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.

Series consists of chronological files maintained by EAS Director Vinod Dubey from between January 1989 and November 1990. After Dubey's appointment as director of EAS in June 1987, he continued many of the duties he had in the Country Policy Department (CPD): coordinating the Bank's interaction with the Paris Club, the Berne Union, the OECD Export Credit Group, and the International Monetary Fund; reviewing country strategy papers and Structural Adjustment Policy Framework Papers (PFPs); providing the SVP Operations with analysis on operational issues and policy initiatives; serving as the Secretariat to the Operations Committee; and providing advice and support to the Regional staff on major policy questions, especially regarding country strategies, adjustment operations, and country economic and sector work. Much of the records in this series relate to the duties listed above and take the form of agendas, schedules, and requests for comments or review for discussion. In the case of the latter, the reports and policy papers are rarely attached.

These Business plans for all of the organizations comprising the Policy Research and External Affairs Complex (PRE) and the predecessor Policy, Planning and Research Complex (PPR) were maintained by Gregory Ingram, Principal Adviser, Review and Analysis Division (PRDRA), Policy and Review Department (PRD) and Ziaddin Choudhury and Zmarak Shalizi in the Program Management Unit (PRDPM) in PRD. The Business plan was a major component of Bank budget cycles and provided information from PRE that would become part of priorities and framework papers presented to the Board. The Business plan also served as the basis for PRE's next fiscal year work program and budget, described each PRE 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 the files are draft and final Business plans, submissions from each PRE (or PPR) organization, including DEC, and background correspondence and data relating to the preparation of the plans.

This series contains the briefing books, travel documents, and travel-related correspondence for Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Nicholas H. Stern. The files include information on his trips to Washington, DC from March to June 2000 before he officially took charge as Chief Economist. Some of the files (e.g. those for brief trips to Boston, New York, London, and Ottawa) contain only travel documents (such as itineraries and e-mails regarding travel arrangements), but the more extensive files include briefing books containing: daily schedules and agenda; outlines of the objectives and themes for the visit or the Bank's strategy for a conference; biographical data on officials with whom Stern met; talking points for meetings; background information on and summaries of Bank projects in the countries he was scheduled to visit; copies of Bank documents (e.g. country assistance strategies, Implementation Completion Reports, OED evaluations of Bank projects, loan status reports) relating to the country visited; formal invitations to special events; copies of Stern's presentations and related Power-point slides; press releases; and extensive intra-Bank correspondence regarding trip plans and drafts of Stern's presentations. Many files include copies of Stern's Back-to-Office Reports to President Wolfensohn and Stern's own extensive notes from meetings. If Stern attended a conference, the conference documents (program, list of attendees, background documents) are included. If Stern accompanied President Wolfensohn on a trip (e.g. Brazil, March 28 - 29, 2003), a copy of the President's briefing book is in the files.

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.

These reports were prepared by Bank officials designated to serve as liaison officers to the Paris Club. The Paris Club refers to meetings held since 1956 that have arranged, when necessary, for the renegotiation of debt owed to official creditors or guaranteed to them. Neither the World Bank nor the IMF is a member of the Paris Club, but the IMF has played an important role in developing debt restructure packages with commercial Banks. Both the Paris Club and the commercial Banks require debt or countries to have agreed on a stabilization program with the IMF as part of the renegotiation process.

The reports for Paris Club meetings held from April 1990 to November 1991 were prepared by Per Ljung, Economic Adviser, Economic Advisory Staff (EAS) in the Office of the Senior Vice President, Operations (OPNSV). Reports were addressed to Moeen Quereshi, OPNSV. In a 6 February 1991 memo addressed to all Country Directors and Country Operations Department Chiefs, Ljung announced a change in distribution of theParis Club Back-to-Office Reports (BTOs). Previously, a BTO was distributed to a Country Director only when a country coming under that Director's purview had its debt rescheduled or was among the countries discussed during Tour d'Horizon sessions at the Paris Club Meeting. Future reports were to be distributed to all Country Departments, and separate copies were to be sent to the Director and to the Country Operations Chief. The report covering the 19 November - 22 November 1991 Paris Club meeting was prepared by Ljung and Ljung's successor, Michael Lav, Economic Adviser, EAS [Economic Advisory Staff, later Development Policy Group -DPG] under the Office of the Vice President, Development Economics and Chief Economist (DECVP).

