluation finds that the Bank’s strategy for Mozambique and its program were relevant to the country’s development needs. The Bank’s program was generally aligned with those of other development partners that provide general budget support, especially after FY05. Harmonization of procedures with other development partners also progressed, although there is scope for further improvement. The Bank’s program was substantially effective in supporting macroeconomic management, infrastructure development, access to education and health care, urban water, and some areas of governance (such as budget management and execution). However, the program fell short of its intended results with respect to the inclusiveness of growth, stimulating private sector development, improving agricultural productivity, achieving better quality of social services, countering the perception of increasing corruption, improvements in the judiciary system, and stemming the spread of HIV/AIDS. Going forward, IEG recommends that the Bank help Mozambique sustain high growth and reshape its pattern to make additional gains in poverty reduction; give priority in analytic work to infrastructure, agricultural productivity, education quality, and HIV/AIDS; and support improvements in the efficiency of public expenditures.
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The Leadership and Communication Capacity for National Renewal program(LCCNR) trained 107 Timorese in its second program year. They invested a high degree of expense, effort, and time to enhance the leadership, communication, and negotiation skills of their trainees.
... See More + On balance, emphasizing quality for a small number of trainees, this proved to be the right choice. Overall, given the challenges that LCCNR faced in training Timorese, the program proved very successful in its training work. Its adaptability to changing contexts, its decision to produce and distribute a training manual, and its success at enhancing the capacities of Timorese officials with LCCNR, were all direct contributors to its overall success.
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Bangladesh is among the World Bank's largest IDA-eligible borrowers, with a country portfolio of 21 active projects and net commitment of $1.9 billion as of FY08.
... See More + The Bank's strategy has been to support government efforts to improve governance as a cross-cutting goal, w M e also improving the investment climate and empowering the poor. IDA'S strategy for Bangladesh and its program during the period 2001-08 were relevant to the country's development needs, including improving governance and promoting structural reforms in order to consolidate gains in macroeconomic performance, exports, education, and health, and improve the prospects for successful future development. IDA'S strategy and program aligned with those of other development partners, especially from €5'06 on under the joint CAS framework. The efficacy of the program varied by sector and over time, but was moderately satisfactory overall when judged against stated goals. There were positive outcomes in several areas of governance (public financial management, tackling corruption, and supporting local governments), macroeconomic performance, the business environment, agriculture and rural development, energy, education, and health. Performance in some other areas of governance (especially civil service reform) and in transportation and water supply and sanitation fell well short of objectives. IEG recommends that IDA use its array of instruments to support complex reforms, such as in civil service and anti-corruption programs, and no limit support as it did in this case to development support credits; break with past stop-go patterns even in difficult sectors, recognizing that support may need to be modulated to respond to changing conditions; keep operations better on track by strengthening monitoring and evaluation; fully engage Bangladesh counterparts; and enhance prioritization and focus of coordination with development partners. IFC could strengthen its staff on the ground and their incentive systems, and be prepared to sustain its engagement in the energy sector in the long run.
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This report evaluates International Development Association (IDA) support to Nepal during 2003-2008. IDA’s overarching goal during this period was to support the government’s efforts to reduce poverty and improve human well-being.
... See More + The country assistance evaluation (CAE) examines whether: (a) the objectives of Bank assistance were relevant; (b) the Bank’s assistance program was effectively designed and consistent with its objectives; and (c) the Bank’s program achieved its objectives and had a substantial impact on the country’s development during this period. Development partners increasingly took issue with providing budget support against a backdrop of questionable legitimacy of government and feasibility of government programs under conflict and increasing political instability. Tensions among development partners notwithstanding, the Bank were able to lead or contribute to productive development partnerships. The evaluation brings out the need to introduce greater realism into the country assistance strategy, and to retain flexibility to adjust to changing circumstances, as well as to consult widely and continually with national stakeholders and development partners throughout. It also points to the importance of making agriculture and rural development central to the program. The evaluation concludes that IDA’s strategy during 2003-2008 was relevant to Nepal’s development needs, but that its relevance to the more immediate situation was compromised by several factors.
