BWP publishes booklet on gender-just macroeconomics, a guide to engaging the IMF and World Bank.
Analysis
IFI governance
Analysis
Annual Meetings 2016: communiqués coverage
Analysis of the official communiqués from the 2016 World Bank-IMF annual meetings, Washington DC.
IFI governance
Analysis
World Bank-IMF annual meetings 2016
Bretton Woods Project coverage of the 2016 annual meetings in Washington DC with analysis of the communiqués and notes from key civil society and official meetings.
Conditionality
Analysis
IMF “rebuked” over role in Troika and its lending to Greece, Ireland and Portugal
IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office has found the Fund’s 2010/2011 Troika lending to Greece, Ireland and Portugal fell short in terms of surveillance, design, implementation and decision making, and described controversial decisions as appearing “rubber-stamped”.
IFI governance
Analysis
One man, one vote, one option: World Bank set to coronate Kim for second term
The World Bank is set to reappoint president Jim Yong Kim for another five year term, despite persistent concerns from Bank staff and renewed calls for a merit-based process based on principles of transparency and diversity.
Rights
Analysis
World Bank turns its back on pastoralist communities in Africa
The World Bank has granted a waiver of its indigenous peoples policy for a project in Tanzania, raising concerns about impact on indigenous communities and lack of consultation.
Finance
Analysis
World Bank and IMF: Where do they stand on progressive and responsible taxation?
The IMF and the World Bank are increasingly engaged with the challenge of addressing how tax avoidance and evasion affect developing countries, but need to address the role played by multinational enterprises and tax havens in exacerbating inequality and undermining countries’ domestic revenues.
Accountability
Analysis
The World Bank’s failed accountability experiment: Why the Inspection Panel’s ‘Pilot’ should dead end
The Inspection Panel's Pilot is criticised for undermining the Panel’s authority, allowing World Bank management to circumvent compliance investigations, and perpetuating existing power imbalances between the Bank, its clients and communities.
IFI governance
Analysis
World Bank results: "box-ticking" on gender, weak monitoring and evaluation
A new IEG report highlights persistent concerns with the World Bank’s monitoring and evaluation systems and ‘sluggish’ management response, and raises questions about the effectiveness of the Bank’s integration of gender within its operations.
Finance
Analysis
Public-private partnerships: The global debt iceberg?
Despite their popularity, PPPs have a very bad track record of delivering cost-effective investment for governments, and pose additional and serious problems by reducing transparency and accountability.
Conditionality
Analysis
Can the IMF leopard change its spots?
In-house IMF magazine article provokes worldwide reaction as it questions IMF’s policy assumptions on austerity, capital controls and ‘neoliberalism’ itself; but Fund backtracks following media criticism
Infrastructure
Analysis
World Bank set to finance criticised mega gas pipeline from Azerbaijan to Europe
The World Bank has announced its intention to fund the Azerbaijan and Turkey part of the Southern Gas Corridor to Europe, despite concerns over the geopolitical context and fossil fuel dependency.
Featured briefings
6 April 2022
The Bretton Woods Observer: Spring 2022
8 December 2021
The Bretton Woods Observer: Winter 2021
8 November 2021
IMF surveillance and climate change transition risks
New briefing by ActionAid USA and the Bretton Woods Project highlights research showing that IMF policy advice has undermined a just energy transition since the Paris Agreement was signed.