A Case Study of World Bank Projects in Turkey: An Evaluation of Barrowed Funds and Project Implementation

Systems Synthesis Project, H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh USA, Spring 2007

The World Bank and the Government of Turkey have an enduring relationship which remains critically important as Turkey strives towards European Union (EU) accession.  To date, World Bank loans to Turkey total approximately $19 billion.  In 2006, Turkey received approximately $1.5 billion in loans from the World Bank, which represents 1.25% of the estimated 2006 Turkish budget expenditure.  These loans have funded projects in several sectors, including basic education, emergency relief, and privatization of state-owned enterprises.  Beyond funding, the World Bank has offered Turkey extensive advice and recommendations regarding development.  As Turkey’s economy has grown and its development goals have evolved, it is important to reevaluate the role of World Bank financing within the country and, moreover, how to use this funding most efficiently. 

In this study, three main research questions were addressed: (1) How can Turkey better evaluate the cost of borrowing from the World Bank? (2) What are some of the challenges and obstacles commonly observed in project implementation? (3) Based on our findings, how can the Turkish government improve project execution..?

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http://www.hazine.org.tr/makaleler/ergulhaliscelik_makaleler/SystemProjectWB.pdf