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Records of the Office of the Chief Economist

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Records of the General Research Advisory Panel and the Special Research Advisory Panels

This series contains the records of the General Research Advisory Panel (GRAP), reports of most of the Special Research Advisory Panels, and detailed records of two of the Special Panels: the Research Advisory Panel on Industrial Development and Trade (ID and T) and the Research Advisory Panel on Income Distribution and Employment (RAPIDE). The GRAP was a panel of outside experts chaired by Sir Arthur Lewis and established by the Bank in 1978 to review the entire research program of the Bank. GRAP was assisted in its work by eight Special Research Advisory Panels which examined and made recommendations on Bank research in specific sectors: Agriculture and Rural Development; Industrial Development and Trade; Commodities; Energy, Water and Telecommunications; Transport; Income Distribution and Employment; Education; and Population. For administrative purposes, the panels were assigned to the Office of the Vice President, Development Policy (VPD), and Suman Bery in VPD served as secretary.

The GRAP records include: biographical notes on and Terms of Reference for panel members; a letter of appointment for each panel member; extensive background documents on the World Bank, the World Bank research program, and the Research Committee; lists of assignments for individual panel members; schedules for the October 26 - 28, 1978, March 5 - 7, 1979, and June 6 - 8, 1979 meetings and handwritten notes from the October and June meetings; various drafts of the panel's report and comments on the drafts from Bank staff; drafts and the final printed copy of President McNamara's November 6, 1979 memorandum to the Executive Directors regarding the GRAP report; the final printed GRAP report dated August 13, 1979 (R79-221); a Summary of Discussion at the Meeting of Executive Directors of the Bank and IDA, December 4, 1979 at which the GRAP report was discussed; memoranda to VPD Chenery regarding the responses of individual Executive Directors to the GRAP report and to President McNamara's memorandum on the report; and Bank staff memoranda regarding the GRAP recommendation for a Research Subsidiary in the Bank. Also included are 1979 - 1980 Bank memoranda regarding: planned follow-up to the GRAP report; funding and guidelines for research; and the Development Policy Staff (DPS) work program and budget for FY 81.

The records of the Research Advisory Panel on Income Distribution and Employment (RAPIDE) include: biographical notes on and Terms of Reference for panel members; individual panel members' letter of appointment and correspondence with other panel members and with Michael Beenstock in the Policy Planning Division who served as coordinator for RAPIDE; copies of Bank documents Beenstock provided the panel members as background material, including a number of memoranda concerning the Bank's research on Income Distribution and Employment; a list of specific assignments for individual members; the schedule for the panel meeting held October 10 - 12, 1977; correspondence with the chair of GRAP regarding the work of the RAPIDE members; various drafts of portions of the panel's report; a copy of the final draft, dated April 10, 1978; and comments from Bank staff on that draft.

The records of the Research Advisory Panel on Industrial Development and Trade (ID and T) include: biographical notes on and Terms of Reference for panel members; letters of appointment; background materials including memoranda and reports from Bank staff regarding research on industry and trade; schedules for the July 17 - 1, 1978, October 10 - 12, 1978, November 30 - December 2, 1978, and February 8 - 9, 1979 meetings and handwritten notes from the July and October meetings; various drafts of the panel's report and comments on the drafts from Bank staff; and copies of first and second Interim Reports of the Industry and Trade Research Steering Committee.

Included in this series are draft final reports for all the special panels except the ones on Population and on Education which are filed separately in (see folder numbers 30135058 and 30135060). Also included are copies of the Terms of Reference and the background reports for the Panel on Energy, Water and Telecommunications and a July 13, 1978 memorandum outlining plans for future work for the Panel on Transport.

Subject Files of the Research Advisers

This series contains the subject files of Research Advisers Ernest Stern (originally titled Senior Adviser) and, beginning in April 1974, Benjamin B. King. After King left the position in March 1977, Ian M.D. Little and Bela Belassa served as acting Research Adviser until the appointment of Shankar Acharya in July 1979. The files include the advisers' correspondence with President McNamara, the Vice President of Development Policy, the directors and staff of the Development Policy departments, members ofthe Research Committee, and non-Bank research professionals. This series also includes some correspondence of the Research Committee secretary. A file on the early administration of the World Bank's research program, 1971 - 1974, includes a history and description of the research program, outlines of research priorities, and memoranda on the policy of long-term consultant appointments funded from the External Research Budget.

Other files contain: tables and correspondence regarding the research budget and the funding of specific projects, July 1971-June 1973; correspondence on rejected proposals, October 1971 - May 1974, including comments on the project proposals and memoranda explaining why specific research proposals were rejected; agenda (May 1971 - June 1979) and minutes ( April 1971 - October 1974; January 1975 - March 1979) of Research Committee meetings; minutes of Review Panel meetings, 1972 - 1978; correspondence regarding the size and membership of the Research Committee, 1971 - 1979; correspondence regarding research proposals (instructions and deadlines for submitting proposals, memoranda conveying the decisions of the Research Committee, lists of proposals each department planned to submit in the coming fiscal year), 1972 - 1974; comments on drafts of the annual report to the Executive Directors on the research program and memoranda summarizing the response of the Directors to the report, 1973 - 1974; correspondence regarding the evaluation of urban development projects and the financing of these evaluations, 1972 - 1975; correspondence with non-Bank personnel, 1971 - 1974 (filed under Outside Correspondence); excerpts from Research Committee minutes and memoranda on funding the sector research program, 1973 - 1977; and information regarding the Development Policy staff's participation and attendance at the International Meetings of the Directors of Development Research and Training Institutes, OECD [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development] in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, August 1972, and in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, August 1974.

