Papers
Development-led globalization: Towards sustainable and inclusive development paths; UNCTAD
Warns against the growing power of “finance-led globalisation” and advocates a prudent “development-led globalisation”.
http://unctad.org/en/docs/tdxiii_report_en.pdf
Private profit for public good? Can investing in private companies deliver for the poor?; Eurodad
Examines the trends in public support for private business in developing countries and the risks for the poor in so doing.
http://eurodad.org/1543000/
Infrastructure for whom? A critique of the infrastructure strategies of the G20 and the World Bank; International Rivers
Challenges the top-down approach to infrastructure and calls for bottom-up solutions that address the needs of the poor.
http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/infrastructure-for-whom-7454
More than bricks and mortar; The Corner House
Looks at the connections between infrastructure funding and international financial markets, arguing that safeguards can no longer constrain the growing role of private equity funds which are searching for new sources of profit.
http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/sites/thecornerhouse.org.uk/files/Bricks%20and%20Mortar.pdf
‘Leveraging’ private sector finance How does it work and what are the risks?; Bretton Woods Project
Analyses the concept of ‘leveraging’ used by the IFC and succinctly sets out the reasons to be sceptical.
http://brettonwoodsproject.org/leverage
What kind of review do we need of the Doing Business Rankings?; CAFOD
Argues the rankings skew resource allocations and promote harmful reforms; and calls for a fundamental, participatory review.
http://www.cafod.org.uk/News/Press-Centre/Press-releases/Business-rankings-review
Cashing in on climate change?; Eurodad
Questions the role of financial intermediaries in climate finance, arguing that it is often impossible to know where public money ends up.
http://eurodad.org/1345788/
Who’s behind the land grabs; GRAIN
Details those responsible for land grabs and provides a history of their involvement including the Bank’s role.
http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4576-slideshow-who-s-behind-the-land-grabs
‘Our land, our lives’: Time out on the global land rush; Oxfam
Denounces the Bank for its complicity in land grabs and calls for a freeze and review of Bank investments.
http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bn-land-lives-freeze-041012-en_1.pdf
World Bank’s “Inclusive green growth” (IGG) report – a brief assessment; Heinrich Boell Foundation
Concludes that the Bank’s focus remains on private sector actors and infrastructure projects, not inequality or human rights.
http://www.boell.org/web/146-Schalatek-Alexander-World-Bank-Inclusive-Green-Growth-Assessment.html
Banking on health; Gender Action
Assesses Bank health-related activities in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2006 to 2012 and finds that they are failing to address gender issues.
http://www.genderaction.org/publications/boh.pdf
Regulating global capital flows for development; Global Development and Environment Institute
Presents the case for the IMF to change its stance and assist developing countries. in deploying capital account regulations in developing countries.
http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/policy_research/RegulatingGlobalCapitalFlows.html
IMF involvement in labour market and social protection reforms in European countries; ITUC
Finds that despite rhetoric to the contrary the IMF’s lending programmes exacerbate unemployment.
http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ituc-imf_background-paper_0412.pdf
Enhancing the IMF’s focus on growth and poverty reduction in low-income countries; Save the Children Norway
A study of 37 programmes, calling for the Fund’s concessional lending facilities to better safeguard social spending.
http://www.reddbarna.no/?hmfile=nzFU4ggm3vZwVSF0X_XgJQ==
A flop and a debacle: Inside the IMF’s global rebalancing acts; Centre for International Governance Innovation
Paul Blustein exposes the internal wrangling behind the failure of the Fund’s 2007 efforts to address global imbalances.
http://www.cigionline.org/sites/default/files/no.4.pdf
Power to the people II: Moroccan solar power and EU energy grab; World Development Movement
Analyses the export-led model pushed by the Clean Technology Fund in Morocco, which does not increase energy access for the poor.
http://www.wdm.org.uk/sites/default/files/Power%20to%20the%20people%20II.pdf
Books
The World Bank and education: Critiques and alternatives; Steven Klees Joel Samoff, Nelly Stromquist (eds.),
Examines the World Bank’s approach to education and criticises it for analysing education through the narrow prism of input-output and cost-benefit. Sense, ISBN: 978-9460919015
Crisis in the eurozone; Costas Lapavistas
Details how the roots of the current crisis can be traced back to the neoliberal foundation upon which the European project was built and suggests alternatives to austerity. Verso, ISBN: 978-1844679690
The IMF and European economies: Crises and conditionality; Chris Rogers,
Explores the IMF’s response to crises both past and present, such as Britain’s crisis in 1976, the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the current Greek sovereign debt crisis. Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN: 978-0230300651
Electronic resources
http://www.rightingfinance.org
Created by a number of human rights organisations, advocates for a human rights approach to financial regulation at national and global levels.
