But even if the Thaba-Tseka Development Project is real & accurately described, what is the justification for focusing on this project in particular? It seems likely that James Ferguson focused on it b/c it was especially inept & hence it’s not obviously representative of the World Bank’s work in general.
I agree that even if the book turned out to be entirely accurate we should not assume that this case is representative of the average development project, but we could still learn from it. Many hours from highly trained and well-paid people are allocated to planning and evaluating such projects, which expenditure is ostensibly to ensure quality. Even looking at worst cases helps us see what sort of quality is or is not being ensured.
I don’t completely disagree but there is also some danger of being systematically misleading.
I think your last 4 bullet points are really quite good & they probably apply to a number of organizations not just the World Bank. I’m inclined to view this as an illustration of organizational failure more than an evaluation of the World Bank. (Assuming of course that the book is accurate).
I will say tho that my opinion of development economics is quite low…
I built the explanatory model based on my experience employed by and reading about other vaguely analogous institutions, but an acquaintance who’d previously worked at the World Bank said it seemed like an accurate characterization of that institution as well.
But even if the Thaba-Tseka Development Project is real & accurately described, what is the justification for focusing on this project in particular? It seems likely that James Ferguson focused on it b/c it was especially inept & hence it’s not obviously representative of the World Bank’s work in general.
I agree that even if the book turned out to be entirely accurate we should not assume that this case is representative of the average development project, but we could still learn from it. Many hours from highly trained and well-paid people are allocated to planning and evaluating such projects, which expenditure is ostensibly to ensure quality. Even looking at worst cases helps us see what sort of quality is or is not being ensured.
I don’t completely disagree but there is also some danger of being systematically misleading.
I think your last 4 bullet points are really quite good & they probably apply to a number of organizations not just the World Bank. I’m inclined to view this as an illustration of organizational failure more than an evaluation of the World Bank. (Assuming of course that the book is accurate).
I will say tho that my opinion of development economics is quite low…
I built the explanatory model based on my experience employed by and reading about other vaguely analogous institutions, but an acquaintance who’d previously worked at the World Bank said it seemed like an accurate characterization of that institution as well.