Books
- The World’s Banker
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A revealing insight into the management foibles of Bank president Wolfensohn, the author’s misguided attack on NGOs has given ammunition to those who would like to roll back civil society input into economic policy-making. Beware the “Mallaby effect”.
Sebastian Mallaby,The Penguin Press, 2004 ISBN: 1594200238
- Participation, from tyranny to transformation?
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Exploring new approaches to participation in development This book addresses problems of power and politics which have beset some approaches to participation.
Hickey, S and Mohan, G (eds), Zed, 2004, ISBN: 1842774611
Official resources
- Striking a better balance: Final report of the extractive industries review, and Final World Bank Group EIR management response
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Progressive recommendations in the final EIR report presented a victory for environmental and human rights campaigners. Months later these were disappointingly watered down or rejected in the World Bank’s management response.
Civil society papers
- Dogmatic Development, War on Want
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Looking at case studies from six different countries, this report examines how conditionalities and pressures from aid agencies and development banks force developing countries to adopt privatisation policies in public services.
- Owning the loan- poor countries and the MDGs, AFRODAD and Christian Aid
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Urges an increased role for parliaments and civil society organisations in loan contraction processes www.afrodad.org/archive/owningtheloan1.pdf
- Noose of global lenders, National Alliance of People’s Movements, India
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A special 60th anniversary issue to examine the international financial institutions, includes submissions from Medha Patkar, Anil Sadgopal and Souparna Lahiri.
Contact themovement@riseup.net to order a copy
- The energy tug of war: the winners and losers of WB fossil fuel finance, SEEN
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Reveals how Bank supported oil projects fail to satisfy developing countries’ energy needs and instead benefit both industrialized country consumption demands, and the profits northern based corporations.
- Zambia: Condemned to debt, how the IMF and World Bank have undermined development, WDM
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The report concludes that the IMF and World Bank’s influence over Zambia’s economy has been “unsuccessful, undemocratic, and unfair”, resulting in high unemployment, the destruction of industries, social unrest and increased poverty.
- Blocking progress: How the fight against HIV/AIDS is being undermined by the World Bank and IMF, ActionAid
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Puts into sharp focus long-standing criticism of the IMF’s prescriptive loan conditions that demand low inflation and tight budget ceilings which in turn constrain public spending towards HIV/AIDS. The Fund was moved to an unprecedented homepage rebuttal.
- Access to justice from local village to global boardroom: An experience in international accountability. The World Bank Inspection Panel and the Chad-Cameroon oil and pipeline project, Association Tchadienne pour la Promotion des Droits de l’Homme
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A comprehensive study revealing both how numerous environmental and social safeguards were violated during project construction, whilst Illustrating the need to reforms in the functioning and mandate of the Inspection panel.
Web resources
- IFIwatchnet
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A groundbreaking initiative in international NGO networking, going from strength to strength in its second year of operation. Connects organisations worldwide who monitor international financial institutions. Boasts over 60 participants globally… and counting.
- Crude Accountability
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Works with local activists and citizen groups in the Caspian basin to protect the region’s to ensure environmental justice for communities impacted by natural resource development.
- The Innovators
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Part of a network of Bangladeshi civil society organisations who have challenged the Bank’s request for blanket immunity. Important work when development needs more accountability, not less.
