Reforms and reformers: michael cernea at the world bank

The institutional and organizational change was the subject of a rich literature for a long time. There are several specialized fields ( e.g. institutional economics, organizations theory etc.) and interdisciplinary approaches focused on the understanding and predicting changes of institutions and organizations, much being related to the business sector and politics or government affairs. Far more less research has been done on the changing of international organizations like IMF and World Bank than on common organizations in business and society. The World Bank has periodically changed its approach on the development of poor countries and its technique of project management, but these facts were treated as answers to the challenges coming from the new realities of world economy. Somehow, the inside actors who have developed new ideas for the most important agency of international development were neglected. One of those main thinkers from within, creating a sociocultural paradigm of the development, is Michael Cernea. He has introduced the social analysis as an important dimension throughout the project cycle and created an impetus for the changing of Bank policy. In addition, social organization and cultural heritage in the areas of projects funded by the World Bank have been considered targeted objectives after Michael Cernea's Putting People First was published. The papers aims at shortly presenting Michael Cernea's life, ideas and scientific contributions, emphasizing his original thinking on the development of poor countries. It is a narrative essay divided in four parts: part one- background and professional development; part two- scientific work and main contributions to the development literature; part three- international recognition; part four-conclusions.