Many of Latin America's impressive reforms in the 1980s and 1990s were engineered by politicians and officials with advanced training that was partly financed by aid. Some efforts may pay off only over a long period. In the early 1990s, for example, the World Bank launched a public education campaign in Ukraine to stimulate debate within civil society about economic reform. Ukraine has yet to achieve really good policies, but the support to popular education may yet have a big payoff. It is difficult to measure the precise effects of disseminating knowledge, educating officials, and stimulating popular debate.
Case studies suggest, however, that they are often important to a successful reform program.
Results have been far from uniform. In many cases policy measures were not carried out, yet loans were disbursed anyway. In general, new governments have a high success rate with reform and are good candidates for support. This often includes governments that arise in post-conflict situations. The study also found that variables under the World Bank's control, such as the number of conditions or resources devoted to preparation and supervision, had no significant effect on the probability of success or failure of reform .