This evaluation was prepared by an Independent Evaluation Group team led by Željko Bogetić, with the guidance and supervision of Jeff Chelsky, manager, Economic Management and Country Programs, and Oscar Calvo-Gonzalez, director, Human Development and Economic Management, under the overall direction of Alison Evans, director-general, Independent Evaluation Group. The Approach Paper also benefited from the guidance and advice of Auguste Kouame and Stoyan Tenev.

Željko Bogetić (lead economist) led the evaluation team and case studies on Jamaica, Morocco, Tajikistan, and Ukraine. Felix Oppong (economist) coauthored the case studies on Benin and Mozambique. Melvin Vaz (senior evaluation officer) coauthored the case studies on Mozambique and Ukraine. Jeff Chelsky (manager) was the lead author of the case study on Bangladesh and coauthored the case study on Ukraine. Shahrokh Fardoust (consultant) coauthored the case studies on Bangladesh and Tajikistan and supported the preparation of the overall Approach Paper. Reza Vaez-Zadeh (consultant) coauthored the case studies on Benin and Morocco and contributed on financial sector issues. Amitava Bhanerjee (consultant) contributed to the case study on Bangladesh and advised on International Finance Corporation–related issues. Ana-Maria Arriagada (consultant) led the work on the social safety nets. Augusto de la Torre (consultant) contributed early advice on financial sector issues. Amshika Amar (consultant) contributed to the Jamaica case study. Johan Manuel Lopez (consultant) provided research analyst support. Dung Thi Kim Chu provided team administrative assistance and logistical support. Cheryl Tokozs was the report’s primary editor.

The team benefited from upstream discussions and advice from the Independent Evaluation Group methods team, Marie-Noelle Lantin Roquiz and Jos Vaessen.

External reviewers were Zia Qureshi (Brookings Institute; former director, Development Economics, World Bank), Ajay Chhibber (former World Bank country director; former United Nations assistant secretary-general), and Mary Goodman (assistant director, Strategy, Policy and Review Department, International Monetary Fund).

The team is grateful for useful feedback provided throughout the evaluation by the Operations Policy and Country Services team of the World Bank. Finally, the team is thankful to the many World Bank Group country offices and staff, as well as government officials, development partners, academics, and representatives of civil society, who engaged with us and gave generously of their time for interviews and support during country visits to Bangladesh, Benin, Jamaica, Morocco, Mozambique, Tajikistan, and Ukraine.