What roles should twenty first century international financial institutions (IFIs) play, and how should they be structured? This paper sets out some of the key issues that would need to be resolved at a second UN monetary and financial conference - a 'Bretton Woods 2' - and discusses the road ahead.
Briefings
Conditionality
Analysis
The World Bank, the IFC and the antecedents of the financial crisis
The financial crisis seemed to come out of the blue, but Paulo dos Santos of the University of London argues that the ground was laid by financial sector privatisation, liberalisation and deregulation. Far from these trends being confined to the rich world, the World Bank and the IFC have played a key role in pushing these policies throughout emerging markets, exposing them to the fallout of the financial crisis.
Finance
Analysis
Africa and the making of adjustment
Development economist and professor of African studies Howard Stein examines the evolution of policy in the Bank, focusing on how economists became hegemonic. In this essay he details the origin of structural adjustment, tracing its roots back to a set of neoliberal economists who gained influence at the Bank in the late 1970s.
Accountability
Analysis
The IMF's regressive secret
While tax policy and reform is an election battleground in developed countries, the IMF has increasingly turned it into a secret technocratic exercise in developing countries. This briefing examines the IMF's involvement in providing advice on tax policy, particularly its recommendations for the imposition of value added taxes (VATs).
Environment
Analysis
Is the Bank's carbon markets approach an effective way to address climate change?
The World Bank's involvement in the carbon market is under hot debate: Janet Redman from the Institute for Policy Studies opposes its approach while Jon Sohn, from Climate Change Capital argues that there is a role for the Bank to play.
Private Sector
Analysis
The International Finance Corporation: Behind the rhetoric
There is evidence that the IFC's financing of small and medium enterprises, almost all of which occurs via financial intermediaries, is under-supervised, and that direct lending is still focused on large companies in emerging market economies with questionable value-added.
IFI governance
Analysis
Double majority decision making at the IMF
Many have championed the use of double majorities at the IMF board in order to increase the ability of developing countries to influence decision making. The acceptance of this idea by incoming IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn is welcome, but if he chooses to use a chair-based, rather than member-state-based, second majority it will not change the power dynamics at the board.
Accountability
Analysis
Transparency at the IMF
A guide for civil society on getting access to information from the IMF
IFI governance
Analysis
Reform of World Bank governance structures
This analytical note discusses potential governance reforms in the World Bank's governance structures, with an understanding that some reforms become more or less imperative depending on the direction of the discussions around the long-term strategic direction of the Bank.
Finance
Analysis
Programme conditions, project safeguards: Quo vadis World Bank?
This briefing clarifies the landscape of programme conditions and project safeguards and what it implies for a move towards responsible lending standards.
Accountability
Analysis
Consolidating ideology in law?
The World Bank has vastly increased the resources it commits to good governance, with a large portion of that going to a complex and under-researched area: legal and judicial reform. Researcher Victoria Harris explores how the Bank uses such reforms to cement in place its preferred market-based development paradigm.
Infrastructure
Analysis
At the crossroads: Which way the World Bank's transport strategy?
Following an IEG evaluation of the World Bank's work in transport, and delays in the release of a new Bank transport strategy, Public World director Brendan Martin asks what the Bank has learned. With spending on transport likely to increase, what direction will the Bank's transport projects take from here and who is in the driver's seat?
Featured briefings
9 June 2025
New data reveal World Bank DPF ‘climate finance’ carries strong private sector bias, undermining a just transition
New BWP briefing finds the World Bank counted 70 per cent of energy-sector reforms in Development Policy Financing as having 'climate co-benefits' between 2018-2023 - but most of these promoted a private-led energy transition.
15 April 2025
The Bretton Woods Observer: Spring 2025
2 April 2025