Institutional reforms in sector adjustment operations : the World Bank's experience

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the institutional reforms in the World Bank's sector adjustment operations (SECALs) and to assess the Bank's experience in implementing them. The review covers institutional reforms in 55 of the 65 SECALs approved by the Bank during fiscal 1983 - 1987. They include SECALs in agriculture, trade, and industry, but exclude those pertaining to education and public enterprises. Institutional reforms stand a greater chance of succeeding when there is adequate institutional diagnosis and design, including assessment of the interest groups affected and the ability of top leaders to mobilize support for reform. A good case can be made for bringing the key players together in a process approach to diagnosis, so that diagnosis becomes an early stage of consensus building among those who will be affected by the reforms.