Knowledge Centre : Economy : International Financial Institutions : World Bank : Page 5
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- Why It Matters Who Runs the IMF and the World Bank
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CGD Working Paper 22, 01/01/2003. By Nancy Birdsall. Available in: PDF & Word Format. Increasing integration has made the great challenge of reducing poverty and advancing human development more achievable than ever, and more dependent than ever on good global economic governance. In this paper I set out the economic logic for why good global economic governance matters for reducing poverty and inequality and argue that a step towards better global governance would be better representation of developing countries in global and regional financial institutions. The Inter-American Development Bank, where the developing country borrowers control 50 percent of the votes and the Presidency, suggests some of the likely effects of better representation in ownership of economic and social programs supported by multilateral institutions, and on their overall effectiveness and legitimacy. I close with a discussion of the dilemma of reconciling the financial power and thus accountability of rich countries with stronger poor country representation.
http://ideas.repec.org/p/cgd/wpaper/22.html
(Added: Mon Mar 21 2005 Modified: Mon Sep 11 2006 Hits: 136)
- WDM's response to US appointment of Paul Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank
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Wednesday 16 March 2005. The World Development Movement's Head of Policy Peter Hardstaff: "The fault for this truly terrifying appointment really lies at the door of European Governments who last year insisted on retaining their right to appoint the head of the IMF rather than adopt an open, democratic and transparent selection process, as the UK had committed itself to in the 2000 White Paper on Globalisation. Once they had rejected this opportunity for change there was no way that the US would do anything other than exercise their end of the deal and appoint the head of the World Bank."
http://www.wdm.org.uk/news/presrel/current/wolfowitz.htm
(Added: Fri Mar 18 2005 Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005 Hits: 65)
- Opposition swells to appointment of Wolfowitz to head World Bank
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16th March 2005, Bretton Woods Project. President Bush confirmed in a press briefing at the White House 16 March that he had nominated Paul Wolfowitz for World Bank President. Bush said that Wolfowitz is a "compassionate decent man, commited to development, and a skilled diplomat". Prior to his current post as deputy secretary of defense, Wolfowitz has held positions with various academic institutions and the US state department. According to an informal agreement struck at the founding of the Bretton Woods Institutions, the post of World Bank president is in the hands of the US administration, while the IMF Managing Director is traditionally a European. The stitch-up has been widely criticised by governments, civil society, academics and the staff of the institutions themselves.
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/article.shtml?cmd[126]=x-126-155498
(Added: Thu Mar 17 2005 Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005 Hits: 212)
- Statement by Neil Watkins, National Coordinator of Jubilee USA Network, on the Nomination of Paul Wolfowitz to be President of the World Bank
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(Common Dreams) WASHINGTON -- March 16 -- "We are deeply concerned that the controversial nomination of US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to be President of the World Bank sends the wrong message to the world. Given Wolfowitz's record and public statements, we fear that his nomination signals a move towards an even stronger push for harmful economic policies and large-infrastructure projects (which often come at tremendous cost to the natural environment) at the World Bank.
http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0316-17.htm
(Added: Thu Mar 17 2005 Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005 Hits: 77)
- U.S. Dominates World Bank Leadership
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FPIF Commentary. By Alex Wilks | February 18, 2005. Good governance. Consultation. Participation. You would be a millionaire if you had a dollar for every time a World Bank official has mentioned these words. Unfortunately, the selection process for the top post at the World Bank completely ignores these principles. Right now, there is a vacancy for the most senior post in official world development circles, a job that is of direct interest to billions of people across the globe. The process and candidates are shrouded in secrecy and the only candidates in the running are U.S. citizens.
http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2005/0502wbank.html
(Added: Mon Feb 21 2005 Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005 Hits: 71)
- World Bank President
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"worldbankpresident.org is about ... the World Bank President." Shines a spotlight on the intrigues surrounding the selection process and examines the candidates and their track records. After the preferred candidate is announced, we'll be tracking global reaction and following the transition process as he or she moves into office.
http://www.worldbankpresident.org
(Added: Fri Jan 28 2005 Modified: Wed Jan 17 2007 Hits: 286)
- IRN Response to Sebastian Mallaby's Attacks on NGOs
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Sebastian Mallaby, a Washington Post journalist, has published a book and several articles attacking IRN and other NGOs critical of the World Bank's record in funding infrastructure projects. Mallaby seems to have done little if any detailed analysis of the projects he describes and his assertions are riddled with errors and mischaracterizations.
http://www.irn.org/programs/finance/sebastianmallaby/index.html
(Added: Thu Oct 14 2004 Modified: Wed Oct 11 2006 Hits: 221)
- World Bank IMF annual meetings 2004 - Mission unaccomplished: more reports, no new money
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4th October 2004, Bretton Woods Project. The World Bank-IMF annual meetings drew to a close with little or no progress made on any of the substantive issues. Debt relief was the issue attracting most of the attention in the run-up to the meetings. Both the US and the UK had tabled proposals for 100 per cent multilateral debt cancellation. There was much discussion over a new framework to determine debt sustainability. But the meeting of the board of the IMF ended with the now-familiar commitment to "further consideration of outstanding issues in the proposed framework for debt sustainability and of further debt relief". There was no indication that any progress had been made on discussions surrounding the use of IMF gold to support debt cancellation.
