ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to measure the impact of the World Bank’s programme aid in the form of Structural Adjustment Loans (SALs) and Sectoral Adjustment Loans (SECALs), with an attempt being made to distinguish between the influence of programme finance and the influence of the policy conditions attached to this finance. It argues that the returns from Bank programme aid are rather disappointing, particularly when compared with the returns on traditional project lending activities. Thechapter suggests that European development agencies may have been prudent in resisting the trend towards rapid direct involvement in programme lending activities. The chapter also suggests that European members of the Bank Group need to exert continued pressure to ensure that the effectiveness of the Bank’s programme lending activities is constantly and comprehensively monitored and improved. The World Bank has taken a leading role in this re-orientation of development aid through its provision of SALs and SECALs.
