Steve Knack is a Lead Economist in the Development Research Group (Human Development and Public Services Team). His recent research addresses the impact of aid on policy reform and on public sector capacity and accountability. He is a specialist on actionable governance indicators for monitoring progress of public sector reforms, and has oversight responsibility for the public sector management and governance items in the Bank's annual Country Policy and Institutional Assessments. Prior to joining the Bank in 1999, Knack was a Research Associate at the University of Maryland's IRIS Center, and Assistant Professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University. He received a PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland in 1991.