Articles

The Latest Trend in International Development: Innovation and the Case of the World Bank

Kyuri Kim

Abstract

International development had once been all about modernisation, industrialisation, and economic development. Economic growth of a nation still remains to be the main objective of development, but the paradigm is being challenged. Multilateral organisations dedicated to international development are quick to catch up with even slight tremors in academic discourse. This paper argues that development ideologies that were dominant during the post-WWII era are being challenged by themes such as science and technology, knowledge and innovation, and that this tremor is subsequently reflected in the organisational structure and operational patterns of such international organisations. By providing an in-depth historical narrative of the fate of the Knowledge for Development (K4D) Program at the World Bank, this paper will illustrate how discourse in academia, when coupled with the tendencies of the upper management to such discourse, may have an effect on the organisational structure - in specific, the creation and demise of a unit. In addition, this paper will demonstrate how discourse can affect operational patterns of the World Bank by providing some quantitative evidence.

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