This study aims to understand and explain World Bank&rsquo / s changing approach to poverty since 1990. Established as a development institution and as one of the leading members of development community, the World Bank has nearly turned out to be a poverty alleviation institution especially from late 1990s on. This change is a reflection of a process in which the Bank shapes its approach to poverty not only in accordance with its own goals but also in the framework of what happens in wider social, economic and political spheres of which the Bank is a part as a subject that both shapes and is shaped by them to a certain extent. Consequently, a remarkable change is observed in the Bank&rsquo / s approach, and this process of change is investigated in this study in two sub-periods that are characterized by ruptures in continuity. The first period more or less between 1990 and 1997 is characterized by the Bank&rsquo / s neoliberal approach to poverty, which mainly assumes poverty as a complementary element of structural adjustment programs in countries they are implemented. The second period from 1997 up to present is characterized, on the other hand, by a &ldquo / third way&rdquo / approach to poverty which mainly assumes poverty-as-social-exclusion as an indispensable central element of a renewed hegemonic project. In this study, the traces of these ruptures and the continuity in the Bank&rsquo / s approach are followed through their reflections on Turkey by making a close reading of the Bank&rsquo / s documents about poverty in Turkey.

The main aim of this thesis is to assess the institutional arrangements shaped with a perspective of &ldquo / good governance&rdquo / in provision of urban services with reference to the shift of the World Bank&rsquo / s approach to the problem of poverty after 1990s. In spite of the change in the World Bank&rsquo / s perspective, there remain significant problems related with the expected reflection of these institutional arrangements to the practice through certain process and stages of the implemented projects. Regarding this fact, thesis seeks to determine not only the reasons of these problems but also ways for solving them to attain effective provision of urban services. In this thesis, also, as an institutional comparative assessment, some implemented service projects of the World Bank in Turkey are examined by stressing on the institutional dimension of the project objectives. At last, thesis makes suggestions about the unsuccessful dimensions and reveals the roles of institutions in the achievement of projects by using the institutional assessment method for the institutions whose institutional capacity has been developed or the institutions created within the World Bank projects implemented in Turkey. This will be achieved by the evaluations on projects with the outputs of institutional assessment and the research on factors for the achievement of the projects. The results obtained with this thesis study are noteworthy for the evaluation with a new perspective of the projects implemented in Turkey not only by the World Bank but also by other international institutions quite increased in number in recent years.

Indigenous peoples are garnering more focus on the world stage, and as such it is critical to understand their role in development. Indigenous peoples are especially impoverished, and often face institutionalized discrimination by their governments and other forces. This repression, limited access to services, and resource predation endanger indigenous peoples’ lives and livelihoods. I attempted to identify indigenous peoples’ policies in seven major development international non-governmental organizations, and after finding none upon document research and staff interviews, propose theories for why this could be the case. I compare international non-governmental organizations’ lack of policies to the presence of policies in international organizations. The difference between these two types of organizations formed the base of my theories, which were based primarily around the organizational structure and the different types of pressure and expectations that they face. I argue, though, that international non-governmental organizations should have indigenous peoples’ policies for several reasons including the improvement seen in international organizations’ treatment of indigenous peoples and the importance of accountability and transparency in the development process. The Report finishes by suggesting avenues to test the theories proposed, and plans for indigenous advocates. / text

According to critical scholars there is a global education policy community that contributes to the increasing convergence of national education policies (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). Key players in this community include the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Although the scholars point out that global education policies are not uniformly copied or implemented, missing from the literature on globalization and education are the voices of the students and educators impacted by them. The process of policy implementation is neither seamless nor mechanical. The intended impact of a policy is not necessarily its outcome. Not only may there be unanticipated consequences, but educators and students may also resist, adapt, or transform practices suggested by the policies. This study examines international influence on the classroom practices of educators in one high school in northern Mexico by tracing the implementation of a recent national high school reform. Mexican education officials drew on the examples of recent high school reforms in Europe in designing the reform and, in addition, borrowed money from the World Bank for its implementation. Analysis of key official documents related to the reform along with participant observation and interviews of teachers, students, parents, a union representative, and education officials reveal that although just like the policies of the global education policy community the reform promotes neoliberal and human capital views of schooling, these views are not shared by all of the participants in this study. In addition, participants do not believe that the reform is adequately adapted to the context of Mexican schools. Judging from the teachers participating in this study, Mexican schools and educators have strengths that were overlooked in the development of the reform.

This thesis argues that development requires policies which promote comprehensive human development, rather than simple economic growth. While international law and the human rights system mandate that the individual be the central focus of the development paradigm, there are other reasons in addition to legal obligation to engage in people centred development planning. It also addresses the broad support for participatory processes found in the development planning literature. The World Bank is a multilateral development agency charged with providing low interest loans to developing nations. Frequently the development interventions financed by these loans violate the human rights of neighbouring residents. Such violations are contrary to the Bank's international legal obligations as a member of the United Nations system. This thesis enumerates steps the Bank must take to align its project planning and implementation policies with international human rights law. Chapter One summarizes World Bank history, addresses its structure, and discusses its lending policy then moves on to comment on the human rights system, providing the theory and methodology to be used throughout the thesis. The following chapters address specific Bank policies regulating project planning. Chapter Two discusses the policy regarding involuntary resettlement arising from development, and summarize the Bank's indigenous policy. Chapter Three concerns the Bank's environmental assessment policy. Chapter Four investigates two areas where no Bank policy has been developed, contrary to the requirements of the human rights system: formation of national development policies, and the detriments suffered by project affected people not covered by other policies. Each chapter discusses the nature of the relevant human rights issues, outlines Bank policy (where it exists), and recommends modifications and courses of action to bring the Bank into accordance with the human rights requirements. Chapter five reviews the conclusions reached in earlier chapters and offers a brief case study demonstrating how human rights can be practically applied in development projects. The World Bank must create policies consistent with international civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights to meet the challenges, and the legal obligations, of human development.

No description available.

Policy emphasis on education as a medium to alleviate poverty and to achieve development is this thesis’s topic. Long enforcement of this approach has led us not only to believe in the education-for-prosperity link, but also to reproduce it and create a social system that works in line with it. This study explored this approach as conceived by key international financial institutions—the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank—and by a specific nation-state—Mexico. An historical analysis was conducted of 29 documents from 1960, when these banks first became involved in policy making and funding of education projects worldwide, to the present time. They were chosen because of their relevance in effecting concrete practices in the education sector. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to read, analyze, and identify relevant categories within them. A content analysis methodology was also used to study the treatment of the concepts of education and poverty over time by the two banks and Mexico. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how educational policies came to be. The study of the banks revealed that the link between education and poverty occurred at the end of the 1980s. This link was strengthened by a shift of focus from the nation to the individual, which facilitated the education-for-poverty objectives. The study of Mexico suggests that international policies influenced national education policies; Mexico adopted the same perspective during the 1990s, a decade later than the banks. Despite the strength and acceptance of education for prosperity, it is still a social construct of our creation and reproduction. The key recommendations are (a) to develop further understanding and appreciation of the noneconomic side of education; (b) to distance education from economic and neoliberal principles that belittle its humanistic side; (c) to consider that education, our way of conceiving it, and our practice is a social construct that can be challenged and changed; and (d) to seek a type of education that truly fosters equity and equality. / Educational Administration and Leadership

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Stanford University, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-139).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nebraska--Lincoln, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 321-331).