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Briefings

Suralaya Power Station, Indonesia. Credit: Melvinas Priananda, Trend Asia.

Environment

Analysis

Coal not yet confined to the “old days” by World Bank Group

Despite the World Bank’s commitment to move away from funding coal, a series of loopholes in its financial intermediary lending remain that will continue to allow finance to support coal power projects.

13 December 2023 | At Issue
Tunisians demonstrate for peace, freedom of speech and for a secular state ahead of elections for a Constituent Assembly on 23 October 2011, following the Tunisian Revolution. Credit: European Parliament

Finance

Analysis

The IMF and World Bank talk good governance, but walk with state- capturers

From South Africa to Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, the Bank and Fund have demonstrated they are not appropriate allies to address the scale of the crisis the world is facing, especially, given their record.

4 October 2023 | At Issue
Protest at COP27, celebrated in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in November 2022. Credit: Oliver Kornblihtt / Mídia NINJA

Finance

Analysis

Assessing the Bretton Woods Institutions’ legacy

New collection of critical essays by authors from MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa do a retrospective of the BWIs involvement in the region, and the legacy of BWIs-supported unjust and extractionist world economic order.

3 October 2023 | Briefings

Finance

Analysis

Reconceptualising Special Drawing Rights as a tool for development finance

Briefing examines the shortcomings of the current SDRs allocation system and calls to reform SDRs to ensure their targeted, needs-based and equitable distribution. 

2 October 2023 | Briefings
Anti IMF loan protest in downtown, Cairo, 2012. Credit: Gigi Ibrahim / Flickr

Private Sector

Analysis

Financialisation and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa

This briefing explains how the IMF and World Bank have driven the financialisation of MENA states, and the pervasive negative effects this has had on the region’s societies and economies.

27 September 2023 | Briefings

Finance

Analysis

World Bank Group Evolution: Technical fixes or urgently needed reform?

World Bank Evolution Roadmap’s proposed superficial technical patches favouring the ‘logic’ of the market will likely fail to deliver the structural changes needed to support borrowing countries amidst global crises.

19 July 2023 | At Issue

Finance

Analysis

Civil Society calls for rethink of World Bank’s ‘evolution roadmap’ as part of wider reforms to highly unequal global financial architecture

Joint civil society briefing paper highlights concerns with the World Bank’s Evolution Roadmap, and provides a series of recommendations for a Roadmap that prioritises people, participation and the planet over profit and economic growth.

3 July 2023 | Briefings

IFI governance

Analysis

The IMF at the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: The need for governance reform

As the world celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is time the IMF’s shareholders use the opportunities provided by the anniversary and growing calls for reforms to the international financial architecture to redesign the IMF’s governance structures and programmes to ensure they are consistent with the commitments outlined in 1948 and with international human rights law.

5 April 2023 | At Issue
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Other news

Gender

Analysis

The IMF and Gender Equality: Operationalising Change

This briefing raises critical questions on the latest developments in the IMF’s approach to gender.

10 February 2019 | Briefings

Accountability

Analysis

Bretton Woods Project submission on the DFID White Paper

In a submission the the DFID white paper consultation, we set out the significant change needed at the World Bank and IMF to bring them into line both with international norms and with UK policy, in order to improve their contribution to sustainable development. In this submission we outline changes needed in: IFI governance; IFI conditionality policies; IFI policies related to aid effectiveness; IFI policy on climate change; private-sector finance; and the financial sector's impact on devel

11 May 2009 | Briefings

IFI governance

Analysis

G-7, civil society press for IMF, World Bank transparency reforms

The World Bank and the IMF have responded to complaints about their lack of transparency by issuing mountains of documentation and offering innumerable meetings and consultations. But critics are still not satisfied, pointing to the difficulty for people to find and interpret many of the documents produced, and to the opacity of the institutions’ key decision-making bodies.

29 May 2003 | Briefings

Conditionality

Analysis

Comments on ‘IMF Staff Note on Macroeconomic Programming for Poverty Reduction’

Civil society commentary on the 'IMF Staff Note on Macroeconomic Programming for Poverty Reduction'

25 May 2003 | Briefings

Conditionality

Analysis

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs): A Rough Guide

The aim of this short briefing is to provide information to a non-specialist audience on some key aspects of PRSPs.

9 April 2003 | Briefings

IFI governance

Analysis

Window of opportunity on IFI governance

Discussion of the key issues to be raised when the Development Committee discusses reforms to the governance structure of the IFIs at the Spring Meetings this April.

28 January 2003 | Briefings

Conditionality

Analysis

Blinding with Science or encouraging debate?

This report examines the powerful roles of the World Bank in determining the policies chosen by PRSP countries. It provides a critical assessment of the current moves to introduce Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA), and recommends taking further action to break the Bank’s near monopoly on development analysis and control of policy formulation process.

16 September 2002 | Briefings

Finance

Analysis

Taken for granted? US Proposals to Reform the World Bank’s IDA Examined

US debt campaigners are siding with the Bush administration against European leaders and other NGOs over a key source of finance for the world’s 79 poorest countries. Discussions on the pros and cons of providing grants instead of loans through IDA appear deadlocked (March 2002).

25 March 2002 | Briefings
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