Correspondence Concerning the World Bank's Research Program

This series contains primarily letters and memoranda sent and received by the staff of the Vice President, Development Policy (VPD) and by members of the Development Policy Staff and departments. The series consists of two parts: general correspondence and correspondence concerning research on specific subjects (sectors). Much of the general correspondence is from the secretary of the Research Committee (RC) forwarding to committee members meeting agenda, packets of materials to be reviewed in meetings, and minutes of meetings; establishing informal review panels to evaluate research proposals; requesting or commenting on project narratives, status reports, project abstracts, or completion reports from project managers; responding to requests for research funds from non-Bank economists; and transmitting ideas for the World Development Report (WDR) to the WDR staff.

Other correspondence includes letters from VPD Chenery inviting Bank staff to be members of the Research Committee; memoranda from the chairsof review panels reporting the results of the panels' reviews; memoranda from the RC secretary and from other VPD staff outlining procedures for submission and review of research proposals and explaining why a research proposal was not approved by the RC or what changes were required before approval would be granted; letters from Regional economists or from sector staff transmitting research proposals to the RC; and memoranda from the Director, Development Policy, responding to questions from the Executive Directors regarding the Bank's research program. Beginning in May 1978, much of the correspondence consists of copies of letters sent by President McNamara and by VPD staff to members of the General Research Advisory Panel and the Special Research Advisory Panels. Also included is correspondence regarding implementation of the Panels' recommendations. At the end of the general correspondence, there is a folder containing copies of the FY 1977 annual report: World Bank Research Program, January 23, 1978, and a June 19, 1979 Updating Report on the World Bank Research Program.

The second part of the series, which primarily concerns sector research, includes comments on research proposals, review panels' decisions on proposals, Back-to-Office reports from research-related missions, and correspondence responding to GRAP recommendations for research in a sector.

Correspondence and Files Created for Research Projects in Support of Operations (Operations Policy Files)

The series consists of correspondence of Departments and of other organizational units of the Development Policy Staff (DPS), Central Projects Staff (CPS), and the Regional Offices primarily with the Vice President, Development Policy (VPD), the Director, Development Policy, and the DPS Research Adviser concerning research projects in support of operations. Most of these projects were funded through the Bank's External Research Budget beginning in 1972, but the series also includes correspondence relatingto research funded through Department resources. The remainder of the series consists of: research project files, 1972 - 1974 and sector research files, 1975 - 1977.

The research correspondence for the 1972 - 1974 period includes: research proposals forwarded by DPS, CPS, and Regional Office departments to the Research Committee; reports of reviews of research proposals by Research Committee review panels; memos concerning funding estimates for approved research projects; lists of projects requiring funding submitted by the Departments; research project status reports; correspondence of VPD, Bank Departments, and Regional Offices with outside consultants conducting research for approved projects; Terms of Reference (TOR); Back - to - Office Reports (BTOs) for missions associated with research projects; and research proposals from outside researchers and multi-national organizations and responses to these proposals. Also with the 1972 - 1974 correspondence is a copy of the pamphlet World Bank Research Program - Policies and Procedures.

Found with the 1972 - 1974 correspondence are reports prepared in 1973 at the request of Ernest Stern, (Director, Development Policy), which provided information for the first comprehensive report on the Bank's external research program in 1973. Among these reports is a 28 September 1973 status report prepared by the Director, Policy Planning and Program Review Department, DPS of 58 policy papers underway and planned for FY 1974 - FY 1975 and policy papers added, completed, and dropped. A November 30, 1973 update of this report is also in the files. Also among the 1972 - 1974 correspondence are copies of letters and other correspondence concerning the Task Force on Education and Development (ECIEL) and other research issues coming out of the conference on social research held at Bellagio, Italy in February 1974 and co-sponsored by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, the Bank, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID). Filed at the end of the correspondence for 1972 - 1974 are project files relating to various topics including anthropology, export promotion and preference, growth potential of iron ore from developing countries, and urban transport and the automobile.

The research correspondence for 1975 - 1977, while similar in content to the earlier 1972 - 1974 correspondence, includes for the first time copies of mostly administrative correspondence of the Secretary to the Research Committee, Orville F. Grimes, Jr., including copies of Research Committee review panel announcements and minutes of Research Committee meetings. The 1975 - 1977 correspondence also includes Grimes' memos to supervisors of external research projects requesting input for the Abstracts of Current Studies booklet issued annually; copies of revisions of procedures for preparation and submissions of research proposals and informal guidelines for panel review of proposals issued by the Research Adviser; a copy of a bibliography on foreign aid prepared in VPD and furnished to the Executive Directors (EDS) on 19 March 1976 covering publications dated from 1968 to 1975; drafts of sections of the Annual Report on Research forwarded for comment by VPD; correspondence concerning the formation in 1977 of the Research Advisory Panel on Income Distribution and Employment (RAPIDE), including an informal history of the origins of the Research Committee prepared by Grimes (10 October 1972); and a report prepared at VPD's request by the Chief Economist, Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Office, concerning prospective research in country analysis and identification of areas justifying increased external funding or internal staff time.

Immediately following the research correspondence, 1975 - 1977 are three folders, apparently created by Grimes, which contain copies of grey cover annual reports of the World Bank Research Program for 30 December 1975, 8 January 1975, and 13 January 1977, and an annotated draft of the annual report for 1978. A folder on cotton research precedes the 1975-1977 sector research project files which are similar in content to the earlier (1972 - 1974) research project files. The kinds of documents found in the three 1975-1977 research study files at the end of the series (Kenya Socio-Economic Impact, Private Sector Development Study, Socio-Economic Impact Study) are similar to those found in the earlier research project files.

Berne Union Files Maintained by Development Finance Services, Economic Program Department

The International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers (Berne Union) was formed in 1934 with members from France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Its purpose was to foster international acceptance of sound principles of export credit insurance; to establish and maintain discipline in terms of credit for international trade; to maintain sound principles of foreign investment insurance; to encourage a favorable investment climate; and to exchange information, assistance, expertise, and advice in relation to the commercial and political risks associated with export credit and investment insurance.

