Circulation of reports for review or information
- WB IBRD/IDA WB_IBRD/IDA_118-02
- Serie
- 1965 - 1972
Series contains draft reports and related materials circulated by the Economic Committee (EC) secretariat to committee members for review during a meeting of the committee, for written comment, or for information. In rare cases, the report is circulated by the committee chairperson. Most of the files included in this series use the classification system imposed following the reconstitution, in 1965, of the Staff Economic Committee (SEC) as the Economic Committee. Those files that include classification in their titles are classified as EC/O, or reports distributed to committee members, most but not all under review by the committee.
Note that in some report folders, only a secretariat's cover letter is included, indicating the title of a draft report that was previously attached and the date when either comments are requested, or a meeting will be held to discuss the report. In these cases, the actual report is not included, and the folder title indicates "no report attached".
The majority of the EC's time was given to review of reports focused on the economies and development prospects of individual countries. As such, most of the draft reports included in this series are Country Program Papers (CPPs, October 1969 to October 1972), Country Program Notes, Recent Economic Developments, or other general country economic reports. A small number of more focused country reports relating to the review of a specific aspect of that country's economy are included; these are generally focused on economic sectors suchas transportation, agriculture, energy, etc.
Draft reports relating to non-country-specific topics that were circulated to committee members are also included in this series. Reports date from 1965 to 1970. Some folders include the report as well as "correspondence" which generally refers to memoranda or other documents distributed in support of the review of the report under consideration.
Also contained in this series are draft versions of country economic profiles in the form of "Country Economic Briefs" prepared in 1968 by the Economic and Area Departments with contributions by the EC. These profiles were created, as described in the collection's preface, "to be a ready reference on the economies of World Bank Group members and of the World Bank Group's economic policy attitude towards them." The intention was to upgrade and update the material when more information became available. The briefs may include: a brief discussion of the country's economic situation and development challenges, authored by Area Departments; conclusions and recommendations prepared by the EC; a data brief, compiled by the Economic and Area Departments; and the latest economic map available highlighting topics such as land use, manufacturing centers, resource areas, etc.
A set of Five-Year Program Papers from 1968-69 are also included in this series. These economic profiles duplicate much of what is included in the Country Economic Briefs. The primary addition, which is not included for every folder, is memoranda summarizing the current development outlook for the country. This includes discussion of key problems and issues, creditworthiness, Bank actions, and tables documenting Bank project lending.
The series includes a small collection of monthly reports on Bank lending operations dating from 1969 and 1970. It is unclear if these tables were circulated to committee members or if they served as reference material for the committee's secretariat. The reports each focus on active or potential Bank-funded projects and consist oftwo types: reports on appraisal and negotiations of a project; and preparation and identification of a project. The former charts the progress of the appraisal and negotiations through 12 steps, from "decision to send appraisal mission" to "loan or credit signed." Each step includes an original forecast date, the previous month's forecast, and the current forecast or actual date. Reports on the preparation and identification of projects list the latest step completed as well as pre-investment studies required. Both types of reports include the option for notes and are signed by the Loan Officer.
Monthly reports describing expected economic missions by Area Departments and the staffing needs related to that mission travel are also included. Reports, beginning in January 1969, initially included expected mission travel and staff required for the following six months. Beginning in September 1969, reports began providing this information for the twelve months. While it is likely that all of these reports were circulated to committee members, beginning in September 1969 each report includes a cover letter indicating that the report was sent to committee members by the committee's secretariat. The final report provides planned mission travel for April 1970 to June 1971.