This paper provides an overview of the history of development research at the World Bank and points to new future directions in both what we research and how we research. Six main messages emerge. First, research and data have long been essential elements of the Bank’s country programs and its...

Abstract This paper provides a critical analysis of the World Bank’s new thinking on industrial policy. After outlining the changing perspectives on industrial policy put forward by the World Bank over the last three decades, we argue that the bank’s economists have taken one step forward...

Burundi, a small fragile economy, went through sporadic civil war since its independence in 1962 during which rampant insecurity had adverse impact on the country’s social and economic development. While Burundi is agriculturally rich, high rate of growth of rural population places...

So far no existing study has analyzed what determines people’s trust in the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO even though – in the absence of democratic accountability – this is one of the few ways to assess the legitimacy of these institutions. This study is intended to fill this gap in...

This paper examines the contemporary international trade and currency system to determine whether the system is appropriate for the level of knowledge, development and maturity of countries today. International trade and currencies are a key mechanism by which governments manage the livelihoods,...

The plethora of country classifications that emerged since the star of the 1950s is a remarkable phenomena in the arena of development policymaking. In our sample of country classifications, consisting of classifications for 111 developing countries, the average number of classifications per...