Aid vs. development
Guest blogging for Bill Easterly, Lant Pritchett warns against any simple enthusiasm that mainstreaming aid evaluation at USAID (or anywhere else, for that matter) will by itself help bring about...
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Michela Wrong's turn at the World Bank
Michela Wrong, the author of It's Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a K
View ArticleThe mysterious acronym PFI
I am often confused when using acronyms. In the vast terminology of public private partnerships (PPP), it’s not hard to do. For example in a lot of countries the acronym PFI, which stands for Private...
View ArticleDollars and sense
Think you’ve got better money management skills than the world’s poorest? You might be surprised to find out that you’d be up against stiff competition.
View ArticleBlackbeard's co-op on the high seas
If you are looking for something a little different to read at the beach, then Peter Leeson’s new book on economics and piracy might fit the bill. In The Invisible Hook, Leeson applies an “economic way...
View ArticleThe problem of the "development expert"
Last year Bill Easterly came out with some harsh criticism of the development community after the release of the Growth Commission report. The crux of Easterly's complaint: "this report represents the...
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What can the Aswan Dam teach us about building a safe financial system?
Back in grade school, I was the kind of kid who got excited about things like fractal geometry. I even went so far as to attend math camp one summer on the Eastern Shore.
View ArticleBringing Finance to Pakistan's Poor
Yesterday I attended the World Bank's book launch of Bringing Finance to Pakistan's Poor: Access to Finance for Small Enterprises and the Underserved. The authors, Tatiana Nenova and Ceclie Thioro...
View ArticleWorld Bank Events Shout-Out
The World Bank and IFC are featuring several excellent events this week that are well-worth attending.
View ArticleWeekend Reading
Regulatory failure, special interests, and financial sector lobbying: European Union edition. Negative interest rates on T-bills: This time is different.
View ArticleA coda to the industrial policy debates
A few months back, Justin Lin, the World Bank's chief economist, and Bill Easterly had a friendly debate about the merits of industrial policy. Lin has been promoting a concept he terms New...
View Article10 PSD classics of the “Naughties”
As we say goodbye to the “Naughties” I thought it may be interesting to step back and reflect on some of the significant books of the last decade that really did change the way we thought about PSD and...
View ArticleWhatever happened to output-based aid?
Back in 2003, the World Bank and DFID launched the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA). Output-based aid ties payment to service providers to the actual delivery of services in water,...
View ArticleWhatever happened to output-based aid? Ctd
Editor’s Note: Lars Johannes is an Infrastructure Specialist in the World Bank’s Sustainable Development Network, working for the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA). He is task team leader...
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The little data book is out, but for how long?
For the data fans out there, the World Bank's annual Little Data Book on Private Sector Development 2010 is now available for purchase via
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