The World Bank's Early Reflections on Development : A Development Institution or a Bank?
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...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/07/9683581/world-banks-early-reflections-development-development-institution-or-bank http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6840 |
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okr-10986-68402021-04-23T14:02:32Z The World Bank's Early Reflections on Development : A Development Institution or a Bank? Alacevich, Michele BALANCE OF PAYMENTS BANK LENDING BANK LOANS BANK OFFICIAL BANK OFFICIALS BASIC NEEDS BONDS BORROWING BUSINESS COMMUNITY CONSUMER CONSUMER GOODS CONTRIBUTIONS CORPORATION CREDITS CREDITWORTHINESS DEBT DEFICITS DISPOSABLE INCOME ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ECONOMIC COOPERATION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC POLICIES ECONOMIC POLICY EMPLOYERS EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES EXCLUSION EXPENDITURE EXPENDITURES EXTERNALITIES FEDERAL AGENCY FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FISCAL YEARS FOREIGN CURRENCY FOREIGN EXCHANGE FULL EMPLOYMENT HOUSING HOUSING LOANS INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME GROUPS INCOMES INCORPORATED INDIVIDUALS INFLATION INITIATIVE INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL BANK INVESTMENT PROGRAM LACK OF INTEREST LAWYER LEADERSHIP LENDING POLICIES LOAN LOAN APPLICATION LOAN POLICY LOCAL CURRENCY LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANAGERS MIGRATION MONETARY POLICIES MONETARY POLICY MORTGAGE MORTGAGE LOANS NATIONAL BANK NATIONAL ECONOMY ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE PATH DEPENDENCE PATH DEPENDENT PRIVATE SAVINGS PRODUCTIVITY RATE OF GROWTH REORGANIZATION REPAYMENT RESPONSIBILITIES SAVINGS SENIOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL STRUCTURE SOCIAL WELFARE SOURCE OF FUNDS SPONSOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TRADE UNIONS TYPES OF LOANS UNEMPLOYMENT URBAN DEVELOPMENT URBAN POPULATION URBAN SERVICES URBANIZATION WORTH 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 aimed at tackling social issues ("social loans"), and (ii) loans aimed at providing foreign currency to address disequilibria in the balance of payments ("impact loans"). This paper brings together historical analysis and theories of organization development to study the housing issue as a case in point. The analysis reveals that the Bank was unwilling to lend for housing programs not because these were not sound - in fact, they were - but because they were geared toward achieving social welfare objectives and were not directly linked to productive investment projects, such as dams, power stations, and railroads. This early decision had a significant impact on the subsequent development of the Bank's view of policy-making: it locked the institution into a particular lending pattern, and deprived it of important intellectual resources. It was not until the late 1960s that the Bank began to take social issues into consideration, rather late compared with other multilateral institutions. 2012-06-01T14:35:06Z 2012-06-01T14:35:06Z 2008-07 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/07/9683581/world-banks-early-reflections-development-development-institution-or-bank http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6840 English Policy Research Working Paper No. 4670 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
BALANCE OF PAYMENTS BANK LENDING BANK LOANS BANK OFFICIAL BANK OFFICIALS BASIC NEEDS BONDS BORROWING BUSINESS COMMUNITY CONSUMER CONSUMER GOODS CONTRIBUTIONS CORPORATION CREDITS CREDITWORTHINESS DEBT DEFICITS DISPOSABLE INCOME ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ECONOMIC COOPERATION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC POLICIES ECONOMIC POLICY EMPLOYERS EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES EXCLUSION EXPENDITURE EXPENDITURES EXTERNALITIES FEDERAL AGENCY FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FISCAL YEARS FOREIGN CURRENCY FOREIGN EXCHANGE FULL EMPLOYMENT HOUSING HOUSING LOANS INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME GROUPS INCOMES INCORPORATED INDIVIDUALS INFLATION INITIATIVE INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL BANK INVESTMENT PROGRAM LACK OF INTEREST LAWYER LEADERSHIP LENDING POLICIES LOAN LOAN APPLICATION LOAN POLICY LOCAL CURRENCY LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANAGERS MIGRATION MONETARY POLICIES MONETARY POLICY MORTGAGE MORTGAGE LOANS NATIONAL BANK NATIONAL ECONOMY ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE PATH DEPENDENCE PATH DEPENDENT PRIVATE SAVINGS PRODUCTIVITY RATE OF GROWTH REORGANIZATION REPAYMENT RESPONSIBILITIES SAVINGS SENIOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL STRUCTURE SOCIAL WELFARE SOURCE OF FUNDS SPONSOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TRADE UNIONS TYPES OF LOANS UNEMPLOYMENT URBAN DEVELOPMENT URBAN POPULATION URBAN SERVICES URBANIZATION WORTH |