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This Country Assistance Evaluation (CAE) assesses the outcomes of the World Bank program in Georgia from 1993 to 2007. The CAE identifies three sub-periods (1993–97, 1998-2003, and 2004–07) that emerge based on Bank strategy cycles, changes in government and associated policy stances, and exogenous factors such as the Russian financial crisis of 1998.
... See More + The Bank’s program over the entire 15-year period targeted four broad areas: macroeconomic stabilization; governance; private sector development; and human, social, and sustainable development. International Development Association lending commitments to Georgia over the 15-year period totaled $940 million for 49 credits. Over the same period, the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group invested nearly $171 million in 25 projects in Georgia’s financial, oil and gas, utilities, and manufacturing sectors. Georgia’s impressive recent gains notwithstanding, the country also faces continuing challenges. Among these are laying the groundwork for economic growth to be sustained, notably by cementing and further building on the improvements in governance and the business environment, and being more inclusive by reversing the trend of widening inequality. With Georgia having recently graduated from the International Development Association, the Bank is well poised to sustain a strong partnership with an emerging middle-income country. To do this, the Bank will need to preserve the flexibility to respond to client demand in defining its lending and analytical and advisory services, while keeping the focus on those of its established areas of expertise that are also central to Georgia’s development agenda. Depending on the precise (demand-driven) shape that its future program in Georgia takes, the Bank can keep a watching brief on those areas that are central to the country’s development agenda but that do not figure directly in the program.
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This Country Assistance Evaluation (CAE) provides an independent assessment of World Bank assistance to Indonesia during the period 1999-2006. The CAE evaluates the Bank program in Indonesia against four objectives or pillars, three of which are derived from the FY01 and FY04 country assistance strategy (CAS) documents.
... See More + These three pillars are: restoration o f growth and investment, improving governance and building institutions, and poverty reduction and social service delivery. The fourth pillar, disaster and natural resource management, became a major part of the Bank program following the 2004 tsunami. In each of these areas the CAE sets out the objectives of the Bank program as defined by the CAS. The CAE then uses the actual outcomes, quantified if possible, as a basis for rating the extent to which the objectives were achieved. The CAE finds the outcomes in this area moderately satisfactory relative to the Bank's objectives. The Bank support in this area included adjustment lending in the aftermath of the crisis. After a hiatus from 2001-2003, the Bank resumed its lending in support of broad policy change and institutional development in 2004 with a series of development policy loans and investment loans for infrastructure.
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This evaluation recommends that future Bank strategy in Ukraine should strive for greater selectivity, centered on public financial management, private sector development, energy, and social protection, with a crosscutting focus on governance and institutional development.
... See More + In economic and sector work, it would be desirable to focus on private sector development and infrastructure. In lending, the design of investment projects needs to be simplified to match implementation capacity and needs to be aligned with the government's priorities. With regard to development policy lending, a shift to more narrowly focused, single-tranche operations would likely encourage deeper policy and institutional reforms. Ukraine's economic performance improved substantially after 1999. The economy experienced robust growth between 2000 and 2004. The renewed growth cut across sectors and was relatively broad-based, with the industrial sector growing most strongly. In 2004, Ukraine achieved the highest growth rate in Europe (12.1 percent). This spectacular performance was due to improved macroeconomic policies and management, a highly favorable external environment, and a revival of the country's traditional industrial base. Economic activity rebounded strongly in 2006, with growth estimated at 7.1 percent, which demonstrates the considerable resilience of Ukraine's economy. The negative impacts of higher gas prices on the economy were less than anticipated and pass-through of rising energy prices to consumers and producers helped improve energy efficiency, Ukraine has one of the lowest levels of energy efficiency in the world. At the same time, capital inflows, foreign direct investment (FDI) in particular, were buoyant, reflecting improved perceptions of Ukraine as an investment location. Fiscal policy continued to support macroeconomic balance and the general budget deficit did not exceed 2.5 percent of GDP.
