This study investigates the World Bank's use of lending and non-lending instruments to affect the policy priorities of developing countries. In a typical year, the World Bank lends more than USD 30 billion to its client countries. It also spends approximately USD 200 million on the provision of...

This paper shows that the increased policy-selectivity of aid allocations observed in recent years provides recipient countries an incentive to improve policies. The paper estimates that a change in the World Banks Country Policy and Institutional Assessment policy index from 1.5 to 2 for a...

The 2005 Paris Declaration committed donors to increased use of recipient country systems for managing aid, particularly in countries with higher-quality systems. Using indicators explicitly endorsed by the Paris Declaration and covering the 2005-2010 period, this study finds a positive,...