On the Dynamics of the Projects Approval Process

This technical note analyzes specific project- and country-level characteristics that affect the duration of the projects approval process from year to year and builds a framework to characterize projects that would require further monitoring to complete their approval process. We present evidence that the number of team leaders changes, the time that a project remains in pipeline A, the size of a project relative to the pipeline of its country, and whether it is an electoral year in a given country affect the rate at which projects are approved. These empirical regularities can support the projects preparation process and better allocate resources and efforts to optimize approval times.