Good Countries or Good Projects? Macro and Micro Correlates of World Bank Project Performance

Good Countries or Good Projects? Macro and Micro Correlates of World Bank Project Performance

The authors use data from more than 6,000 World Bank projects evaluated between 1983 and 2009 to investigate macro and micro correlates of project outcomes. They find that country-level "macro" measures of the quality of policies and inst...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Denizer, Cevdet, Kaufmann, Daniel, Kraay, Aart
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:	ACCOUNTING ADJUSTMENT OPERATIONS ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS AGRICULTURE BANK LENDING BENCHMARK COMMUNITIES COMPLEMENTARITIES COUNTRY EFFECTS COUNTRY PROJECT DESCRIPTION DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC RATE OF RETURN ECONOMIC SECTORS ECONOMIC SURVEYS EVALUATION METHODS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FINANCIAL SECTOR FLEXIBILITY GDP GENDER ICR IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION REPORT INFLATION INFLATION RATE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTION LEADING INDICATORS MACROECONOMIC POLICIES MACROECONOMIC SHOCKS MACROECONOMIC STABILITY MACROECONOMICS MONITORING DATA POLITICAL ECONOMY POVERTY REDUCTION PRODUCTIVITY PROGRAMS PROJECT EVALUATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROJECT MONITORING PROJECT OBJECTIVES PROJECT PERFORMANCE REAL GDP RURAL DEVELOPMENT STATISTICAL ANALYSIS STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT SUBSIDIARY TARGETING TASK MANAGERS TRANSPORT URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110502085201 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3410

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Summary:	The authors use data from more than 6,000 World Bank projects evaluated between 1983 and 2009 to investigate macro and micro correlates of project outcomes. They find that country-level "macro" measures of the quality of policies and institutions are very strongly correlated with project outcomes, confirming the importance of country-level performance for the effective use of aid resources. However, a striking feature of the data is that the success of individual development projects varies much more within countries than it does between countries. The authors assemble a large set of project-level "micro" correlates of project outcomes in an effort to explain some of this within-country variation. They find that measures of project size, the extent of project supervision, and evaluation lags are all significantly correlated with project outcomes, as are early-warning indicators that flag problematic projects during the implementation stage. They also find that measures of World Bank project task manager quality matter significantly for the ultimate outcome of projects. They discuss the implications of these findings for donor policies aimed at aid effectiveness.