Visualizing Uncertainties, or How Albert Hirschman and the World Bank Disagreed on Project Appraisal and Development Approaches
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 H...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/11/16921011/visualizing-uncertainties-or-albert-hirschman-world-bank-disagreed-project-appraisal-development-approaches http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19931 |
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okr-10986-199312021-04-23T14:03:52Z Visualizing Uncertainties, or How Albert Hirschman and the World Bank Disagreed on Project Appraisal and Development Approaches Alacevich, Michele AGRICULTURE AID AID PROGRAMS ASSETS BANK OFFICERS BEST PRACTICES CENTRAL PLANNING COLLECTIVE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIES CORPORATION COST ANALYSIS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES DEVELOPMENT BANKS DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT FINANCE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS DEVELOPMENT ISSUES DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS DEVELOPMENT POLICIES DEVELOPMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES DEVELOPMENT THEORIES DEVELOPMENT THEORY DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ECONOMIC CRITERIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC HISTORY ECONOMIC RESEARCH ECONOMIC STRUCTURE ECONOMICS ENTREPRENEURSHIP EQUALITY ETHNIC GROUPS HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT HOUSING INDIVIDUALS INDUSTRIALIZATION INFLATION INITIATIVE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INVESTIGATION INVESTIGATIONS JOINT VENTURE LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES LIMITED MANAGERS MIGRATION MODERNIZATION NATIONAL GOVERNMENT NATURAL RESOURCES PER CAPITA INCOME POLITICAL ECONOMY PROFITABILITY PUBLIC UTILITIES RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ROAD TOLLS SHADOW PRICES SOCIETY TELECOMMUNICATIONS TRANSPORT UNDERDEVELOPMENT UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME WEALTH WELFARE ECONOMICS 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 expectations at the Bank. Hirschman's conclusions -- published first in internal Bank reports and then, as a book in 1967 -- disappointed many at the Bank, primarily because they found it impractical. Hirschman wanted to offer the Bank a new vision by transforming the Bank's approach to project design, project management and project appraisal. What the Bank expected from Hirschman, HOWEVER, was not a revolution but an examination of the Bank's projects and advice on how to make project design and management more measurable, controllable, and suitable for replication. The history of this failed collaboration provides useful insights on the unstable equilibrium between operations and evaluation within the Bank. In addition, it shows that the Bank actively participated in the development economics debates of the 1960s. This should be of interest for development economists today who reflect on the future of their discipline emphasizing the need for a non-dogmatic approach to development. It should also be of interest for the Bank itself, which is stressing the importance of evaluation for effective development policies. The history of the practice of development economics, using archival material, can bring new perspectives and help better understand the evolution of this discipline. 2014-09-02T19:12:59Z 2014-09-02T19:12:59Z 2012-11 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/11/16921011/visualizing-uncertainties-or-albert-hirschman-world-bank-disagreed-project-appraisal-development-approaches http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19931 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6260 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ 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 en_US |
| topic |
AGRICULTURE AID AID PROGRAMS ASSETS BANK OFFICERS BEST PRACTICES CENTRAL PLANNING COLLECTIVE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIES CORPORATION COST ANALYSIS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES DEVELOPMENT BANKS DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT FINANCE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS DEVELOPMENT ISSUES DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS DEVELOPMENT POLICIES DEVELOPMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES DEVELOPMENT THEORIES DEVELOPMENT THEORY DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ECONOMIC CRITERIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC HISTORY ECONOMIC RESEARCH ECONOMIC STRUCTURE ECONOMICS ENTREPRENEURSHIP EQUALITY ETHNIC GROUPS HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT HOUSING INDIVIDUALS INDUSTRIALIZATION INFLATION INITIATIVE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INVESTIGATION INVESTIGATIONS JOINT VENTURE LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES LIMITED MANAGERS MIGRATION MODERNIZATION NATIONAL GOVERNMENT NATURAL RESOURCES PER CAPITA INCOME POLITICAL ECONOMY PROFITABILITY PUBLIC UTILITIES RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ROAD TOLLS SHADOW PRICES SOCIETY TELECOMMUNICATIONS TRANSPORT UNDERDEVELOPMENT UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME WEALTH WELFARE ECONOMICS |
