Updated: Sunday, September 10, 2006  01:49 PM

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. From the Director-General

It is my pleasure to present to you the first issue of the Independent Evaluation Group's (IEG's) newsletter. The purpose of the newsletter is to share with you some highlights of IEG's evaluations and through them, report on progress in development practices.

IEG's mission is to assess the relevance and impact of the World Bank Group's support to developing countries. The objective is to influence the directions of the World Bank Group, clients, and partners and to help improve development outcomes. The bases of the assessments are independently derived evaluative findings of projects, programs, themes, corporate activities, and global programs of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

We provide critical assessments of current directions as well as recommendations on how results might be improved upon. For example, a recently published evaluation of trade notes the striking progress in achieving greater trade openness, but finds a lack of complementary actions to get payoffs from this liberalization. A report on the Bank's support to primary education highlights the progress in expanding access, but recommends far more attention to learning outcomes. The annual evaluation reports from IEG departments at MIGA, IFC, and the World Bank bring together the main findings of each. Increasingly, IEG is also doing joint work across these departments.

The evaluations have constructive, even if critical, dimensions. They are meant to serve as inputs in the future design and implementation of projects, programs, and policies. Important in this effort is the recognition of where and when the World Bank Group has performed well, as highlighted in IEG's annual awards for good practices. At the Bank, we commended eight Bank projects in a wide variety of areas, including agriculture, natural disasters, and power rehabilitation, for their excellent project design and high development impact. At the IFC, IEG handed awards to teams working on projects dealing with private equity investment, financial markets, agribusiness and mining.

We very much look forward to your feedback on IEG's work and on new possiblities going forward.

Vinod Thomas, Director-General, IEG

2. NEW:

NEW: Debt Relief for the Poorest: An Evaluation Update of the HIPC Initiative

The report finds that heavily indebted poor country (HIPC) cut debt ratios in half for 18 countries. Yet those debt ratios have deteriorated since the debt relief was granted. In eight countries, the ratios once again exceed HIPC thresholds for debt sustainability. "Debt reduction alone is insufficient for debt sustainability," said Victoria Elliott, Manager Corporate Evaluation and Methods and one of the authors of the report. "It also requires improvements in repayment capacity." Maintaining policy performance is essential for countries not yet at a completion point to reap the benefits of debt reduction. About $50 billion has been committed in nominal debt service relief under the enhanced HIPC Initiative to decision point countries.

Read more: http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/hipc/?intcmp=5268460

NEW: Education: From Schooling Access to Learning Outcomes – An Unfinished Agenda

This evaluation confirms that although overall primary school enrollments have increased considerably, learning has made much less headway, in part because of inadequate emphasis on learning outcomes. This should be seen against the clear evidence that the poverty-reduction effects of primary education come not from years of education received, but from improved literacy and numeracy. The report recommends that countries, the World Bank, and development partners give the same emphasis to learning outcomes as to access, so that the world's increasing investments in primary education have a far greater impact on poverty reduction and national development. The World Bank is the largest external nongovernmental funder of education. It has transferred about US$36.5 billion for education since 1963. Currently the lending portfolio consists of about 143 operations in 88 countries, amounting to US$8.4 billion.

Read more: http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/education/?intcmp=5268461

NEW: Yemen Country Assistance Evaluation

Rapid depletion of groundwater in major population centers is threatening the Republic of Yemen's social and economic sustainability. Exacerbating the crisis is a high rate of population growth; expanding cultivation of qat, a water-intensive narcotic plant; and limited capacity of the government for delivering public services. Bank assistance since 1999 has focused on strengthening governance and public sector capacity. This evaluation stresses that the Bank's strategy was relevant to the needs of the country but it was overly optimistic with respect to the durability of government ownership. The assistance program that was actually delivered was considerably more modest than envisaged and had limited development impact. Despite its early social and economic development, the Republic of Yemen is a multiparty democracy with universal suffrage and a free press. The ruling party (General People's Congress or GPC) is a fragile coalition with shifting alliances among diverse groups with military, tribal, and religious affiliations.

Read more: http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/yemen/?intcmp=5268462

NEW: IEG Annual Review of Fiscal 2005 Evaluation Findings in IFC

IEG's ninth Annual Review seeks to answer three important questions about IFC's performance: (a) Is IFC supporting sustainable private sector enterprises? (b) Is IFC successfully managing the key drivers of its results? (c) Is IFC addressing the unique challenges of doing business in sub-Saharan Africa? This report finds that IFC's results are in line with those achieved in recent years, and IFC is generally managing the key drivers of its results well. The high business climate risk in sub-Saharan Africa-where only five countries have sustained medium and/or low sovereign credit risk ratings since 1990-constrained private investment and was responsible for a relative shortage of viable investment opportunities for IFC compared to other regions. The review makes several recommendations geared toward overcoming the special challenges of doing business in Africa, including the development of local currency instruments to offset foreign exchange risk, and IFC's taking the institutional lead in championing private sector development in the Region. Beginning 2007, IEG Annual Reviews will be disclosed. A summary of the 2005 Annual Review will be posted to http://www.ifc.org/ieg by August 31, 2006.

