At their 6 - 8 July summit in Gleneagles Scotland, G8 leaders tasked the World Bank and the IMF with much of the follow-up on their commitments on debt reduction, increased aid and fairer trade.
Other
Accountability
News
Interim report on the evaluation of the Integrated Framework
Interim report of evaluator Capra International to the heads of agencies of the Integrated Framework for trade-related technical assistance 10 July 2003 in Washington.
Trade
Analysis
Harmonisation and coherence: White knights or Trojan horses?
In recent months, the World Bank has been leading the charge to increase the harmonisation of donor policies and further coherence between the Bank, the IMF and the WTO.
IFI governance
News
The politics of multilateral institutions
A new book by two researchers at the University of Oslo describes the structure and decision-making processes of multilateral institutions.
Environment
News
“Parliamentary Front” on IFIs
Members of the Brazilian parliament have called on their colleagues to form a parliamentary front on IFIs and the national banking system.
Accountability
News
Update on the Integrated Framework
The Integrated Framework for Technical Assistance to the Least Developed Countries (IF) is a multi-agency initiative to coordinate national ministries, donors and multilateral agencies in the provision of trade-related capacity building.
Conditionality
News
Circling the wagons: World Bank-IMF-WTO coherence
The heads of the World Bank and IMF spoke to the General Council - the highest-level decision-making body of the World Trade Organisation - on 13 May on the benefits of increasing coherence between their respective agencies. Civil society groups counter that the use of the word 'coherence' is a ruse designed to bring countries in line with a set of flawed economic policies.
Conditionality
News
World Bank on Special and Differential Treatment: Bad Economics, Worse Politics
As if the debate on Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) at the WTO wasn’t heated enough, the World Bank has decided to up the temperature a little with its own, highly partisan, contribution.
Rights
News
NGO work on trade-finance coherence
A coalition of NGOs have drafted suggestions for the work agenda for the WTO working group on trade, debt and finance.
Trade
Background
Bank trade map
New Bretton Woods Update feature providing readers with an easy-to-understand summary of the Bank’s work on trade, relevant contacts and web information.
Conditionality
News
Bank “cornering market” in trade capacity building
The Bank’s role in trade capacity building affords enormous influence over the hearts and minds of trade policy makers and the way in which trade is mainstreamed into national development plans. The initial experience of the Integrated Framework programme shows that there is reason for concern.
IFI governance
News
Bank launches trade tome
The release of Development, Trade and the WTO: A Handbook signals the World Bank’s rapidly increasing involvement in trade issues, triggering fears that its policy biases will gain too influential a foothold.