The Role of Political Economy Analysis in Development Policy Operations
This learning product reviews the extent to which political economy analysis (PEA) is used to improve the design of development policy operations (DPOs) and how effective it has been. Although the World Bank’s mandate explicitly precludes it from e...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/898111481742045464/The-role-of-political-economy-analysis-in-development-policy-operations http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25866 |
| Summary: | This learning product reviews the extent
to which political economy analysis (PEA) is used to improve
the design of development policy operations (DPOs) and how
effective it has been. Although the World Bank’s mandate
explicitly precludes it from engaging in politics, an
understanding of the political economy is critical for the
organization’s effectiveness. A political economy
perspective broadens the World Bank’s operational
considerations beyond technical analysis to the significance
of power relations and the national political processes.
This study mostly builds on evaluative findings from
previous IEG work, including ICRRs, PPARs of long-term
programmatic series (Tanzania, Vietnam, Uganda, and Ghana
PRSCs). Supplementary evaluative evidence was gathered
through a portfolio review of randomly selected DPOs,
internal PEA reports, and Systematic Country Diagnostic
reports (SCDs) relevant for DPOs. The study found that PEA
can improve the design of DPOs by identifying implementation
risks and mitigating action; there are different ways to
make use of PEA; PEA can inform specific design elements,
and that PEA can be used in self-evaluations to better
analyze factors affecting program effectiveness and
contribute to knowledge and improved design. |
|---|