Wheels Out of Balance: Suggested Guidelines for Intermodal Transport Lending at the World Bank

This report follows on ITDP’s earlier report, “Counting on Cars, Counting Out People,” published in 1994. That report found significant biases in the nature of World Bank economic rate of return (ERR) analysis, which could result in the favoring of road loans over loans to alternative modes of transport. Since that time, some of the problems in their ERR methodology are in the process of being changed, such as the inclusion of the impact of projects on non-motorized modes. While these and other necessary changes have yet to be incorporated into World Bank practice, progress is being made.

This report concludes, however, that even if the problems in the ERR methodology were removed, the possibility of a lending bias in favor of motorized road transport remains.