Does participation cost the World Bank more? : emerging evidence

Abstract

Participation of beneficiaries and other stakeholders in the preparation and implementation of investment projects is often portrayed as improving project performance and sustainability. But what are the costs of participation in investment operations to the World Bank? This paper reports on the results of interviews with World Bank staff of twenty-one participatory operations. It concludes that the cost category most affected is salaries of Bank staff and consultants in preparing and supervising participatory projects. Cost increases in this category range between 10 and 15 percent. Using the Management Information System, project statistics of an enlarged group of participatory projects are then compared to a Bank-wide control group. Results from the interviews are replicated and it also emerges that costs are partly shifted to trust funds and other funding sources. Overall, participation is not a free lunch for the World Bank but it does not cause insurmountable cost increases.

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