The January 1965 to January 1970 files cover the period when Andr Nespoulous-Neuville served as a World Bank observer to Berne Union Extraordinary General Meetings held in January and Annual General Meetings usually held in May of the same year. Most meeting files for the period include correspondence regarding meeting arrangements, provisional and final programs and lists of participants, lists of countries to be reviewed at the meetings, press releases (press notices), minutes of the meetings provided by the Berne Union Secretary-General, and the observer's Back-to-Office reports. Some of Nespoulous-Neuville's reports and other correspondence regarding Berne Union are addressed to the President of the Bank, the Director and Associate Director of the Development Services Department, and the Director, Development Finance Services where he was on staff.

The file for the 20 - 25 May 1967 Annual General Meeting in Wiesbaden contains a copy of a statement made by Nespoulous-Neuville at the meeting on the World Bank's Staff Study of Supplier' Credits from Industrialized to Developing Countries. The file for the 16 - 20 January 1967 meeting in Meg?ve includes a copy of a January 26, 1967 letter from Nespoulous-Neuville to the Secretary-General of Berne Union informing him that the Berne Union President had agreed at the meeting to send the World Bank all documents of general interest to the Bank. Most of the files dated after this letter usually include statistical data and other Berne Union documents not previously distributed to the Bank. The file for the London meeting, June 4-9, 1968 is the first to include a letter of invitation to the observer to participate in country review discussions at the meetings.

Nespoulous-Neuville left Development Finances Services before the May 1970 Annual General Meeting and was succeeded as a Bank observer at that meeting by Ugo Sachetti, the Director, Development Finance Services, which became the International Finance Division in the January 15, 1971 Bank reorganization. Sachetti served as observer through the May 1971 Annual General Meeting held in Washington, DC. Among topics discussed at that meeting were the responses to a questionnaire regarding the availability of export credit insurance to Ghana. Some responses are part of the file for that meeting.

Records of the Social and Economic Statistics Committee (SESC)

The Bank-wide Social and Economic Statistics Committee (SESC) was established in 1987 and was responsible for advising the Senior Vice President, Policy, Planning and Research (SVPPR) on policies of the Bank's social and economic statistical services. It served as a Bank-wide forum for ensuring that the interests of the Bank's socio-economic data collectors, managers, and users were adequately considered. The Committee met at roughly quarterly intervals; the Chief Economist (DECVP) was chair and Ramesh Chander, Statistical Adviser (DECVP), was ex-officio Secretary.

This series contains a small collection of SESC records that D.C. Rao maintained while he was Director of the Risk Management and Financial Policy Department (FRS) and a member of SESC. This set of the Committee's records includes lists of members; Terms of Reference; minutes of the first meeting held on September 8, 1987; an August 11, 1988 note from Stanley Fischer summarizing the major issues regarding the Bank Economic and Social Database (BESD) prior to a discussion of BESD at a SESC meeting; and a copy of the 1987 questionnaire for Short Term, Long Term and Credit Worthiness Surveys.

While Rao was neither the Chair nor the Secretary for this Committee, there are no known records related to the SESC found in the custody of the World Bank Group Archives. Therefore, this set of records is retained permanently.

Files Maintained by Vinod Dubey and Enzo Grilli, Directors, Economic Advisory Staff, Related to Collaboration between the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund

The bulk of the series consists of Policy Framework Papers (PFP) and related records documenting Bank/Fund collaboration in connection with the Fund's Structural Adjustment Facility (SAF), and the later Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) from April 1986 to September 1991. These files are arranged in three segments. The first two segments are arranged alphabetically by client country and maintained primarily by Vinod Dubey when he was Director of the Country Policy Department (CPD) and Directorof the Economic Advisory Staff (EAS). The third segment focuses on Bank-Fund collaboration in reviewing the PFP process and the SAF program, and development of the ESAF program. The country files may include comments on a draft PFP from Regional staff, the Economics and Research Staff, and the Senior Vice President for Operations (SVPOP); minutes of meetings of the Operations Policy Subcommittee and the Operations Policy Committee at which the PFP was discussed; and summaries of discussions and agenda and minutes of meetings of the Committee of the Whole at which a PFP was discussed.

Additional PFP related records include program review and development records maintained by Enzo Grilli when he was Director of EAS. The records include: IMF papers submitted to the Executive Board related to PFP extensions and PFP modifications; IMF proposal papers related to ESAF operational and financial arrangements, legal documentation, and access and monitoring procedures; SAF/ESAF review papers submitted to the IMF Executive Board; and IMF Executive Board meeting minutes related to SAF/ESAF review. The records also consist of materials related to the IMF/Bank Working Group on PFP Issues and the Bank/IMF Seminar with Donors on PFPs. The records include Working Group meeting minutes and summary reports, and papers prepared by both IMF and Bank staff for the PFP Seminar. Lastly, records related to PFP procedures and practices, and country schedules for PFPs are also included.

The series also consists of background correspondence concerning the compilation of three reports on Bank/Fund collaboration between 1984 and 1990. The initial report was issued in February 1985; the second report was issued in May 1986 to document progress on Bank/Fund collaboration during the previous year. A third report was issued in July 1990. Final copies of reports are in the files. Records related to the Bank/Fund collaboration report include: President's Memoranda sent to the Bank's Executive Board of Directors; Executive Directors meeting minutes and notes; and meeting minutes held between Senior Vice President of Operations (OPNSV) Moeen Qureshi, and Senior Staff of IMF regarding the report. Vinod Dubey in the Country Policy Department (CPD) had responsibility for coordinating the Bank's input; C. David Finch was the IMF contact. This responsibility continued with Dubey and Grilli in EAS.

The series also includes records dealing with Bank/Fund collaboration from February 1972 to February 1984. The records come from Development Policy Staff (DPS) units from the Development Policy Vice Presidency (VPD), the Economics and Research Staff (ERS), and from Vinod Dubey while he was the Chief Economist in EMENA. The records are primarily intra-Bank memoranda and reports.

