Understanding administrative bottlenecks

While the administrative bottlenecks presented in this Special Issue appear obvious, perceptions of them are confused with unanswerable questions of organization, policy, procedure, and technology. This leads to contradictory conclusions and the so‐called ‘mysteries of development’. To separate out what we can generalize about from what we cannot, a ‘political software’ approach is suggested, using the common sense steps that a serious, enlightened, and experienced businessperson might take in facilitating a development project. Combining these steps or requirements into ‘the theory of political elasticity’, we can see why violations of them lead to the bottlenecks illustrated in this issue. While reform is difficult, the effort must be made, encouraged by examples of success. The World Bank can play a useful role, if it can insist and build upon the borrower's commitment to reform and use a learning process approach.