World Bank study, Where is the wealth of nations?

I have frequently been critical of the World Bank on this blog, and will continue to be, both as to questions of governance and corruption, and as to fundamental mission. As the the second, mission, I am less and less convinced that the World Bank lending mission has any great importance anymore, and that its future lies in grantmaking to the really poor world, and in serving as a place for studies like this one, below, Where is the Wealth of Nations?: Measuring Capital for the 21st Century.

This is a quite extraordinary document, one that deserves wide, wide reading in setting policy for international development. And to give credit where credit is due, the Bank deserves considerable praise for putting out a report that, in its seriousness and depth, might be thought to raise considerable challenges to the typical international organization approach to global poverty.

Here, in pdf. Required reading.

(ps. I see that the Wall Street Journal has an op-ed piece praising the report by Ronald Bailey, Saturday-Sunday, September 29-30, 2007, "The Secrets of Intangible Wealth." It is a pretty good summary.)