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This report evaluates the International Development Association's (IDA's) support to Ethiopia during the period July 1, 1998 through June 30, 2006.
... See More + The overarching goal of IDA during this period was to support the Ethiopian Government's efforts to reduce poverty and improve human well-being. The IDA program focused on helping to foster pro-poor growth, private sector development, human development, post-conflict and emergency rehabilitation, and improved governance. IDA was Ethiopia's single largest development partner, providing about 22 percent of the total of US$11.6 billion in overseas development assistance (ODA) during the period 1998-2006. It was a major player not only in terms of finance, but also as a purveyor of development knowledge and as a leader in donor coordination. IDA's engagement with other development partners through the Development Assistance Group (DAG), established in Ethiopia in 2000 and co-chaired by IDA and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), led to improved donor coordination and better alignment of the respective development partners' objectives with the Government's priorities. The assessment concludes that IDA's strategy during the period was relevant. IDA assistance during the review period had positive outcomes inter alia in post conflict rehabilitation, pro-poor economic growth, roads development and human development. In contrast, the outcomes were less favorable in the key areas of private sector development and governance, which are crucial to sustaining growth over the long-term and ensuring that its benefits are widely shared. Based on lessons from the evaluation, Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) recommends that IDA: (I) tighten the link between the policy dialogue and resource transfers in support of particular areas; (ii) take a clearer position on governance, notably by identifying some of the most binding constraints on private sector development, and hence on the prospects for pro-poor growth; (iii) improve the knowledge base on how social, political, and cultural factors can influence the effectiveness of its support, particularly at the local level; and (v) extend and deepen partnerships with a broad range of in-country stakeholders.
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This Country Assistance Evaluation (CAE) provides an independent assessment of World Bank assistance to Mali during the period FY95-05. The CAE examines whether: (a) the objectives of Bank assistance were relevant; (b) the Bank's assistance program was effectively designed and consistent with its objectives; and (c) the Bank's program achieved its objectives and had a substantial impact on the country's development during this period.
... See More + The findings of this evaluation can be summarized as follows. First, in the areas where significant progress was made, there were both acceptances by the Government of the need for reform and of the path to it, as well as a determined effort by IDA to further government ownership of the reform. This was the case in the area of public finance management, where IDA staff collaborated closely and persistently with the authorities, as well as in the areas of building an improved road maintenance system and advancing the decentralization process. Second, in the many areas where there was little or insufficient reform progress, the Government may have accepted the need for reform, but the solutions and policies proposed were either resisted, because they did not incorporate a full appreciation of the nature and complexity of the issue at hand, or they were only a partial solution to the development problem in question. The paper goes on to give four major recommendations: first, it is imperative to focus on education quality; second, in the area of rural development, the envisaged reforms in the cotton sector remain a major challenge as long as the sector is a drain on the budget; third, a viable strategy for development of the electric power sector is urgent; and finally, a renewed effort is needed to reform the financial sector and improve access to finance.
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This Country Assistance Evaluation (CAE) report reviews the Bank's assistance strategy for Angola from FY91 to FY06. It sought to promote economic growth with equity, help address macroeconomic imbalances, create transparent and accountable mechanisms for service delivery, and build consensus for future reforms.
... See More + The program partially achieved its objectives, and its overall outcome was moderately unsatisfactory. The war and the gap between what the Bank and the authorities sought to achieve contributed to that outcome. Most of the economic reforms were not achieved, nor were the institutional reforms in health, education, and infrastructure, and the rehabilitation of infrastructure fell short of its goals. Opacity persists in many areas and perception-based measures continue to indicate a high incidence of corruption. As the Bank calibrates the extent of its engagement in countries where governance remains weak and corruption prevalent, the way forward in Angola is not obvious. The Country Assistance Evaluation recommends engagement. There is a strong case for a substantial program of Analytical and Advisory Activities (AAA), but its form of delivery is important. Given the limited absorption capacity of the government and other national stakeholders, the CAE favors emphasizing the provision of advice and technical assistance through short policy notes and face-to-face contact, with a general mandate of building capacity.
