Series consists of chronological correspondence sent and received by Gautam Kaji while serving as Managing Director of the World Bank. Series broadly consists of three chronologically parallel parts: general correspondence; correspondence authored by Kaji and Managing Director Koch-Weser; and correspondence between Kaji and World Bank President Wolfensohn.
General correspondence records date from December 1994 when Kaji assumed the position of Managing Director and November 1997 when he retired from the Bank. Files are generally divided into two sections. The first section includes internal Bank correspondence. The most common records in this group are those relating to Kaji's role as Chairman of the Loan Committee and its successor, the Operations Committee. These records include reports on potential projects, materials related to regular Operations Committee meetings, and Kaji's comments on draft Country Assistance Strategies. Other topics discussed in the records of this series include: performance monitoring indicators and performance standards; guarantees in private sector investment in IDA countries and the World Bank Guarantee Program; World Debt Tables; the Bank-wide reorganization of 1997; conference attendance; planning and review of Bank program and budget; and operations and business policy development, review, and dissemination. Records include: drafts of Kaji's publications; Kaji's speeches; personal correspondence; meeting notices; memoranda to the Executive Directors; operations review reports; and Quarterly Reports on Pending Tranche Releases of Adjustment Operations. The second and smaller section of records includes correspondence from, and responses to, external parties. Topics of this correspondence are wide ranging but generally discuss East Asia operations and sector research.
The second part of the series includes correspondence authored jointly by Kaji and Managing Director Caio K. Koch-Weser from December 1995 to November 1997. Together, Kaji and Koch-Weser were responsible for Bankoperations. Records discuss a variety of topics related to operations, including an increasingly results-driven approach to project implementation and evaluation as well as the need for simplification of operational procedures and reporting. Correspondence, which is most often between Kaji and Koch-Weser and regional Vice Presidents, discuss portfolio management, disbursements, completion reports, Country Assistance Strategies, and economic and sector work. Staffing related to the 1997 reorganization and the launch of the Bank's new network organization are also discussed.
The third part of the series includes correspondence with attachments between Kaji and Bank President James Wolfensohn from March 1995 to November 1997. Correspondence consists of copies of correspondence and attachments authored by Kaji and sent to Wolfensohn as well as Wolfensohn's incoming and outgoing correspondence from others which was then forwarded to Kaji. Correspondence serves a variety of purposes: information dissemination; briefing for Wolfensohn's meetings; answering Wolfensohn's requests for information; authoring correspondence for Wolfensohn; and submitting reports, announcement, and correspondence for Wolfensohn's approval.
