This paper discusses the American debate over price controls and economic stabilization after World War II, when the transition from a war economy to a peace economy was characterized by bottlenecks in the productive system and shortages of food and other basic consumer goods, directly affecting...

Since its birth in 1944, the World Bank has had a strong focus on development projects. Yet, it did not have a project evaluation unit until the early 1970s. An early attempt to conceptualize project appraisal had been made in the 1960s by Albert Hirschman, whose undertaking raised high...

In the aftermath of World War II, the birth of development economics was paralleled by the growth of development organizations, the most prominent of which was the World Bank. Not surprisingly, the paths of the Bank and of the pioneers of the new discipline often crossed, and it is fair to say...

Until the late 1960s, the World Bank presented itself as an institution devoted to making sound and directly productive project loans. Yet, during its very early years, some discussions developed inside the Bank regarding the possibility of issuing different types of loans, namely (i) loans...

Development economics in its early years created the image of a fierce fight between advocates of contrasting theories or approaches- "balanced growth" vs. "unbalanced growth" or "program loans" vs. "project loans." This view has the merit to highlight such conflicts in great detail; yet it...

After the Second World War, it was widespread believed that economic growth by itself would ameliorate in a reasonable time the living conditions of all the strata of less developed countries' populations. The World Bank shared this optimistic view, and focused on the financing of single...

"Between 1946 and 1952, Albert O. Hirschman, a German-born economist and wartime refugee, worked as an economic analyst in the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Board of the United States. He was first in charge of the Western European desk; later he was the Fed's representative to the...

During the first three years of the Trump administration, the U.S. economy grew steadily, and the unemployment rate fell to levels unseen since 1969. Donald Trump was swift in crediting the boon to his deregulatory policies, tax cuts, industrial protectionism and trade wars. It should be noted,...

Until the late 1960s, the World Bank presented itself as an institution devoted to making sound and directly productive project loans. Yet, during its very early years, some discussions developed inside the Bank regarding the possibility of issuing different types of loans, namely (i) loans...

Development economics in its early years created the image of a fierce fight between advocates of contrasting theories or approaches - quot;balanced growthquot; vs. unbalanced growth or program loans vs. project loans. This view has the merit to highlight such conflicts in great detail; yet it...