ABSTRACT
The World Bank’s responsibilities are primarily with the longer-term dimensions of development. These dimensions cover such issues as population growth; the development of human resources; and technological change. Other dimensions include rural and urban development; provision of basic needs on a replicable basis; and poverty redressal. This chapter discusses the broad implications of the World Bank's Structural Adjustment Lending (SAL) program. Any attempt to build agreements relating to policy and institutional reform around a regular project or series of projects is bound to dilute the focus on the reform program in the sector. The weakness of Bank operations has derived from a failure to recognize that if conditionality is to be robust and effective, it must be limited. In particular, the design of operations must reflect the focus of the conditionality, i.e., project lending for project conditionality; sector lending for sector conditionality; and broad SAL or planned program lending for multisectoral and macro conditionality.
