In the words of the author: "The arguments of this article go counter to widely held notions. If they are shown to be wrong they will have to be reconsidered, but their unfashionable nature alone is no ground for doing so". We believe that this article could be the beginning of a discussion on...

This paper examines historically the World Bank's twin features: lending to developing economies to achieve tangible results and advocating specific development policies. Section 1 provides some conceptual underpinnings for the view that an effective state is essential for development. It asks...

Prevailing economic ideas -- and fashions -- about development have influenced the International Development Association (IDA) since its creation in 1960. The creation of the organization itself is the result of two contemporaneous facts: an urgent need to channel development finance to...