correlated with project outcomes. Curiously, they also find that measures of World Bank project task manager quality matter significantly for the ultimate outcome of projects.

Knowledge products of a variety of forms have long been part of the Bank‘s ―arsenal‖ for promoting economic development; country-based economic analysis dates back to the 1950s. Some of these analyses have been conducted on broad economic issues (e.g., Country Economic Memorandum), as well as sectoral issues (e.g., Water Resource Management in Country X). Bank-wide sector strategies are also produced, as are regional ―flagship‖ reports on selected topics.

Research reports are also produced as a means of consolidating existing global knowledge on a selected topic. Policy Research Reports and the World Development Report are two examples—the former produced from time-to-time, and the latter on an annual cycle. Last, but certainly not least, the Bank is a central figure in the collection/collation/processing/documentation and presentation of data on developing countries. The publicly available World Development Indicators are the primary vehicle in this realm, but there are other databases – including those compiled by researchers--that are available to the public as well.

The Research function<sup>67</sup> at the Bank itself has been led by the research department under the direction of the Chief Economist and leadership of the Research Department Director. Both in the past and in the present, these leaders have been leading thinkers in development economics. In addition, the Bank‘s researchers themselves have strong publication records.<sup>68</sup> That said, it would probably be an overstatement to say that the Bank has been the guiding force in development thinking. Instead, there has been a symbiotic relationship between the Bank‘s research department and the research community outside the Bank.

Measuring the impact of these activities on development is notoriously difficult. The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank attempted an evaluation of country level studies – Economic and Sector Work (ESW) – and TA.<sup>69</sup> One key technique was to use opinion surveys of Bank counterparts in client countries. The report found: ―The majority of ESW and TA met their objectives at least to an average extent during fiscal 2000–06. Between 65 and 80 percent of users of ESW and TA in client countries and between 74 and 87 percent of users within the Bank gave ratings of average and above when asked to what extent these products met their stated objectives. But there were substantial differences in ratings across countries and tasks, some of the reasons for which are as follows. First, the technical quality of ESW and TA influenced their effectiveness. Second, close collaboration with clients, from task initiation through the formulation of recommendations, was important for ESW and TA to be effective, whether clients actually produced part of the task or not. Third, sustained follow-up after the completion of the tasks, rather than just dissemination, was important for effectiveness. Fourth, whether clients requested the tasks or not did not matter for their effectiveness, although tasks not requested by clients needed to be tailored to client needs and interests to be effective. Fifth, there is some evidence that ESW and TA were less effective in countries where

> 67 For a history of World Bank research see Dethier (2009).

> 68 See Ravallion and Wagstaff (2010).  More details are provided below.

> 69 Internal Evaluations Group (World Bank), 2008.

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