Knowledgeable Bankers? The Demand for Research in World Bank Operations

Ravallion, Martin

关键词: AGRICULTURE;    ANNUAL REPORT;    ARRANGEMENT;    ARTICLE;    ARTICLES;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5892
RP-ID  :  WPS5892

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Development impact calls forknowledgeable development practitioners. How then do theoperational staff of the largest development agency valueand use its research? Is there an incentive to learn anddoes it translate into useful knowledge? A new surveyreveals that the bulk of the World Bank's senior staffvalue the Bank's research for their work, and most cometo know it well, although a sizable minority have difficultyaccessing research to serve their needs. Another group seeslittle value to research for their work and does not botherto find out about it. Higher perceived value is reflected ingreater knowledge about research, though there are frictionsin this process. Staff working on poverty, human developmentand economic policy tend to value and use research more thanstaff in the more traditional sectors of Bank lending --agriculture and rural development, energy and mining,transport and urban development; the latter sectors accountfor 45 percent of lending but only 15 percent of staffhighly familiar with Bank research. Without strongerincentives for learning and more relevant and accessibleresearch products, it appears likely that this lag in demandfor research by the traditional sectors will persist.