Minutes from Oxfam-hosted civil society seminar at 2013 Annual meetings on European austerity and inequality
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Annual meetings 2013: communiqués coverage
Detailed analysis of the communiqués from the 2013 World Bank and IMF annual meetings.
Is the World Bank serious about engaging CSOs and communities
Minutes from a civil society event on civil society consultations in the health sector at the WB/IMF annual meetings.
IMF consultation: CSO views on fiscal transparency policy
Minutes of an IMF consultation on fiscal transparency policy
IMF & Troika: a big, fat Greek divorce?
The IMF’s involvement in the Troika is again being questioned due to Greek loan unsustainability and lack of consensus amongst the Troika members, while citizens continue to challenge the conditionality of the programme.
UK civil society meeting with UK World Bank Executive Director Gwen Hines
The Bretton Woods Project convenes meetings with World Bank and IMF executive directors (EDs) several times a year. On 17 September the Project and civil society representatives met with Gwen Hines, the UK World Bank ED. Here are the notes from the meeting.
IMF forecasting models
Forecasting models are crucial to how the Fund performs its role as lender and global economic monitor, but the assumptions underpinning these models are frequently derided as unrealistic.
IMF gets emerging markets wrong, again
The Fund has had to conduct another embarrassing “U-turn” to warn of the growing risks to the stability of developing countries, while cautiously accepting the need for capital controls in principle, but not necessarily in practice.
Update on the World Bank safeguards review
A July presentation on the safeguards review included parts of a proposed integrated framework and next steps. A July report by Human Rights Watch called on the Bank to ensure it does not contribute to human rights abuses.
World Bank to “lead the way” on infrastructure investment
World Bank president Jim Yong Kim reiterated the Bank’s intentions to develop a global infrastructure facility, while the G20 process on infrastructure continued to focus on PPPs. The G20 accountability report noted failure to address environmental safeguards, and criticism on privatisation in the energy sector was raised by PSIRU.
World Bank push for agribusiness in Africa
A World Bank report on land governance has been criticised by NGOs. Meanwhile the Bank pushed ahead with the Benchmarking the Business of Agriculture initiative despite civil society concerns.
Inequality: IMF fails to listen to itself
While NGO Oxfam criticised the IMF for failing to learn lessons of the past in its approach to European austerity, IMF research on inequality produced findings opposite to IMF programme demands for borrowers.
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