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/article.shtml?cmd[126]=x-126-72274
(Added: Thu Oct 07 2004 Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005 Hits: 79)
- Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB)
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A global action-oriented organization of parliamentarians advocating for transparency and accountability in international development.
(Added: Mon Oct 04 2004 Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005 Hits: 92)
- Growing Old Disgracefully - A case for radical reform of the World Bank and IMF at 60 (pdf 859k)
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World Development Movement. This brief provides the WDM's agenda for changing the international financial institutions.
http://www.wdm.org.uk/campaigns/colludo/growingold.pdf
(Added: Wed Sep 29 2004 Modified: Wed Jan 10 2007 Hits: 192)
- World Bank/IMF 2004 Annual Meetings: Information for Civil Society
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Bank Information Centre, September 28, 2004. As civil society organizations prepare for events surrounding the World Bank/ IMF Annual Meetings (held in Washington, DC, October 2-3, 2004), the Bank Information Center (BIC) is again pulling together information from various networks on planned actions, seminars, workshops, visiting colleagues, and other relevant information.
http://www.bicusa.org/bicusa/issues/world_bank/1607.php
(Added: Wed Sep 29 2004 Modified: Tue Aug 15 2006 Hits: 148)
- NGO Concerns on the Use of National Safeguard Systems in World Bank Projects
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A Critique of the World Bank Paper, Issues in Using Country Systems in Bank Operations, August 23, 2004. By Peter Bosshard. The World Bank has discussed using national safeguard, procurement and fiduciary systems rather than the Bank's own policies and procedures in Bank projects since 2002. A new paper that proposes the use of country systems was discussed by the Board of Directors on September 14, 2004. This paper summarizes concerns of International Rivers Network (IRN) regarding the new proposal. It covers only the proposed changes regarding social and environmental safeguard policies, and not procurement and fiduciary policies.
(Added: Tue Sep 21 2004 Modified: Wed Oct 11 2006 Hits: 116)
- World Bank Development Policy Lending Replaces Adjustment Lending
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World Bank, August 10, 2004. One of the World Bank's main lending instruments--Adjustment Lending--has been replaced by the new Development Policy Lending in a major overhaul of the Bank's operational policy. The new policy is the culmination of more than two years of consultation with stakeholders-including governments, community representatives, civil society groups, academics and private sector representatives around the world.
(Added: Wed Aug 25 2004 Modified: Wed Jan 17 2007 Hits: 215)
- World Bank Project Cycle
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Each year the World Bank lends between US$15-$20 billion for projects in the more than 100 countries it works with. Projects range across the economic and social spectrum in these countries from infrastructure, to education, to health, to government financial management. The projects the Bank finances are conceived and supervised according to a well-documented project cycle. Documents produced as part of the project cycle can be valuable sources of information for interested stakeholders wanting to keep abreast of the work the Bank is financing and for businesses wishing to participate in Bank-financed projects. Below is a step-by-step guide to the project cycle, the documents that are produced as part of the process, and how to access them.
(Added: Tue Aug 03 2004 Modified: Wed Jan 17 2007 Hits: 163)
- World Bank and IMF Library Network
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The World Bank and International Monetary Fund libraries work together to provide information services and resources to World Bank and IMF staff. This site provides publicly available library resources.
http://jolis.worldbankimflib.org
(Added: Fri Jul 23 2004 Modified: Tue Aug 15 2006 Hits: 141)
- 60 years of serving the poor?
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World Vision New Zealand, 14 May 2004, by Simon Duffy. In the diamond anniversary year of the World Bank and the IMF, World Vision's Simon Duffy reflects on the history of two institutions that New Zealand taxpayers help to fund.
http://staging.worldvision.org.nz/news/archive/20040513_21.asp
(Added: Mon Jun 28 2004 Modified: Fri Aug 25 2006 Hits: 339)
- Rich Countries do it Again
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Christian World Service (New Zealand) Media Release, 26/04/04. New Zealand aid agencies are angry that the just completed spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank once again offered no hope for the world's poorest peoples. "The rich countries have done it again," said Christian World Service Director, Jonathan Fletcher. "They totally dominate the board of the IMF and the World Bank and control all their monetary resources. They have the capacity to cut the levels of debt that are strangling the economies of many developing countries and to end the economic policies that put theory before people. With their immense financial reserves they could literally save the lives of millions of people. But they don't." In releasing the Global Monitoring Report 2004, the IMF warned that "most developing countries will fail to meet most of the Millennium Development Goals that serve as targets for the global effort to reduce poverty and improve services for the poor by 2015."
http://www.cws.org.nz/News/media-release.asp#WB%20IMF
(Added: Tue Apr 27 2004 Modified: Tue Jun 27 2006 Hits: 248)
- Bank Information Centre
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The Bank Information Center (BIC) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization that aims to empower citizens in developing countries to influence World Bank and other Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) activities in a manner that fosters social justice and ecological sustainability. BIC advocates for greater citizen participation, transparency, and public accountability.
