Originally created to help the poor escape poverty and deprivation, the World Bank became the most important advocate for the commercialised microcredit model. Yet, critics argued it undermined the chances of sustainable and equitable development to create a poverty trap of historic proportions.
While the World Development Report (WDR) 2018 on education has some redeeming features, it is part of the Bank's longstanding very narrow view of education, and is silent on education financing.
This briefing analyses the implications of the strategy proposed by the World Bank for infrastructure financing. It details the type of policies and institutions required to achieve sustainable development.
BWP briefing explores IMF's labour market policies in the context of women in the informal economy and suggests they will not contribute to decreasing inequalities.
UN Independent Expert publishes two reports on the World Bank and IMF human rights performance, finding the institutions must be more than a "fig leaf" for the status quo and step up their human rights commitments.
The Bretton Woods Project published an edited volume on the gendered impacts of some of the most commonly-prescribed macroeconomic policies of the IMF, covering tax, expenditure and labour policies.
BWP briefing explores gender dimensions of IMF’s key fiscal policy advice on expenditure policy in developing countries, focusing in particular on austerity measures.
BWP briefing explores gender dimensions of IMF’s key fiscal policy advice on resource mobilisation in developing countries, in particular on Value-Added Tax.
The IFC’s push for the PPP model, as well as its preference for healthcare ‘provision’ and the results-based payment approach, collectively undermine the human right to universal healthcare and the achievement of the SDGs.
After 4 years of on-off negotiation and public opposition, the government of Egypt has signed a loan deal with the IMF whose impacts civil society fears will encroach upon human rights, social protection and social provision, like health and education, upon which the poorest depend.
Investments by the World Bank-hosted Global Financing Facility (GFF) do not reflect the family planning priorities identified by developing countries and local communities. The GFF also continues to suffer from a lack of transparency and meaningful civil society participation, raising doubts about the new mechanism’s effectiveness.
BWP publishes booklet on gender-just macroeconomics, a guide to engaging the IMF and World Bank.
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.