The series also consists of copies of Bank-wide records outlining Bank/Fund collaboration from 1966 and 1970 to 1979. The records were compiled by the Program Review Division (PRD) of the Policy Planning and Program Review Department (PPR) of the VPD, and includes intra-Bank memoranda, joint Bank/Fund memoranda, PPR and PRD memoranda, notes regarding the meetings of the Bank/Fund Working Group, which first met April 3, 1974, and published articles regarding the Bank/Fund relationship.

The series also includes records related to Bank-Fund collaboration on arrears for member countries, or overdue debt obligations to the Bank and IMF from 1988 to 1991. The records include: approach papers and reports produced by the IMF countries in arrears; IMF Executive Board meeting minutes regardingarrears; Joint Audit Committee (JAC) meeting minutes regarding joint IMF/Bank review of countries in arrears, and debt relief strategies for arrears; records related to preparation of collectability papers for countries in arrears; and incoming and outgoing correspondence records for EAS Directors Vinod Dubey and Enzo Grilli, Senior Vice President of Operations (OPNSV) Moeen Qureshi, Senior Vice President of Finance (FINSV) Ernest Stern, and Bank President Barber Conable regarding arrears. Country files are also maintained and include memoranda and correspondence focused on the following topics: arrears clearance, arrears country strategies and reviews, approach papers, and issue papers prepared for individual arrears member countries.

The series also consists of records related to EAS involvement in IMF/Bank collaboration on joint IMF/Bank papers, press releases, and publications for the years 1988 to 1991. The records include numerous draft papers with attached EAS comments related to economic policy topics, such as debt, export credits, or balance of payments (BOPs). EAS comments on drafted IMF press releases and joint IMF/Bank communiques for the IMF/Bank Annual Meetings and Interim Committee are also included.

Subject File of the External Funding Coordinator, Program Management Unit, Policy and Review Department

These files were maintained by Zamarak Shalizi, in the office of the Program Management Unit (PRDPM), Policy and Review Department (PRD) which came under the Office of the Senior Vice President, Policy, Research and External Affairs (PRESV). Found in this series are: copies of completed Trust Fund project description forms (Trust Fund Summary of Characteristics) for agreements concluded in 1991. These forms include the title of the project, the donor and the beneficiary countries, the effective date andduration of the project, and the project's sector; copies of Initiating briefs for Trust Fund projects (1991); copies of documents describing cooperation between ESMAP [Energy Sector Management Assistance Program] and the Regions; and several ESMAP reports including that of a commission to review ESMAP in the 1990s. The series also includes minutes of meetings of the Funding Coordinators' Group (1990 - 1991) of which Shalizi was a member and some administrative correspondence. DECVP reported to PRESV.

Work Program and Budget Records for Fiscal Years, 1988-1992 Maintained in the Policy and Review Department

The earliest work program and budget records in this series are the FY 1988 mid-year review records for the Policy, Planning and Research Staff (PPR). PPR, created after the May 1987 Bank reorganization, brought together existing departments from different parts of the Bank (principally the Economics and Research Staff [ERS] and the Operations Staff [OPS]). budget files maintained by Richard Woodford, Program Coordinator, Office of the Senior Vice President, Policy, Planning and Research (SVPPR) and Ziaddin Choudhury, SVPPR contain copies of PPR organizations' FY 1988 mid-year review reports; the FY 1988 PPR mid-year review report submitted by SVPPR to the Planning and budget Department (PBD) of PPR; and PBD's memo of June 29, 1988 to President Conable giving preliminary findings of PBD's review of the Bank's planning and budgeting system. PBD had responsibility for budget analysis and monitoring of work program and budget performance for the entire Bank. DECVP reported to SVPPR.

Budget files maintained by Gregory Ingram, who joined the SVPPR staff as Principal Adviser, Policy and Research, along with the Woodford and Choudhury files contain: budget and work program guidelines, submissions, reports, and memos (FYs 1989-1992); FY 1989 and FY 1990 capital budget guidelines and requests from PPR organizations for office technology and other equipment; mid-year review submissions from PPR organizations for FYs 1989 and 1990 and retrospective review submissions and drafts for FY 1989; PBD's draft mid-year review report of the FY 1989 budget forwarded to the President's Council for review; documents assembled for the PPR FY 1989 work program review meetings with PBD; and the FY 1990 PPR budget plan (management contract) developed after the Bank's FY 1990 budget was approved by the Board.

After PPR became Policy, Research and External Affairs (PRE) in 1990 and the Policy and Review Department (PRD) was created in PRE, Ingram (PRDRA) and Woodford (PRDPM) had continued responsibilities for budget (management contract) and work program coordination for PRE. Their files and those of Zmarak Shalizi (PRDPM) and Ziaddin Choudhury (PRDPM) contain copies of PRE organizations' submissions for the FY 1991 work program and budget; FY 1991 mid-year review submissions from PRE organizations; and the PRE FY 1991 mid-year review report. There is a small amount of information concerning funding of special grant programs after FY 1991. DECVP reported to PRESV.

Apex and Retrospective Review Reports Maintained in the Policy and Review Department

These files were maintained by Richard Woodford, Program Coordinator in the Office of the Senior Vice President, Policy, Planning and Research (SVPPR); Gregory Ingram, Principal Adviser, Policy and Research, Policy and Review Department (PRD); and Amarak Shalizi in the Program Management Unit (PRDPM) in PRD. PRD reported to the Senior Vice President, Policy, Research and External Affairs (PRESV).

  • The Apex Reports covering all PPR (later PRE) organizations, including DEC, were prepared at the end of each fiscal year quarter from feeder reports prepared by all PPR (PRE) organizations and included a summary of the status of principal elements of the current fiscal year's budget plan and descriptions of activities and accomplishments of each organizational unit. Annexes to the Reports provided listings of major policy and research papers completed or initiated during the quarter.

  • Retrospective reviews were conducted for PPR (later PRE) organizations after the close of a fiscal year. They provided Department Directors, Vice Presidents, and the Senior Vice President opportunities to compare organization performance against the fiscal year budget plan, to determine the reasons for any deviations from the plan, to gain insights for the implementation of the new fiscal year budget plan, and to share findings at the institutional level.