| spellingShingle |
BALANCE OF PAYMENTS BANK LENDING BANK LOANS BANK OFFICIAL BANK OFFICIALS BASIC NEEDS BONDS BORROWING BUSINESS COMMUNITY CONSUMER CONSUMER GOODS CONTRIBUTIONS CORPORATION CREDITS CREDITWORTHINESS DEBT DEFICITS DISPOSABLE INCOME ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ECONOMIC COOPERATION ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC POLICIES ECONOMIC POLICY EMPLOYERS EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES EXCLUSION EXPENDITURE EXPENDITURES EXTERNALITIES FEDERAL AGENCY FINANCIAL INSTITUTION FISCAL YEARS FOREIGN CURRENCY FOREIGN EXCHANGE FULL EMPLOYMENT HOUSING HOUSING LOANS INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME GROUPS INCOMES INCORPORATED INDIVIDUALS INFLATION INITIATIVE INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL BANK INVESTMENT PROGRAM LACK OF INTEREST LAWYER LEADERSHIP LENDING POLICIES LOAN LOAN APPLICATION LOAN POLICY LOCAL CURRENCY LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANAGERS MIGRATION MONETARY POLICIES MONETARY POLICY MORTGAGE MORTGAGE LOANS NATIONAL BANK NATIONAL ECONOMY ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE PATH DEPENDENCE PATH DEPENDENT PRIVATE SAVINGS PRODUCTIVITY RATE OF GROWTH REORGANIZATION REPAYMENT RESPONSIBILITIES SAVINGS SENIOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL STRUCTURE SOCIAL WELFARE SOURCE OF FUNDS SPONSOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TRADE UNIONS TYPES OF LOANS UNEMPLOYMENT URBAN DEVELOPMENT URBAN POPULATION URBAN SERVICES URBANIZATION WORTH Alacevich, Michele The World Bank's Early Reflections on Development : A Development Institution or a Bank? |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper No. 4670 |
| description |
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 aimed at tackling social issues
("social loans"), and (ii) loans aimed at
providing foreign currency to address disequilibria in the
balance of payments ("impact loans"). This paper
brings together historical analysis and theories of
organization development to study the housing issue as a
case in point. The analysis reveals that the Bank was
unwilling to lend for housing programs not because these
were not sound - in fact, they were - but because they were
geared toward achieving social welfare objectives and were
not directly linked to productive investment projects, such
as dams, power stations, and railroads. This early decision
had a significant impact on the subsequent development of
the Bank's view of policy-making: it locked the
institution into a particular lending pattern, and deprived
it of important intellectual resources. It was not until the
late 1960s that the Bank began to take social issues into
consideration, rather late compared with other multilateral institutions. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
| author |
Alacevich, Michele |
| author_facet |
Alacevich, Michele |
| author_sort |
Alacevich, Michele |
| title |
The World Bank's Early Reflections on Development : A Development Institution or a Bank? |
| title_short |
The World Bank's Early Reflections on Development : A Development Institution or a Bank? |
| title_full |
The World Bank's Early Reflections on Development : A Development Institution or a Bank? |
| title_fullStr |
The World Bank's Early Reflections on Development : A Development Institution or a Bank? |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The World Bank's Early Reflections on Development : A Development Institution or a Bank? |
| title_sort |
world bank's early reflections on development : a development institution or a bank? |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2012 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/07/9683581/world-banks-early-reflections-development-development-institution-or-bank http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6840 |
| _version_ |
1764400955326988288 |