Lav's (or his alternates') BTOs cover meetings attended from December 1991 to December 1993 and were addressed to DECVP. Most of the reports of Lav's successor, Ronald P. Brigish, who served as Operations Adviser, International Economics Department (IEC) were addressed to the Director, IEC. Brigish's reports cover Paris Club meetings attended from January 1994 to December 1995. The BTOs for the January-April 1996 meetings were prepared by Fred Kilby, Economic Adviser, and International Finance Division (IECIF) and were addressed to the Director; IECIF.

The BTOs identify the countries and subjects discussed at each meeting and decisions reached with regard to rescheduling countries' debts. Summaries (by country) of discussions at Tour d'Horizon sessions, copies of the Agreed Minute, copies of statements made at the meetings by representatives of countries requesting debt rescheduling and by various organizations represented at the meetings including the IMF, World Bank, and UNCTAD [United Nations Conference on Trade and Development], and copies of Club correspondence are parts of many of the reports. Some reports are marked Confidential. The Paris Club met monthly except during the month of August or when cancelled.

This series contains background materials, intra-Bank memoranda, and drafts of research papers primarily of staff from two Economic Analysis and Projections Department (EPD) units: the International Trade and Capital Flows Division (EPDIT) and the Global Analysis and Projections Division (EPDGL). The records are divided into two parts. The first and more voluminous part (2.33 linear feet) consists of EPD files dated 1977 to 1984 and containing rough working files for research papers. In addition to rough drafts of papers, these files contain intra-Bank memoranda containing comments on drafts or concerning EPD computer usage, analysis of data compiled by EPD staff, and other issues relating to research. The second part of the series contains drafts of research papers dated 1979 - 1990 and generated primarily by EPDIT and EPDGL staff, but there are also four papers written by staff from the International Economic Analysis and Prospects Division (IECAP) of the International Economics Department and threepapers authored by economists from: the School of International Service at American University; Seoul University; and Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge. Some of the research papers in this series were issued as Division Working Papers which reported on research work in progress and were circulated only for Bank staff use to stimulate discussion and comment. Others were prepared for presentation at a conference or for publication by the World Bank or in a professional journal.

These files contain the background materials compiled for use in a study carried out by Sunita Kikeri, John Nellis, Mary Shirley, and other staff from the Public Sector Management and Private Sector Development Division (CECPS) of the Country Economics Department. Their study, published by the World Bank in August 1992 as Privatization: The Lessons of Experience reviewed the experiences of both developing and industrialized countries with state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the privatization of those enterprises. The background materials in this series cover issues relating to state-owned enterprises and Bank-supported efforts to privatize such enterprises; public enterprise sector reform projects; structural adjustment programs; enterprise development projects; economic management capacity building projects; divestiture design studies; export development projects; and technical assistance for economic reforms. Most of the materials are Bank Group documents: Staff Appraisal Reports, Memoranda of the President, Initiating Memoranda, and minutes of meetings of the Operations Committee regarding proposed loans and credits; published reports and studies; published EDI [Economic Development Institute] and PRE [Policy, Research and External Affairs Complex] working papers; Back-to-Office Reports from supervision, economic, or technical assistance preparation missions; Country Economic Memoranda (CEM); copies of Intra-Bank correspondence; and World Bank daily news summaries. Non-Bank materials include news articles;copies of book chapters; academic conference papers and lectures; reports published by governments of client countries; IMF newsletters; and annual reports of state-owned utility companies, airlines, and telecom enterprises.

The series includes the 29 March 1989 report of an audit of the administrative expense budget of the Policy, Planning and Research Complex (PPR) by the Internal Auditing Department (IAD). The purpose of the review was to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of policies, procedures, and controls over formulation, implementation, and monitoring of the PPR budget and to provide recommendations for changes. Comments of the Senior Vice President, Policy, Planning and Research (SVPPR or PPRSV) comments on the draft report (16 May 1989) is with the IAD final report. DECVP reported to SVPPR.

Also in the series is a 9 September 1991 draft report of the results of an audit of the Geneva Office which reported directly to the Senior Vice President, Policy, Research and External Affairs (PRESV). Found with the draft report is a 3 May 1991 memo issued by PRESV to PRE organizations that transmitted the preliminary IAD work program which included the audit of the Geneva Office. The Geneva Office later reported to DECVP.

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.