  • A folder containing a draft of and supporting materials for a briefing book for an Executive Directors budget Priorities Colloquium has also been included in this series. Thecolloquium was held on 9 October 1990 and appears to have been organized by the SVPPR and PRD.

Correspondence and Other Records of the Program Management Unit (PRDPM), Policy and Review Department

This series contains correspondence and other records of the Program Management Unit (PRDPM). The correspondence is in two parts. The first part is a chronological file that consists primarily of e-mail printouts received by PRDPM from October 1990 to May 1991. A few printouts of e-mails sent are included. Most of the e-mails were widely distributed to managers throughout the Policy, Research and External Affairs (PRE) complex. The few that are PRDPM specific concern the distribution of computers and the development of the Information Management and Technology Plan for PRE. The second correspondence segment contains memoranda and e-mail printouts both sent and received by PRDPM from April to August 1991. Filed among the correspondence are PRDPM director Zmarak Shalizi's handwritten notes from meetings with PRD and PRE managers. The correspondence primarily concerns the duties of the PRDPM support staff, budget allocations for PRE publications, and planning for the FY 91 retrospective reviews of PRE.

In addition to the correspondence, there are files concerning the development of a records management program and Management Information Systems for units in the PRE complex. These files include records of several task forces Filed under Management Information Services are records of the PRE Information Needs Task Force, February - June 1991, which was established to evaluate the Management Information Requirements for PRE. Included are agenda, notes from meetings, and a draft report. There are also pre-PRDPM records of the Working Group on Measuring PPR's (a predecessor of PRE) Outputs. This group, headed by Nancy Barry, was organized in August 1988 to develop a system of quarterly reports for measuring PPR outputs and activities. The records include the Terms of Reference for the group and the completed questionnaires from each of the PPR divisions. Filed under Information Management Committee Records is some scattered correspondence concerning the Information Management and Technology Policy Committee (IMTPC) which was established to formulate Bank-wide IMT strategies.

Inventories and Status Reports of Major Policy Products and of Annual and Semi-Annual Reports, Policy and Review Department

This series contains Lotus 123 spreadsheet printouts that provide inventories of and status reports on major policy products and on annual and semi-annual reports which had Bank-wide operational/policy relevance. The reports serve as a quick reference to the policy products and reports that made their way to the Board each year; they were generated by the Strategic Planning and Review Department (SPR) through June 1990 and thereafter by the Policy Review Department (PRD). The entries on the reports for policy products cover all policy papers, best-practice papers, and information papers which were destined for the Board. The entries for annual and semi-annual reports cover all regular and non-regular reports that were destined for the Board. For each Bank complex, the products or reports are listed in the order of the Board meeting dates at which the item was discussed. Entries on the spreadsheets show for each item: the name and Bank unit of the staff member with prime responsibility for the item; an abbreviated title of the item; date of the policy brief that initiated the item (if applicable); dates when the item was discussed at various review meetings; and brief comments regarding the status of the item.

Review Files for Policy Papers/best Practices Papers, and Other Publications and Issuances, Policy Development Unit, Policy and Review Department

This series documents the review process for World Bank Policy Papers, best Practices Papers, and information papers, most of which were generated by Policy, Research, and External Affairs (PRE) units. Also included are a file for Development Committee papers and files for annual publications such as the World Development Report and Global Economic Prospects. The files, which were maintained by Geoffrey Lamb and the Policy Development Unit (PRDPD), generally contain a copy of the initiating policy brief for the paper, copies of all the major revisions of the paper, copies of comments on the paper from high-level Bank managers, notes and minutes from meetings at which the paper was discussed (e.g. review meetings within the concerned complex, PRE managers' meetings, meetings of the PRE Committee, and meetings of the President's Council or the Committee of the Whole), and information about Board seminars regarding the policy outlined in the paper. The file for the Task Force on Environmental Action contains only the final report. In addition to the files for specific policy/best practices papers, one folder (filed under Pending correspondence) contains 1991 memoranda and intra-Bank correspondence on a number of policy papers that were still pending when PRD was abolished on November 30, 1991. The several files that predate the establishment of PRD contain only an initiating brief.

Studies Generated by the Strategic Planning Division (SPRSP), Strategic Planning and Review Department

Filed in this series are copies of studies generated by consultants and staff in the Strategic Planning Division (SPRSP) of the Strategic Planning and Review Department. Filed with some of the studies are memoranda between the author and SPRSP staff or between SPRSP staff and the SPR Director. Although some of the papers were issued as PRE Working Papers and/or SPR Discussion Papers, most were not published. Of special note is the paper, Strategic Planning in the World Bank, 1987-1990, by SPR staff member Norman Hicks, which provides a history of strategic planning in the Bank and the role of SPRSP in that process and analyzes the successes and failures of SPRSP. The annex to the paper contains a list of the major products of the Strategic Planning Division, most of which are filed in this series.

Chronological File of the Policy Development Unit (PRDPD), Policy and Review Department

This series contains copies of the outgoing letters, memoranda, and facsimile messages from the chief and other members of the Policy Development Unit (PRDPD). Included with the outgoing messages are a few incoming memoranda from the Director of the Policy and Review Department (PRDDR) and from the Senior Vice President, Policy, Research and External Affairs (PRESVP). Much of PRDPD's correspondence concerns the scheduling of review work on policy papers, comments on draft policy papers, coordination of PRE policy matters with the Board, and the compilation of information for the inventories of policy products. PRDPD had responsibility for managing the PRE Committee, and this series includes memoranda transmitting schedules, agenda, and minutes of meetings of the Committee, some of which include copies of the papers to be discussed by the Committee. Also included are 1991 agenda of the New Products Working Group and materials for the first meeting (September 4, 1991) of the Working Group on Military Expenditures.

