Governments and development agencies constantly plan, implement, and evaluate various development interventions, i.e., projects, programs, and policies. These interventions vary in scale and coverage, ranging from those specific to a group, region, resource, or sector to those universal and global in scope. Considering the flow and magnitude of investments involved, there is an understandable concern over the actual impacts that these interventions generate. Despite this concern, two key aspects having a central role in determining the magnitude and sustainability of development impacts continue to lack recognition and treatment both in economic literature and in development policy. These are: (a) the role institutions play in impact generation and transmission and (b) the synergies inherent among past, ongoing, and planned interventions. The insufficient treatment of institutional roles and the failure to account for development synergies could create fundamental bias in development planning and impact assessment. This problem is particularly serious in the context of meta-development goals such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), where the realization of the final goal is linked with the realization of several intermediate, but related goals of a hierarchy of development interventions, all of which require an effective institutional framework for their implementation and monitoring.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Barrett, S. and Graddy, K. (2000). Freedom, growth, and the environment. Environment and Development Economics, 5: 433–456.
Bromley, D.W. (1985). Resources and Economic Development, Journal of Economic Issues, 19(September): 779–796.
Bromley, D.W. (1989). Economic Interests and Institutions: The Conceptual Foundations of Public Policy, New York: Basil Blackwell.
Coudouel, A., Dani, A.A., and Paternostro, S. (2006). Lessons from the implementation of poverty and social impact analysis of reforms. In Aline Coudouel, Dani, A.A., and Paternostro, S., eds., Poverty and Social Impact Analysis of Reforms: Lessons and Examples from Implementation, World Bank, Washington DC, pp. 1–28.
Commons, J.R. (1934). Institutional Economics, New York: Macmillan.
De Silva, S., Ariyaratne, R., and Abayawardana, S. (2006). Kala Oya Basin, Sri Lanka: A resource and development profile, IWMI Working Paper, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) & UN World Food Program (WFP), (2005). Vulnerability of GN Divisions to Food Insecurity, Anuradhapura District 2004. Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Dinar, A., and Maria, S. R. (2005). Can Water Institution Be Cured? A Water Institutions Health Index, Water Science and Technology: Water Supply, l5(6):17–40, 2005.
Haines, A, and Cassels, A. (2004). Can the millennium development goals be attained?, British Medical Journal, 329: 394–397.
Johnston, J. (1984). Economic Methods, 3rd edn. New York, McGraw-Hill.
Just, R.E., Hueth, D. L. and Schmitz, A. (2004). The Welfare Economics of Public Policy: A Practical Approach to Project and Policy Evaluation, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Kahneman, D., and Tversky, A. (1984). Choices, Values, and Frames. American Psychologist, 39(4): 341–350.
Kaufmann, D., Aart, K., and Massimo, M. (2006). Governance Matters V: Governance Indicators for 1996–2005, Research Department, World Bank, Washington DC (Available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=929549 ).
Kennedy, P. (1987). A Guide to Econometrics (Second Edition), Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Neubert, S. (2000). Social Impact Analysis of Poverty Alleviation Programmes and Projects, Illford, Essex: Frank Cass.
Neubert, S. (2006). Impact Analysis in Development Cooperation and Approaches Adopted in Research and Practice, German Development Institute, Bonn (mimeo).
North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance, Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ostrom, V. (1980). Artisanship and Artifact. Public Administration Review, 40(July–Aug): 309–317.
Sahn, D. E. and Stifel, D. C. (2002). Progress Towards the Millenium Development Goals in Africa, Working Paper, Department of Agricultural Economics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Saleth, R. M. and Ariel Dinar. (2004). The Institutional Economics of Water: A Cross-Country Analysis of Institutions and Performance, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Saleth, R. M., Dinar, A., Neubert, S., Manoharan, S., Kamaiah, B., Abayawardena, S., and Ranjith Ariyaratne, R. (2006). Institutional Evaluation and Impact Assessment with Multiple Interventions and Meta Development Goals: Methodology Development with Empirical Application. Draft in progress towards an IWMI Research Report).
Tool, M. R. (1977). A Social Value Theory in Neo-institutional Economics. Journal of Economic Issues, 11(December): 823–849.
UN (United Nations), (2006). The Millennium Development Goals Report, United Nations, New York.
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), (2006). How to Guide MDG-based National Development Strategies, UNDP, New York (http://mdg-guide.undp.org/).
World Bank and IFPRI, Undated, Agriculture and Achieving the Millenium Development Goals, Report No. 32729-GLB, World Bank, Washington DC.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer Science + Business Media B.V
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Saleth, R.M., Dinar, A., Neubert**, S. (2008). Evaluating the Institution-Impact Interactions in the Context of Millennium Development Goals. In: Koundouri, P. (eds) Coping with Water Deficiency. Environment & Policy, vol 48. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6615-3_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6615-3_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-6614-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-6615-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)