The role of Bretton Woods Institutions remains a key point of contention, amidst their stark governance deficits.
Strategy/roles
IFI governance
Analysis
New World Bank Corporate Scorecard: overlooking client priorities and ignoring development impact
The World Bank’s new Corporate Scorecard misses the forest for the trees as it lacks an indicator to measure the Bank’s contribution to economic transformation, a cornerstone of its development mandate.
IFI governance
Analysis
A way out for IMF reform
New paper analyses the IMF 16th Quota Review and identifies key governance reforms feasible in the current economic and geopolitical context.
IFI governance
Analysis
IDA21: Moving beyond a focus on ‘historic’ replenishment
Calls for a ‘historic’ IDA21 replenishment risk diverting attention from the policy framework necessary for IDA to support countries to break their dependence on development finance and undertake the ecologically sustainable and just economic transformation long sought by their populations.
Finance
Analysis
Opportunity lost: World Bank's Roadmap fails to chart path to better development outcomes
Civil society renews calls for an independent external evaluation of Bank policies ahead of Spring Meetings’ focus on the operationalisation of the Roadmap and a ‘historic’ IDA21 replenishment.
Finance
Analysis
UN Secretary General's New Agenda for Peace calls for urgent financial architecture and policy reform
UN Secretary General’s New Agenda for Peace report identifies growing threats to global peace and stability, and proposes urgent reforms to the unjust economic system. World Bank and IMF resist policy and governance reform.
IFI governance
Analysis
Civil society calls for World Bank to reroute ‘Evolution Roadmap’ away from Cascade
Civil society questions the proposed expansion of the Cascade approach, which has failed to deliver the ‘trillions’ promised.
IFI governance
News
Banga's arrival raises concerns about deepening of World Bank's private sector bias
Banga takes office as civil society urges him to invert the Cascade and ensure the Bank’s development model is fit for purpose.
IFI governance
Analysis
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.
IFI governance
News
World Bank appoints Indermit Gill as new chief economist
Gill replaces Carmen Reinhart as she returns to Harvard after a two-year public service leave from the institution.
Featured briefings
9 June 2025
New data reveal World Bank DPF ‘climate finance’ carries strong private sector bias, undermining a just transition
New BWP briefing finds the World Bank counted 70 per cent of energy-sector reforms in Development Policy Financing as having 'climate co-benefits' between 2018-2023 - but most of these promoted a private-led energy transition.
15 April 2025
The Bretton Woods Observer: Spring 2025
2 April 2025