Post-Operations Committee Meeting Memoranda of the Review and Analysis Division, Policy and Review Department

This series contains memoranda prepared by staff in the Review and Analysis Division (PRDRA) of the Policy and Review Department and its predecessor, the Policy Analysis and Review Division (SPRPA) of the Strategic Planning and Review Department. The memoranda summarize discussions in meetings of the Operations Committee (OC) that were of interest to the Policy, Research and External Affairs (PRE) staff. The memoranda were written to the files and copies were sent to the Chief Economist and to the headsof other Policy, Research and External Affairs units. Most of the memoranda are post-meeting memos that summarize the OC's discussion on a particular topic, but scattered throughout the series are several pre-meeting briefing memoranda that analyze the document that is to be the topic of discussion at the next OC meeting. One such pre-meeting memorandum, dated April 11, 1990, was sent to Ajay Chhibber in preparation for his briefing for the Chief Economist.

Pre-Operations Committee Briefing Memoranda of the Policy Analysis and Review Division (SPRPA), Strategic Planning and Review Department

This series primarily contains briefing memoranda prepared by staff in the Policy Analysis and Review Division (SPRPA) of the Strategic Planning and Review Department. SPRPA was the predecessor to the Review and Analysis Division (PRDRA). The memoranda, which analyze documents to be discussed at an Operations Committee (OC) meeting and propose a position to be taken by the Chief Economist (DECVP), were forwarded to the Chief Economist and, in some cases, also to the Vice President for Sector Policy and Research (PREVP). Most of the items discussed in the briefings are Country Strategy Papers and adjustment loan/credit documents. Included in the series are several agenda for OC meetings and some post-Operations Committee meeting memoranda summarizing the discussion at an OC meeting.

Subject Files of the Director, Policy and Review Department (PRDDR)

This series contains both the incoming and outgoing correspondence of the Director, Policy and Review Department (PRDDR) and his immediate staff. Much of the incoming correspondence is heavily hand annotated by Director Paul Isenman with his reply and/or his comments regarding the disposition of the incoming document. The files also contain agenda and minutes of meetings; drafts of reports, papers, and publications; and Isenman's handwritten notes from meetings. The series consists of the following four parts:

  1. The first and largest (8.83 linear feet) segment is the main subject file, January 1990 - November 1991. It consists largely of files on draft policy papers that the PRD staff reviewed. These files contain Isenman's copies of the correspondence, comments, and minutes of meetings relating to the policy paper throughout the drafting process. Policy subjects covered include: forestry, governance, guarantees (i.e. expanding Bank guarantee instruments for private sector development), human development, military expenditure, poverty, the Soviet economy, technical assistance for the Soviet Union, and policy guidelines on tobacco. Also included are files regarding the review of the Report of the Technical Assistance Review Task Force (TARTF); files documenting the development of Business plans for units in PRE [Policy, Research and External Affairs]; and memoranda and other correspondence, dated January - October 1990, on the transition to establish PRD from the Strategic Planning and Review Department (filed under New Department). Filed under President's Council are agenda and minutes of meetings of the President's Council (PC) along with PRD staff comments on documents that were to be discussed at the meetings.
  • The second segment, Isenman's working file, 1989 - 1991, contains many documents that Isenman annotated as working file or file W. Most of the files relate to subjects that were of short-term interest to PRD, but filed under Policy Research and External Affairs (PRE) Committee are schedules for PRE meetings and minutes and agenda for meetings of the PRE Committee on which Isenman served. Some items filed under lunches and people are dated as early as 1989 when Isenman was director of the Africa-South Central and Indian Ocean Department (AF3).

  • The third segment, January 1990 - August 1991, contains PRD's correspondence with and notes from meetings with PRE managers and the staff in PRD's Program Management Unit (PRDPM) concerning the drafting and monitoring of budgets and work programs for all PRE units. Also included are files on the FY 91 retrospective reviews for PRE units and the FY 92 PRE management contract.

  • The final segment appears to be another working file pulled together as PRD was being abolished. It contains a number of files pulled from the first segment, but the bulk of it consists of thick accordion files in which Isenman filed background materials on topics of current interest or in preparation for attendance at a meeting on the topic. Many include Isenman's handwrittennotes from meetings.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Files of the Special Representative to the U.N. Organizations in Geneva Relating to Least Development Countries (LDCs)

Included in the series is the 1982 correspondence between L. Peter Chatenay while assigned to the International Relations Department (IRD) and Representative Mahmud Burney regarding Bank/UNDP/UNCTAD cooperation on Least Developed Countries (LDC) issues and meetings attended on LDC issues. Correspondence between the two concerning LDCs continued after Chatenay succeeded Burney as Representative and Burney was designated Senior Adviser, U.N. Affairs, IRD. Also in the series is Chatenay's correspondence with other IRD officials and Representatives Siebeck and Baneth's correspondence with Bank Headquarters and U.N. officials on various LDC issues and the Second United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries held in Paris on 3 March 3 1990 - 14 March 1990. Copies of statements made by Bank officials at the Conference are part of the series.

Subject Files of the Office of the Special Representative to the U.N. Organizations in Geneva

Most of these files appear to have been created while Wolfgang Siebeck (1986-1989) and Jean Baneth (1989-1992) served as Special Representative. A few files contain documents of earlier Representatives who served during the 1980s (Mahmud Burney and L. Peter Chatenay) and of Jean Baneth's successor in 1992, Sorsa Piritta. Documents placed in these files include not only memoranda, electronic messages, speeches, and statements prepared or received by the Representatives but also memoranda and other documents prepared by members of their staffs and other Bank officials.

A few files (Women, North/South Roundtable on Trade) contain only a single document but others are more substantive. The International Labor Organization (ILO) files (1982 - 1990) contain considerable correspondence of both Siebeck and Baneth covering coordination between the World Bank and ILO. In some of the correspondence, Siebeck is identified as Director, International Relations Department, Geneva Office (IRDGO). Much of the correspondence in the Human Rights file pertains to Baneth's participation as Bank representative at meetings of the U.N. Centre for Human Rights and preparations for the 1993 U.N. Conference on Human Rights. The file also contains some correspondence of earlier Representatives concerning human rights issues. The Gulf Crisis file (26 October 1990 - 16 July 1991) includes Baneth's (and his Administrative Assistant's) correspondence concerning United Nations Disaster Relief Organization (UNDRO) efforts on behalf of displaced persons in the Middle East during the crisis. Correspondence was exchanged during the crisis with the Vice President, Corporate Planning and budget Robert Picciotto; the Senior Vice President, Policy Research and External Affairs Wilfred Thalwitz; and the Director, External Affairs Alexander Shakow.

