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Commentary

IFI governance

Commentary

A dizzying ride down the cascade of Bank and Fund double-speak in 2023

From the gentleman's agreement and carbon taxes to B-Ready and the Evolution Roadmap Playbook, the BWIs took us for another ride down the cascade of buzzwords in 2023. Join the BWP gourmets in savouring the word salad.

13 December 2023 | Humour

IFI governance

Commentary

BWP's reaction to the resignation of World Bank's President David Malpass

The new World Bank's president should be appointed through a merit-based, transparent process with criteria publicly available and candidates being able to present their platform.

17 February 2023 | Statement
Crops field in Ukraine

Land

Commentary

Ukraine's post-war agricultural recovery: Returning to the way things were is not enough

World Bank and other international financial institutions need to ensure Ukraine’s agriculture sector reforms lead to increased liquidity for smaller farms and ensure local development, environmentally sustainable investments and a transparent land market.

4 October 2023 | Guest comment

Finance

Commentary

Financial liberalisation, capital controls and development in Africa: The case of Uganda

Financial liberation has had a significant effect on Uganda’s economy opening the door for significant foreign ownership while facilitating the ongoing extraction of wealth.

19 July 2023 | Guest comment

Rights

Commentary

Civil society calls on World Bank and IMF to safeguard civic space and prevent retaliation around Marrakesh Annual Meetings

To prevent repression and retaliation at their Annual Meetings in Marrakesh, World Bank and IMF must work proactively with MENA civil society and Moroccan authorities on safeguarding civic space and upholding free speech.

5 April 2023 | Guest comment

Environment

Commentary

Bridgetown Initiative calls for new Global Climate Mitigation Trust financed via Special Drawing Rights

IMF’s lending instruments fail to provide swift and large-scale funding for climate transition. The Bridgeton Initiative proposes a new trust backed by $500 billion in SDRs for climate and development.

8 December 2022 | Guest comment

Finance

Commentary

Civil society organizations urge end to IMF surcharges to finance climate action instead

More than 300 organisations and individuals call upon the IMF to urgently address one of the most glaring and easily rectifiable contradictions between its stated support for a just transition and its actions by immediately ending its surcharge policy. 

22 November 2022 | Letters

Finance

Commentary

Quota reform needed at IMF in order to address 21st century challenges

As economic conditions worsen and the Fund's legitimacy comes under increasing pressure, IMF leaders gathering for the Annual Meetings must make progress on ongoing review of IMF quotas and agree a more equitable formula and distribution of voting power.

4 October 2022 | Guest comment
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Other news

Finance

Commentary

More than 150 groups call for the IMF to end its “unfair” and “counterproductive” surcharges

Over 160 civil society organizations from around the world are calling on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to end the “unfair” and “counterproductive” surcharges attached to its lending to the most heavily indebted countries. The open letter was sent to the IMF Executive Board on 7 April ahead of the 2022 IMF and World Bank’s Spring Meetings.

7 April 2022 | Letters

News

worldbankpresident.org

Blog on who should have been selected as World Bank president, what they should do and the selection process generally.

23 September 2016 | Blog

IFI governance

Commentary

Submission to the IMF and World Bank Request for Feedback on the Civil Society Policy Forum at the Spring and Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank

In the following submission, the IMF and institutions of the World Bank Group, including the…

25 February 2016 | Statement

Conditionality

Commentary

Bankspeak of the year 2015

Every year the Bretton Woods Project highlights some of the most farcical remarks of Fund and Bank staff.

8 February 2016 | Humour

IFI governance

Commentary

Protecting the voices of civil society at the World Bank and IMF meetings

Friday 2nd October, 2015 To: President Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Managing Director Christine Lagarde,…

2 October 2015 | Statement

IFI governance

Commentary

Bankspeak of the year 2014

Bankspeak of the year 2014 celebrates some of the most ridiculous public remarks of Fund and Bank staff.

2 February 2015 | Humour

IFI governance

Commentary

Learning from failures or repeating mistakes

Bretton Woods Project comment on President Jim Yong Kim's blog on Oxfam America challenges the Bank's emphasis on private sector development

31 October 2013 | Blog

Environment

Commentary

World Bank: greening an airport near you

Just a month before releasing a new report on climate change and the need to "turn down the heat" (see Update 86), the Bank agreed a $50 million loan to the Chinese prefecture of Shangrao, located in the northeast of China's Jiangxi province, to build a new airport.

26 June 2013 | Humour
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