(Added: Tue Mar 30 2004 Modified: Tue Aug 15 2006 Hits: 402)
- Integrating gender into the World Bank's work: a strategy for action
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In the strategy described in this paper, the World Bank will work with governments and civil society in client countries, and with other donors, to diagnose the gender-related barriers to and opportunities for poverty reduction and sustainable. world Bank, 2002. development; and will then identify and support appropriate actions to reduce these barriers and capitalize on the opportunities.
http://www.worldbank.org/gender/overview/ssp/file3.pdf
(Added: Mon Mar 15 2004 Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005 Hits: 259)
- Reforming the World Bank: Will the new gender strategy make a difference? A study with China case examples.
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This Study assesses the effectiveness and potential effectiveness of the Bank's Gender Strategy and recommends how to strengthen the Strategy. It describes how gender advocates inside the Bank have been trying to engender Bank investments and other initiatives over the last 25 years but their success has been limited. In September 2001, the World Bank Board of Executive Directors endorsed the Gender Strategy that this Study analyzes. The Study examines the Gender Strategy's strengths, weaknesses and implementation track record. This Study also analyzes the updated Bank Gender Operational Policy (OP) and an accompanying Bank Procedure (BP)to facilitate policy implementation that the Bank Board endorsed in 2003.Elaine Zuckerman, President Gender Action with Wu Qing, President, China Women's Health Network and inputs by Aida Orgocka and Hilary Sims Feldstein. Heinrich Böll Foundation 2003.
(Added: Mon Mar 15 2004 Modified: Tue Sep 12 2006 Hits: 217)
- Critique by Joseph E. Stiglitz at whirledbank.org
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Joseph E. Stiglitz was Chief Economist at the World Bank from 1996 until 1999, during which time he became quite critical of World Bank policy. Under pressure to keep quiet, he resigned in protest. "I was often asked how smart--even brilliant--people could have created such bad policies. One reason is that these smart people were not using smart economics. Time and again, I was dismayed at how out-of-date--and how out-of-tune with reality--the models Washington economists employed were."
http://www.whirledbank.org/ourwords/stiglitz.html
(Added: Mon Feb 09 2004 Modified: Wed Jun 15 2005 Hits: 255)
- Gambling with people's lives: What the World Bank's "High Risk/High Reward" strategy means for the poor and the environment (PDF)
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Authors: Peter Bosshard; Janneke Bruil; Korrina Horta; Shannon Lawrence; Carol Welsh. Published by: Environmental Defense; Friends of the Earth; International Rivers Network, 2003. The environmental destruction, social upheaval, corruption and repression that are associated with the World Bank's high-risk projects have created tremendous public controversy since the 1980s. This report addresses questions raised by the World Bank's renewed focus on "high risk/high reward" projects.
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/3006_GamblingWithPeoplesLives_0903.pdf
(Added: Fri Dec 12 2003 Modified: Wed Oct 11 2006 Hits: 133)
- World Bank: Bolivia
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World Bank site with updates and news of WB projects and loans.
(Added: Fri Oct 17 2003 Modified: Mon Dec 19 2005 Hits: 90)
- Creating poverty: the flawed economic logic of the World Bank's revised involuntary resettlement policy (PDF)
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by Theodore E Downing In preparation for the Bank's promised future review of its revised policy, I suggest they adhere to the precautionary principle and avoid actions that might cause harm. They should a) finance risk assessments, b) opportunely inform people of the risks and possible mitigations, c) provide independent, competent legal representation and d) arrange for independent and transparent monitoring of all development-induced , displacement projects. They should also e) protect those at risk by introducing 'induced-displacement insurance' as a safety net - in case their policies do not work. (PDF-35)
http://www.ted-downing.com/Publications/creating%20poverty_the%20flawed%20economic%20logic.pdf
(Added: Thu Oct 16 2003 Modified: Fri Mar 28 2008 Hits: 346)
- Annual and Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group
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The Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group (Bank) and the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (Fund) normally meet once a year to discuss the work of their respective institutions. Each Spring, the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee and the joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee hold meetings to discuss progress on the work of the Fund and Bank. This page links to past and upcoming meetings.
http://www.imf.org/external/am/index.htm
(Added: Wed Sep 24 2003 Modified: Tue Jun 27 2006 Hits: 230)
