Series contains reports and articles authored by McCarthy in both published and draft form. Published materials are usually contained in publications or as published reports. Articles and reports date from throughout McCarthy's employment at the World Bank, including his time as a consultant after his 1999 retirement. A small number of articles contained in this series were published while McCarthy was affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the late 1970s. Topics of the articlesare wide-ranging, but generally relate to country economic profiles, consumer behavior in developing countries, and the agriculture and nutrition sectors.

Series also includes a number of reports published by the World Bank and authored by World Bank staff and consultants other than McCarthy. A small number of development-related speeches authored by individuals external to the World Bank are also included.

Records related to seminar attendance and participation by McCarthy are included in this series.Records include text and slides from presentations by both McCarthy and others. The most common topic of articles, reports, and conference materials is the environment and its effect on and role in development economics. Other topics include structural adjustment and country economic profiles.