NEW: IEG Tool for Investment Promotion Practitioners

IEG's report Improving Investment Climates: An Evaluation of World Bank Group Assistance assesses the effectiveness of the World Bank Group in helping its member countries improve their investment climates for businesses, covering the Bank, IFC, and MIGA. Investment promotion practitioners might find this report useful in providing insights on how the value and impact of investment promotion activities potentially could be assessed.

Read more: http://www.fdicenter.com/toolkit/Documents/1/investment_climate_evaluation.pdf

3. UPCOMING: Evaluation of the World Bank's Support to Low-Income Countries under Stress

Fragile states pose some of the toughest development challenges. Most have poor governance. Many, like Sudan, are embroiled in extended internal conflicts. Some, like Timor-Leste, are struggling through tenuous post-conflict transitions. All face similar hurdles: weak security, fractured societal relations, corruption, breakdown in the rule of law, and lack of mechanisms for generating legitimate power and authority. This evaluation emphasizes that international engagement in these countries needs to be quickly followed by a clear and relevant reform agenda. To achieve better results without overwhelming country capacity, reforms should be sequenced appropriately, with sufficient time to implement them. The report further highlights that donor coordination is unlikely to succeed without a shared vision and purpose.

The report will be available at http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/?intcmp=5268463

4. VOICES FROM THE FIELD: Early Reading Skills in Rural Peru

Improving learning outcomes among the disadvantaged is possible In the hills of the rural community of Ccochapata, Cusco, in Peru, lies a small, isolated, bilingual educational center. Tomasa Ayllone is the sole teacher of this center and every day hosts approximately 12 indigenous children of different ages, who walk vast distances to come learn how to read in their native tongue, Quechua, and learn the Spanish language as well. A World Bank project visited this school in an effort to assess whether children in the 1st and 2nd gradescould read a simple 60-word paragraph taken from a grade 1 language textbook within 1 minute. This is the standard test that measures 1st and 2nd graders' abilities in industrialized countries. Tomasa and her students beat the odds, even under the disadvantaged conditions they endure daily. IEG's Evaluation of World Bank Support to Primary Education emphasizes that "Reading is considered the foundation of all school learning..." but Peru has still a long way to go in prioritizing early reading skills, particularly when "Bank-supported projects have rarely contained specific support for improved reading skills in early grades."

Read more: http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/education/interest.html?intcmp=5268464

5. DID YOU KNOW? The changing pattern of natural disasters

IEG's recent study on natural disasters shows that disasters have risen in frequency from fewer than 100 in 1975 to more than 400 in 2005. Though the number of earthquakes has remained relatively constant, the number of disasters caused by severe weather and flooding has risen sharply. "This increase is clearly tied to environmental degradation," says Ronald Parker, lead author of the report. Natural hazards have also become more costly, as more people have moved to more vulnerable coastal cities. The US$ 652 billion of material losses over the past 10 years was 15 times greater than in the 1950s. Approximately 2.6 billion people were affected by natural disasters over the past 10 years, compared to 1.6 billion in the previous decade.

Read more: http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/naturaldisasters/?intcmp=5268465

6. MEET WITH: Ronald Parker

Ronald Parker is an IEG Lead Evaluation Officer. He deals with a broad range of issues, including urban and rural infrastructure, cultural heritage, social development, and natural disasters. He joined IEG as a staff member in 1999. What he likes most about his job is that it enables him to identify recurrent patterns associated with success and failure. "Development is about results. Here at IEG, we can have a real impact by showing policy makers inside the Bank and the development community at large what works and what doesn't." Prior to joining the Bank, Ronald Parker worked for 15 years as a project manager with the United Nations, the US Agency on International Development, INTERTECT, and numerous nongovernmental organizations. In a forthcoming evaluation, he assesses the links between natural disasters, environmental degradation, and climate change.

7. FAQ: What makes IEG independent?

IEG is an independent entity within the World Bank Group. IEG reports its findings directly to the Board of Executive Directors without Bank management's pre-clearance. IEG has a long track record of recognizing the Bank's achievements - but also addressing its shortcomings and making recommendations for improvements. IEG's program and budget is prepared independently from the Bank's budget, under the oversight of its Director General; is endorsed by the Committee on Development Effectiveness; and is approved by the Executive Directors. IEG's evaluation reports are transmitted to the Executive Directors through the Director General, following Bank management review and opportunity to comment.

Read more: http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/dge_mandate.html?intcmp=5268466

8. RECENT E-PUBLICATIONS

If you would like to learn more about IEG's latest publications, including country assistance, sector, thematic, process and corporate evaluations, please visit the following Web site: http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/recent/?intcmp=5268467

For more information visit: http://www.worldbank.org/ieg
Please send feedback to: ieg@worldbank.org