Correspondence and Reports of the Office of the Special Representative to the U.N. Organizations in Geneva Concerning Negotiation of General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) for the Uruguay Round

Most of the records were maintained by Special Representatives Wolfgang Siebeck and Jean baneth who were also referred to as Directors of the Geneva office from 1986 to 1992. Baneth was succeeded by Pritta Sorsa in 1992. Beginning in 1987, the Geneva Office reported as SPRGE to the Senior Vice President, Policy Research and External Affairs (SVPRE). After the restructuring of the Policy, Planning, and Research Complex (PPR), the Geneva Office reported to the Senior Vice President, Policy, Planning and External Affairs (PRESV). As the GATT negotiations gained momentum, the Geneva Office was upgraded and transferred to the Front Office of PRESV, reporting as PREGE. Following the termination of all Senior Vice Presidencies in the Bank, the Geneva Office was transferred to the Front Office of DEC on December 12, 1991 and began reporting as DECGE to the Vice President, Development Economics and Chief Economist (DECVP).

The Uruguay Round, the eighth GATT multilateral trade negotiation, was launched in September 1986 in Punta del Este and was completed in 1994. This series includes correspondence with Headquarters of the Representatives and others designated as observers at various Trade Policy and GATT Council meetings. Subjects include: general progress of the Uruguay Round; development of a handbook on multilateral trade negotiations to support developing countries in the Uruguay Round; Bank participation in seminars and workshops to provide technical assistance and support to developing countries in the Uruguay Round; Bank access to country trade and tariff data; and arrangements for visits of the Director General and the Personnel Director of GATT to the Bank in Washington, DC.

With the correspondence are documents provided to the Special Representatives by the GATT Secretariat headquartered in Geneva including Trade Policy Review reports (1989 - 1993) documenting reviews of trade policies and practices by the GATT Council. Also included are documents furnished by the GATT Secretariat concerning acceptances(Protocol of Accession) to GATT of Bolivia, Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, and Nepal (1987 - 1992) and Romania, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Venezuela (1990 and 1992). Documents concerning the renegotiation of Terms of Accession for Poland (1991 - 1992) and working papers and notes of meetings at the Uruguay Round and the mid-term review of the Round completed in Geneva in 1989 were also furnished by the GATT Secretariat.

The Geneva Office continued to represent the Bank in the GATT negotiations in the Uruguay Round and in meetings of UNCTAD and other U.N. organizations at Geneva. As the Uruguay Round negotiations came to an end, the Geneva Office was closed on June 30, 1993. After the Geneva Office closed, its functions were provided through a combination of Geneva-based consultants and Headquarters staff sent to Geneva.

Research File of Bela Balassa

Most of the correspondence in this series covers the period when Balassa reported both to the Vice President, Development Policy Staff (VPD, later Vice President, Economics and Research [VPERS)] and to the Director of the Development Research Center (DRC), and, after the 1987 Reorganization, the Vice President, Development Economics and Chief Economist (DECVP). He also served during this period as Chairman of the Development Policy Staff Trade Advisory Committee. The files are loosely organized around Balassa's projects while serving as consultant to the Bank during this period.

Included are Balassa's completion reports for some of the projects he personally carried out, his comments on proposals and research projects conducted by others in the Bank, and correspondence with the Research Projects Approval Committee (REPAC) and the head of the Research Administration Unit in VPERS. Some files contain background materials, including statistical data, used in Balassa's research. Specific documents include: Terms of Reference (TOR) for a May-June 1983 mission to Tunisia led by Balassa that constituted the first phase of a study on employment creation; his TOR and Back-to-Office (BTO) Report for a January 1985 Industrial Policy Mission he led to Tunisia; and his report on his coordination of a Latin American development strategy study (introduced by David Rockefeller) while on leave from Johns Hopkins University. Correspondence, including a BTO Report, for a mission to Venezuela Balassa led from January to October 1987 to hold discussions with the Venezuelan government on the economy and possible resumption of Bank lending is also part of the series.

Also included in the series are copies of talking points and papers Belassa prepared at the request of high-level Bank officials and correspondence with DECVP. Belassa's handwritten notes and drafts can be found throughout the series.

Front Office Business Plans for Fiscal Years 1991-2000

These copies of DEC Business Plans were maintained by Lesley Davis (Leslie Davis Arnold) who was Program Coordinator for Administration in DEC's Front Office. Prior to the 1992 reorganization, DEC Business Plans were submitted to the Senior Vice President, Policy, Planning and Research (PPRSV). After the reorganization of that year, they were submitted to the Director, Planning and budgeting Department (PBD). The plans were submitted for all DEC units. The Business plan was a major component of Bank budget cycles and provided information from DEC that would become part of priorities and framework papers presented to the Board. The Business plan also served as the basis for DEC's next fiscal year work program and budget, described each DEC organization's plans for the following two or more fiscal years, described each organization's underlying strategy and work program, and indicated plans for special emphases and topics that cut across department and other organizational boundaries. Included in files aredraft and final Business plans, submissions for each DEC unit, background correspondence, data relating to the preparation of the plans, and copies of monitoring reports. The FY 1998 - 00 [2000] DEC Business Plan was prepared in April 1997 in anticipation of the Bank reorganization by July 1 of that year which would form as major parts of DEC a new Research, Data and Prospects Group and an Economic Development Institute and Leadership Center (EDI) in alliance with the Bank's new Strategic Compact.

