RST must support low- and vulnerable middle-income countries to recover from the pandemic and tackle economic and climate-related structural challenges.
Analysis
Private Sector
Analysis
How IMF and World Bank support for financialisation undermines human rights
IMF and World Bank policies and programmes work in tandem to expand and deepen financialisation, exacerbating the inequality crisis and harming human rights, financial stability and democratic governance
Infrastructure
Analysis
World Bank announces support for CCUS in Nigeria despite criticisms it reinforces fossil fuel dependence
World Bank trust fund ESMAP will provide support for domestic market, while IFC will support private sector investment in CCUS.
Finance
Analysis
Our World in 2021
While the Bank stressed the need for a recovery based on Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development and the IMF highlighted its concerns about the divergent paths of the global recovery in 2021, both continued to support largely unreformed policies.
Knowledge
Analysis
Death of Doing Business Report greatly exaggerated as World Bank announces rebranding plans
World Bank announces relaunch of Doing Business Report in approximately two years.
Finance
Analysis
Debt crisis prevention: We need to talk about capital controls
IMF's position on capital controls must be revised to recognise that they are an essential and permanent macroeconomic tool necessary to increase countries' policy autonomy and enable them to act counter-cyclically and to prevent future debt crises.
Environment
Analysis
Lack of public finance and debt relief at COP26 undermines countries' climate goals
Climate-for-debt swaps mechanism proposed by IMF fails to materialise, while rich countries' climate finance commitments remain unmet.
Conditionality
Analysis
New IMF-Pakistan agreement likely to have adverse impact on women
IMF and Pakistan have reached agreement for a further loan disbursement, with Pakistan agreeing to significant cuts.
Environment
Analysis
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.
IFI governance
Analysis
Development Committee communiqué analysis - Annual Meetings 2021
The Development Committee communiqué was published on 15 October. It acknowledged an uneven and uncertain path to recovery, while it kept silent on the need for a TRIPS waiver of the Covid-19 vaccines and said little about the IMF’s new $650 billion allocation of SDRs.
IFI governance
Analysis
Annual Meetings Wrap-up: despite urgent climate and development needs, geopolitics and deference to private finance rule the day
Doing Business scandal once again highlights that geopolitical wrangling is key driving force behind Bretton Woods Institutions’ governance structure and policy prescriptions.
IFI governance
Analysis
G20 communiqué analysis – Annual Meetings 2021
G20 offers sanguine tone on the global health and debt crises, failing to address issues related to vaccines and private creditors.
Featured briefings
6 April 2023
World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings 2023
5 April 2023
The IMF at the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: The need for governance reform
As the world celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is time the IMF’s shareholders use the opportunities provided by the anniversary and growing calls for reforms to the international financial architecture to redesign the IMF’s governance structures and programmes to ensure they are consistent with the commitments outlined in 1948 and with international human rights law.
5 April 2023
The global financial architecture and the international debt crisis: An urgent call for reform
Influence of unreformed international financial institutions and creditor interests in debt solutions in low- and middle-income countries plagued by delay and ineffective when undertaken.