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This report evaluates outcomes in the areas targeted by the World Bank's program in Nigeria from FY1999 - 2007. The Bank provided important assistance to the government of Nigeria.
... See More + 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. With the return of democracy, the Bank undertook a major effort to identify and approve new investment loans to support the development of key sectors. The Bank also supported the efforts of the reformers with a substantial loan for economic governance that provided support for the budget reforms and the steps being taken to reform the civil service. This country assistance evaluation (CAE) uses three pillars to organize its review of the outcomes associated with the Bank’s program in Nigeria: (a) changing the way government works and improving governance, (b) growing the private sector and focusing on non-oil growth, and (c) empowering people and improving social service delivery.
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This Country Assistance Evaluation (CAE) reviews the Bank's assistance strategy for Madagascar for the period 1995-2005 (FY94-06). Overall, the objectives that the Bank has pursued can be grouped under three PRSP pillars: broad-based growth, good governance, and human and material security.
... See More + This paper lists the following findings: it is difficult to monitor donor-supported program outcomes in Madagascar, as the country suffers from an overload of indicators, most of which are neither closely monitored nor reliable, and, at times, inconsistent; unless links between the dynamic sectors and the rural areas -- where the great majority of the poor are located -- can be improved, growth in Madagascar will not be pro-poor; an increase in aid flows to assist a committed government is consistent with the need to scale up aid to meet the Millennium Development Goals; in general, poverty reduction support credits (PRSCs) seem to be good instruments for bringing coherence to a government's plans, for prioritizing budget allocations in line with agreed targets, and for accelerating and coordinating policy and financial support from the Bank and other donors; and targeted activities addressing specific constraints of the poor can be effective in protecting vulnerable groups.
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This country assistance evaluation for Honduras covers the period FY95-05. The International Development Association (IDA) has played a major role in Honduras' development efforts over these years, not only as a source of development assistance, but also through the contribution of its analytical work to the design of government reform efforts.
... See More + IDA'S strategy was presented in three country assistance strategies (CASs) over this period, all with the same two basic objectives: accelerated and equitable growth, and poverty reduction through investments in health, education and social safety nets. The objectives were certainly relevant for Honduras. The CAS proposals, both in terms of lending and in terms of analytical work were largely implemented as planned. At the same time, the strategy was all encompassing and lending was spread over a wide variety of sectors, suggesting a lack of focus. In particular, the strategy, as it evolved, placed much more emphasis on addressing the short-term needs of the poor than on tackling long term growth opportunities in, for example, agriculture. On the other hand, the leadership provided by IDA in the area of analytical work was much appreciated by its development partners.
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During the review period, the strategic objectives of Bank assistance in Yemen were: a) improved governance; b) ore attractive investment climate; c) better human capital; and d) ensuring sustainability of the environment, especially water.
... See More + The Bank's strategy and policy dialogue in the review period was dominated by the view that Yemen needed to improve the quality of governance and to enhance public sector capacity. Among the sub-objectives under this strategic goal were effective personnel management, staff reduction, decompression of the pay scale, devolution of service delivery to local communities and reduced corruption top priority in the Bank's strategy. The Bank's proposed assistance program included support for deregulation, privatization, investment promotion, financial reform, and land titling as well as related non-lending services. The outcomes of the overall Bank program are rated moderately satisfactory. The Bank experience in Yemen point to the following lessons: coordinating corrective actions produce satisfactory results; learning local conditions for better effective Bank interventions; and finally, moderating optimism in assessing the depth and durability of Government commitment. The report includes a contribution by the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG-IFC) of the World Bank International Finance Corporation(Box 3), prepared by Denis T. Carpio and Cherian Samuel.