| spellingShingle |
AGRICULTURE AID AID PROGRAMS ASSETS BANK OFFICERS BEST PRACTICES CENTRAL PLANNING COLLECTIVE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIES CORPORATION COST ANALYSIS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES DEVELOPMENT BANKS DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT FINANCE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS DEVELOPMENT ISSUES DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS DEVELOPMENT POLICIES DEVELOPMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES DEVELOPMENT THEORIES DEVELOPMENT THEORY DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ECONOMIC CRITERIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC HISTORY ECONOMIC RESEARCH ECONOMIC STRUCTURE ECONOMICS ENTREPRENEURSHIP EQUALITY ETHNIC GROUPS HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT HOUSING INDIVIDUALS INDUSTRIALIZATION INFLATION INITIATIVE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INVESTIGATION INVESTIGATIONS JOINT VENTURE LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES LIMITED MANAGERS MIGRATION MODERNIZATION NATIONAL GOVERNMENT NATURAL RESOURCES PER CAPITA INCOME POLITICAL ECONOMY PROFITABILITY PUBLIC UTILITIES RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ROAD TOLLS SHADOW PRICES SOCIETY TELECOMMUNICATIONS TRANSPORT UNDERDEVELOPMENT UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME WEALTH WELFARE ECONOMICS Alacevich, Michele Visualizing Uncertainties, or How Albert Hirschman and the World Bank Disagreed on Project Appraisal and Development Approaches |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6260 |
| description |
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 expectations at the Bank. Hirschman's
conclusions -- published first in internal Bank reports and
then, as a book in 1967 -- disappointed many at the Bank,
primarily because they found it impractical. Hirschman
wanted to offer the Bank a new vision by transforming the
Bank's approach to project design, project management
and project appraisal. What the Bank expected from
Hirschman, HOWEVER, was not a revolution but an examination
of the Bank's projects and advice on how to make
project design and management more measurable, controllable,
and suitable for replication. The history of this failed
collaboration provides useful insights on the unstable
equilibrium between operations and evaluation within the
Bank. In addition, it shows that the Bank actively
participated in the development economics debates of the
1960s. This should be of interest for development economists
today who reflect on the future of their discipline
emphasizing the need for a non-dogmatic approach to
development. It should also be of interest for the Bank
itself, which is stressing the importance of evaluation for
effective development policies. The history of the practice
of development economics, using archival material, can bring
new perspectives and help better understand the evolution of
this discipline. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
| author |
Alacevich, Michele |
| author_facet |
Alacevich, Michele |
| author_sort |
Alacevich, Michele |
| title |
Visualizing Uncertainties, or How Albert Hirschman and the World Bank Disagreed on Project Appraisal and Development Approaches |
| title_short |
Visualizing Uncertainties, or How Albert Hirschman and the World Bank Disagreed on Project Appraisal and Development Approaches |
| title_full |
Visualizing Uncertainties, or How Albert Hirschman and the World Bank Disagreed on Project Appraisal and Development Approaches |
| title_fullStr |
Visualizing Uncertainties, or How Albert Hirschman and the World Bank Disagreed on Project Appraisal and Development Approaches |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Visualizing Uncertainties, or How Albert Hirschman and the World Bank Disagreed on Project Appraisal and Development Approaches |
| title_sort |
visualizing uncertainties, or how albert hirschman and the world bank disagreed on project appraisal and development approaches |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/11/16921011/visualizing-uncertainties-or-albert-hirschman-world-bank-disagreed-project-appraisal-development-approaches http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19931 |
| _version_ |
1764443932173795328 |