World Development Report 1984

labor markets. And they have a vested interest in As its predecessors, this year's World Developreducing
their own trade protectionism and adopt- ment Report is a study by the staff of The World
ing outward-oriented policies. Bank, and the judgments in it do not necessarily
Although recovery, at least in the industrial reflect the view of our Board of Directors or the
nations, is now on a firmer footing, the outlook for governments they represent.
the years ahead is full of uncertainties. The outlook
would brighten considerably if every nation took
steps to improve its own domestic economic performance.
But development assistance is also critical,
in reviving the global economy and in addressing
many of the fundamental development issues
of our era, including population. Especially for the
poorest countries, a substantial increase in conces- A. W. Clausen
sional flows of funds is needed to secure develop- President
ment momentum. And although the direct costs of The World Bank
programs to reduce population growth are not
large, a greater commitment by the international
community is sorely needed to assist developing
countries in the great challenge of slowing population
growth. May 25, 1984
iv
This Report was prepared by a team led by Nancy Birdsall and comprising Martha Ainsworth,
Rodolfo Bulatao, Dennis Mahar, William McGreevey, Nicholas Prescott, and Gurushri Swamy, and
assisted by Jill Armstrong. Deepak Lal and Martin Wolf contributed to Part I. The Economic Analysis
and Projections Department, under the direction of Jean Baneth, prepared the statistical materials on
which Part I is based, as well as supplied data for the whole Report. Peter Miovic coordinated the
work of the Economic Analysis and Projections Department on Part I. Ramesh Chander supervised
the preparation of the World Development Indicators, assisted by David Cieslikowski. Staff of the
Population, Health, and Nutrition Department provided extensive help on Part II. The authors would
like to thank these and the many other contributors and reviewers. Thanks also go to the production
staff-Christine Houle, Pensri Kimpitak, Jeanne Rosen, and Gerald Martin Quinn (who also designed
the cover)-and especially to the support staff headed by Rhoda Blade-Charest and including Banjonglak
Duangrat, Jaunianne Fawkes, and Carlina Jones. The work was carried out under the general
direction of Anne 0. Krueger and Costas Michalopoulos, with Rupert Pennant-Rea as principal
editor.