The Asian Development Bank and rural development : policy and practice / Robert Wihtol.

Includes list of abbreviations used throughout the text.

Includes list of tables and figures that focus on rural industrial development and financial practices with a focus on 20th century lending and credit projects.

This text focuses on a variety of geographical locales, especially within Asia, but pays special attention to the United States, Japan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-210) and index.

1. Introduction -- 2. The Asian development bank -- 3. Donor policies and interests -- 4. The bank's rural development policy -- 5. Organisational constraints -- 6. Operational policies and practices --- 7. Irrigation and rural development -- 8. Rural credit and roads projects -- 9. Conclusion.

"Can the rural lending of an international development bank effectively increase food production, create jobs, and raise the incomes of the rural poor? In response to the growing unemployment and poverty which accompanied foodgrain shortages in the early 1970s, the Asian Development Bank moved from its initial policy of modernizing agricultural production to a more ambitious rural development policy combining growth, employment, and income distribution. Despite the policy change, however, the Bank's rural-sector projects have continued to focus on increasing production, with little impact on unemployment or poverty. This study examines the reasons -- both political and organizational -- for the gap between policy and practice. While the A.D.B's policy reflects developmental concerns, many operational practices reflect the interests of individual member countries, particularly those of Japan and the U.S.A. Constraints on project innovation and change are also evident within the Bank, particularly in the excessive emphasis placed by management on annual lending targets. The study points to a revision of management objectives and a broadening of projects formulation criteria as the most practicable routes to increasing the Bank's developmental effectiveness." -- from the book jacket.