Sangam: A Confluence of Knowledge Streams

From public sector management to governance: Changing ideas about economic development, the *state, and the World Bank.

Show simple item record

dc.contributor Zimmerman, William
dc.creator Myers, Charles T.
dc.date 2016-08-30T15:13:59Z
dc.date 2016-08-30T15:13:59Z
dc.date 2002
dc.date.accessioned 2022-05-19T12:16:40Z
dc.date.available 2022-05-19T12:16:40Z
dc.identifier http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqm&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3068928
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/123241
dc.identifier.uri http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/109733
dc.description The World Bank is now promoting good governance in developing countries. This study shows how the Bank adopted governance programs as a defensive measure in response to criticisms of its development activities and to reflect the growing interest in institutions in economics, the Bank's dominant intellectual influence. However the economic bias of the Bank's approach to governance as well as its aspirations to political neutrality hinder its efforts, increasing the gap between the Bank's rhetoric about governance and what it accomplishes. The governance agenda includes public management, government accountability, transparency of government processes, rule of law, and corruption. While the Bank has been concerned with the management of development projects and government programs since its inception, the governance agenda represents a significant change in direction for an institution that has presented itself as a politically neutral expert in economic development. The programs parallel changes in the economic assistance programs of its major shareholders and the ideas of economists about institutions and governance. The Bank has used a provision in its articles barring intervention in the politics of borrowing states as a way of limiting governance programs in order to maintain its image of political neutrality in dealing with borrowers. In considering the promotion of good governance the study employs Risse and Sikkink's spiral model and Kahler's bargaining model to explore the relationship between power and ideas in the promotion of ideas by international organizations. The Bank's experience in exercising power through loan conditionality has been of limited success because of its reluctance to terminate relationships with states that do not complete governance reforms and its unwillingness to become involved in the politics of borrowers. Its efforts to promote its ideas through technical assistance, while more promising where the technology is settled and political commitment strong, have been hindered by the bias of the Bank towards ideas based in economics and its lack of knowledge of the social and political context of governance problems.
dc.description Ph.D.
dc.description International law
dc.description Political science
dc.description Social Sciences
dc.description University of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies
dc.description http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/123241/2/3068928.pdf
dc.format 256 p.
dc.format application/pdf
dc.language English
dc.language EN
dc.subject Changing
dc.subject Economic Development
dc.subject Governance
dc.subject Ideas
dc.subject Management
dc.subject Public Sector
dc.subject State
dc.subject World Bank
dc.title From public sector management to governance: Changing ideas about economic development, the *state, and the World Bank.
dc.type Thesis


Files in this item

Files Size Format View
3068928.pdf 12.40Mb application/pdf View/Open

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record

Search DSpace


Advanced Search

Browse