The (under-exploited) Development Potential of Regional Programs

Developing countries face many problems that require regional cooperation and investment, such as water management, power, transportation and disease control. But international support for regional and multi-country programs is scant. Why hasn’t there been more support? Can regional programs deliver strong development results? What are the determinants of successful programs? How should the international architecture be changed to provide stronger support for regional cooperation? Victoria Elliott and Catherine Gwin of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) at the World Bank addressed these questions based on the findings of a recently-released report, "The Development Potential of Regional programs: An Evaluation of World Bank Support for Multicountry Operations." The report can be downloaded here.

Nancy Birdsall, President, Center for Global Development provided comments and Todd Moss, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development, chaired the discussion.