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This Country Assistance Evaluation (CAE) provides an independent assessment of World Bank assistance to Malawi during the period FY96-05. The CAE examines whether: (a) the objectives of Bank assistance were relevant; (b) the Bank's assistance program was effectively designed and consistent with its objectives; and (c) the Bank's program achieved its objectives and had a substantial impact on the country's development during this period.
... See More + Examining these questions allows the CAE to draw lessons and recommendations for future Bank assistance. The report finds that overall, the Bank activities in Malawi have had limited success in achieving the ultimate program objectives set out in the Bank's strategies. It offers a number of recommendations for: adjustment lending and fiscal management, agriculture, social sectors, economic and sector work, partnerships, country office and task management, and accuracy in reporting.
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This Country Assistance Evaluation (CAE) provides an independent assessment of World Bank program in Senegal from fiscal 1994 through fiscal 2004.
... See More + The evaluation examines whether: (a) the objectives of Bank support were relevant; (b) the Bank's program was effectively designed and consistent with its objectives; and (c) the Bank's program achieved its objectives and had a substantial impact on the country's development during this period. The overall outcome of the Bank's program during the FY94- 04 period is rated moderately satisfactory, while the institutional development impact is rated modest. The sustainability of the overall program is rated likely. Three lessons emerge from this assessment. First, when the Bank makes a conscientious effort to reach consensus with the government on the approach and pace of reforms it gets better outcomes. Second, donor agreement on major reforms is essential to the success of these reforms. Third, an emphasis on infrastructure is insufficient unless there is adequate attention to the linkages between urban and rural areas. Based on the evaluation of its program over the past decade, IEG recommends that the Bank emphasize the following: 1) providing support for rural development and rural-urban linkage; 2) continuing to strengthen capacity and governance at multiple level; and 3) enhancing donor coordination.
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This Country Assistance Evaluation for Pakistan needs a clear strategy and a defined program to support it. The Bank has recently been working with the government on supporting devolution to increase accountability at lower levels of government.
... See More + This, coupled with administrative reform, is expected to increase the effectiveness of government services. However, since many of the patronage problems have occurred at the local level, and the Bank is primarily working with federal and provincial counterparts, the Bank will need to ensure that the strategy and project design address problems at the right level. Projects should be more focused and scaled to fit the capacity of the implementing agencies. A shift from very broad adjustment loans to more focused loans designed to address a limited number of sectors or issues would be more appropriate for the current implementing capacity, and would likely lead to more effective loans.
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This Country Assistance Evaluation (CAE) assesses the outcomes of the World Bank's assistance to Turkey during the period July 1, 1993, to June 30, 2004.
... See More + It focuses on the objectives of that assistance and the extent to which outcomes were consistent with those objectives. It looks at the Bank's contribution to the achievement of those outcomes and the lessons for the Bank's future activities both in Turkey and more broadly. The Bank program during the period encompassed four broad strategic pillars: macroeconomic management; growth, competitiveness and productivity, which included the financial sector and infrastructure; poverty reduction and social development; and natural resource management. This report's assessments are as follows: The outcomes of the overall Bank program are rated moderately satisfactory, with substantial institutional development impact and likely sustainability. In the coming years the Bank should continue a high level of support to Turkey, but some rethinking of its approach is needed. With the improvements in public sector management, the program should be re-balanced with greater support for private sector development (including its role in generating employment and reducing poverty) and environmental management, but without relinquishing the efforts to improve infrastructure management and support social development. Within these areas, greater attention needs to be given to developing the capacity of key agencies responsible for program implementation. Support for private sector development would benefit from a coordinated approach from the Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, which has been lacking until now. Finally, improved environmental management will be an important area of Bank support to Turkey as it seeks to negotiate accession to the European Union.
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