Video

Practitioners of Development Seminar Series: Perspectives from Former Bank Country Directors Watch Video Connection Speed: High Speed Low Speed Audio    Event Title : Practitioners of Development Seminar Series Date : 10/6/2004 Duration : 01:49:50 minutes Language  : English Country/Region : World Keyword :  Economic Development  Poverty   Presenter : Marcelo Giugale Gobind Nankani Christine  Wallich | Related Material | Recommendations |Related B-SPAN Videos |  DESCRIPTION  The Practitioners in Development lecture series hosted a breakfast on October 6, 2004 with Gobind Nankani, Vice-President and Network Head of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit (PREM) at the World Bank. Continuing on the themes addressed in the previous day’s event, entitled “Economic Growth in the 1990s: Learning from a Decade of Reform,” Nankani’s lecture focused on the results and operational implications of the forthcoming PREM publication of the same title. Nankani explained that the primary reasons for undertaking the study was that emerging evidence from the decade’s reforms points to fundamental flaws in the Washington Consensus prescription for reform and growth. He described the convention as “simplistic” and “incomplete” (noting that equity and the role of institutions are all but ignored in the formula). He also remarked on the lack of specificity in the application of Washington Consensus reform measures during the period. After detailing what the study has found to be the major flaws of development policy in the 1990s, Nankani went on to highlight some of the lessons for development policy makers and Country Directors. He said that evidence is clear that a successful development strategy will be country specific, sensitive to institutional endowments, selective, and humble in its approach. After his presentation, a number of Country Directors chimed in with thoughts and observations regarding the study and their own experiences and lessons from the 1990s. Country Director Marcelo Giugale reflected on the legacy of the Washington Consensus in Latin America, and Christine I. Wallich contributed to the discussion of country focus and the need to address country needs as a whole, despite the World Bank’s inclination toward sector-specific experts. Wallich, Country Director for the South Asia Country Unit, World Bank Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh, cited specific examples from her region. The breakfast closed with a question and answer period.  RELATED MATERIALS   PowerPoint presentation by Gobind Nankani RELATED B-SPAN EVENTS Economic Development (416) Poverty (258) RELATED WORLD BANK LINKS Practitioners in Development: Lessons from the 1990s