ABSTRACT
The refocussing of World Bank activities along the lines clearly carries with it wide implications. Governments in developing countries will, undoubtedly, be concerned about giving the Bank more responsibility for involving itself in policy issues. The World Bank is widely believed to permit political considerations to enter into its decision-making and particularly to permit the major shareholders of the Bank, especially its major shareholder the United States, to influence its decisions. Regarding the ability of the Bank to involve itself more deeply in policy issues, lies a technocratic concern. Those people who express this concern would ask whether professional economists and others know enough about the policy and institutional framework, which most effectively stimulates development. In addition, there is also the concern that the proposed greater emphasis by the Bank on policy issues will dilute the cooperative and sympathetic image and style which the Bank enjoys in many developing countries.
