The World Bank's Use of Country Systems of Procurement: A Good Idea Gone Bad?
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
March 2009
Abstract
The World Bank's newest country-systems policy, adopted in 2008, allows borrowers to use their national systems to conduct procurement and manage finances for Bank-funded projects. In principle, it will incentivise institutional reform, increase local ownership, and facilitate donor harmonisation. In practice, its content and the handling of stakeholder input seem to indicate that the Bank's dominant desire has been to preserve its market share. This article demonstrates (i) how deficiencies in the policy may reverse the Bank's work on governance and undercut aid efficiency, and (ii) how its handling of public consultations on the policy ignored the Bank's best practices. It concludes with steps for improving the policy, including re-opening dialogue with key stakeholders.
Journal Title
Development Policy Review
Journal ISSN
1467-7679
Volume
27
Issue
2
First Page
215
Last Page
230
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1111/j.1467-7679.2009.00443.x