Front Office Work Program and Budget Records for Fiscal Years 1993-1998

These copies of DEC annual work programs and budgets, usually accompanied by Department and EDI [Economic Development Institute] feeder work programs and budgets, were maintained by Lesley Davis (Lesley Davis Arnold) who was Program Coordinator for Administration in DEC's Front Office. Copies of DEC's FY 93 Mid-Year and Retrospective Review Reports were maintained with the FY 93 work program and budget. Background materials for the FY 93 work program and budget include correspondence concerning positionsand funds associated with a proposed downsizing of the Geneva Office and concerning the impact on staffing of the acceptance into Bank and Fund membership in 1992 of most of the Republics of the former Soviet Union. Found with the FY 94 work plan and budget is correspondence concerning the merger of the budget of the Development Policy Group (former Economic Advisory Staff [EAS]) with that for the rest of DEC and copies of monitoring and Mid-Year Review Reports. The FY 94 - FY 96 Business Plan for DEC accompanies these records. A new format was adopted for the FY 95 work plan and DEC units' submissions were entered into the Resource Planning System (RPS). Accompanying documents relating to the FY 95 work program are FY 95 - FY 97 and FY 96 - FY 98 Business Plans for DEC (including EDI). Found with documents pertaining to the FY 96 work program is correspondence concerning development of a new Country Assistance Strategy or Country compact and a copy of the Third Quarter FY 97 Monitoring Report of the DEC work program and budget which was prepared for the first time in a new format in line with implementation of the Bank's new Strategic Compact - the plan for fundamental reform to make the Bank more effective in delivering its Regional program and achieving its basic mission of reducing poverty. Correspondence concerning DEC's proposed involvement in the Bank's program of technical cooperation, expanded volunteer efforts, and modest funding of activities related to education, employment, poverty alleviation, and municipal services for Washington, DC is found with guidance documents for preparation of the FY 98 work programs and budgets.

Records of the Economics and Research Staff (ERS)

Sub-fonds consists of the records of Economics and Research Staff (ERS) department and division records, including the Economic Analysis and Projects Department (EPD). Records of the Research Policy Council (RPC), the Bank Research Advisory Group (BRAG), and the Research Projects Approval Committee (REPAC) are also included. Records related to the research, publication, and dissemination of research papers and other products are included as are articles, lectures and speeches authored by Vice President of ERS Anne Krueger.

Records of the Office of the Vice President, Development Economics and Chief Economist and later Senior Vice President, Development Economics and Chief Economist (DECVP)

Sub-fonds consists of the records of the Office of the Vice President, Development Economics (DECVP) and Chief Economist and the Senior Vice President, Development Economics and Chief Economist. These records take the form of Vice President's chronological and subject files as well as briefing books and travel documents. Records of DEC's Front Office staff included in this sub-fonds include reading files, work program and budget records, and reports of periodic review. Records of numerous DEC units are also included in this sub-fonds. They include: the Policy and Review Department (PRD); Development Policy Group (DPG, and its predecessor units: the Economic Advisory Staff [EAS] and the Country Policy Department [CPD]); the International Economics Department (IEC); the Country Economics Department (CEC); the Development Research Group (DECRG); the Policy Review Department (PRD); the Research Advisory Staff (RAD); and the Economic Developing Institute (EDI). The records of noted economist Bela Balassa who served as a consultant with DEC and predecessor organizations from 1966 to 1991 are also included.

Records of the Office of the Vice President, Development Policy (VPD) and the Development Policy Staff

Sub-fonds consists of records created in the Development Policy Vice Presidency (VPD). Many of the records were created by the Director, Development Policy; these relate to the Development Committee; the Policy Review Committee, and commodity policy work in the department. Other records in this sub-fonds relate to specific research projects and, generally, the World Bank's research program. Also included are records related to the external General Research Advisory Panel (GRAP). Correspondence and other records of the Development Policy Staff, Departments, and Divisions are also included in this sub-fonds.

Records of the Office of the Chief Economist

  • WB IBRD/IDA DEC
  • Fonds
  • 1946 - 2003 (predominant 1972 - 1993)

Records created by the Office of the Vice President (later Senior Vice President), Development Economics and Chief Economist (DECVP) comprise the bulk of the records in Fonds 14. Prior to the creation of DECVP in 1987, responsibility for directing economic research to provide insights into the development process rested with the persons serving as the Economic Adviser to the President in the 1960s and early 1970s, and later with the offices of the Vice President, Development Policy (VPD) and the Vice President, Economics and Research Staff (VPERS) whose records are part of this fonds. Files for both approved and rejected research projects in planning and development policy, population and human resources, industry and trade, and sector studies that were maintained in the offices of VPD, VPERS, and DECVP are included in this fonds.

This fonds also contains a small volume of records of the Bank's Economic Development Institute and records of the Bank's representatives to international organizations concerned with the development process: the Berne Union, the Paris Club, and U.N. organizations at Geneva, Switzerland. Also included are records of economist Bela Belassa who served from September 1966 to May 1991 as consultant to the Economic Advisers to the President, VPD, VPERS, and DECVP.

The following officials served during the period 1964 to 2003 in predecessor organizations or positions whose functions became part of DECVP in the 1987 Bank reorganization and as DECVP following that reorganization:

Economic Advisers

  • Irving Friedman: 1964 - 1970

  • Hollis B. Chenery: 1970 - 1972

Vice President, Development Policy (VPD)

  • Hollis B. Chenery: November 1972 - February 1982

Vice President, Economics and Research Staff (VPERS)

  • Hollis B. Chenery: February 1982 - August 1982

  • Anne Krueger: August 1982 - December 1986

  • Benjamin B. King (Acting): January 1987 - May 1987

Vice President and Chief Economist (DECVP)

  • Stanley Fischer: 1988 - 1990

  • Lawrence Summers: 1991 - 1993

  • Michael Bruno: 1993- 1996

  • Joseph E. Stiglitz: 1997 - 2000

  • Sir Nicholas H. Stern: 2000 - 2003.

Office of the Chief Economist

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