A carefully weighted, well-conceived document, the World Bank’s World Development Report 2002 (last mentioned in the
October 5, 2000 Scout Report) discusses the viable options available to developing nations attempting to open their markets to the world and thereby better the circumstances of their peoples. Honestly recognizing that free market economies are not one-size-fits-all, the report encourages policy builders and analysts to carefully consider the specific circumstances and histories of their countries as they add to infrastructure. A primary focus of the report is on individual institutions and their positive potential in serving in a nationwide system of checks and balances, ones which can greatly extend the interests of the people. Here, the reports insists, policy makers must look to establish institutions and organizations that are right for given populations at a given place and time. Ultimately, therefore, the report calls on those responsible for true nation building to look to the welfare of their own people, especially as they seek to move their nations into an increasingly voracious global market.
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