The Bank began its public sector and institutional
reform operations in LCR in the early 1980s,
primarily to support structural adjustment and
economic liberalization.Most early operations focused
on strengthening core government functions so that
countries could cope with economic crises. By the late
1980s and early 1990s, public sector operations adopted
a “modernization” approach, aimed at developing
technical building blocks to improve the agility and
effectiveness of public sector management.