'The State in a Changing World'; plus ça change?: Reflections from the south on the World Bank's 1997 World Development Report

Drawing on South African experiences, this paper provides a critical evaluation of the World Bank's 1997 World Development Report, 'The State in a Changing World'. The paper sets out the Bank's conception of a 'good' state as it emerges from the Report. We then evaluate this conception of the state in the context of two domains of state activism, social policy and industrial policy. Consideration is then given to the Report's views on the state's relationship to politics and society. Finally we assess the Report in relation to developments in South Africa in three areas: the state in a changing global environment, industrial policy and social policy. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.