Overview

For decades, the role of state in economic development has been a central question for policymakers. In the aftermath of Soviet Union collapse in the 1990s, international development organizations started recommending a set of policy reforms such as liberalization, privatization, and macro stabilization -labeled as Washington Consensus- to developing economies. The outcome of these policies was however heterogenous across countries raising a question that whether one policy framework works in all countries? What determined success or failure of Washington Consensus policies in a county?

The World Bank’s volume on “Development Challenges in the 1990” offers insights about practical problems in implementing policy reforms in developing countries. During this semester, we will go through different chapters of this book and learn from the experience of leading policymakers in different regions of the world.