This note synthesizes the experience ofthree political economy case studies: the water sector inWest Bank and Gaza, the bus sector in Dhaka, Bangladesh, andthe port sector in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The objective isto describe: the process of conducting these types ofstudies, and how recommendations which have a higher chanceof feeding into reforms or operations can be developed. Itis hoped that these insights will be useful for developmentpractitioners and operational teams who are consideringconducting political economy studies. It is increasinglyaccepted that better understanding and management of thepolitical economy of policy reforms can help developmentagencies, including the World Bank, refine policy advice andoperational support in partner countries. Support of reformswhich are technically feasible and politically acceptable,while simultaneously promoting a poverty reduction agenda,remain a core challenge for the World Bank. It isanticipated that the additional time and effort put intopolitical economy work will often translate into improveddesign and implementation of sector reforms and operations,and thus increase their effectiveness. It illustrateslessons for operational teams and development practitionerson conducting political economy work. Finally, it shows thatcertain obstacles need to be anticipated when translatingpolitical economy recommendations into design of operationsand illustrates, through the case studies, how they can be addressed.
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