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Development Agency or Bank? Vision and Strategy of the World Bank in the 50’s and 60’s

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  • Michele Alacevich

Abstract

Until the late 1960s, the World Bank presented itself as an institution devoted to making sound and directly productive project loans. This paper brings together historical analysis and theories of organization development to reveal that the Bank was unwilling to lend for housing programs not because these were not sound, but because they were geared toward achieving social welfare objectives and were not directly linked to productive investment projects, such as dams, power stations, and railroads. It was not until the late 1960s that the Bank began to take social issues into consideration, rather late compared with other multilateral institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Michele Alacevich, 2010. "Development Agency or Bank? Vision and Strategy of the World Bank in the 50’s and 60’s," QA - Rivista dell'Associazione Rossi-Doria, Associazione Rossi Doria, issue 1, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:rar:journl:0127
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    World bank; Development policies; Housing; Evolutionary theories of organizations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • F33 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
    • N20 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • N60 - Economic History - - Manufacturing and Construction - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • O19 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
    • O20 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - General

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