The Bank’s External Affairs team recently published a 14 page document summarising progress during Wolfensohn’s time as President.
International
Social services
News
IMF/WHO collaboration
IMF staff have met Dr Bruntland, head of the World Health Organisation, to identify mechanisms for IMF-WHO collaboration.
Knowledge
News
Absolute poverty rising: targets doubtful
New World Bank estimates suggest that 1.5bn people live in abject poverty, up from 1.
IFI governance
News
Reinventing the World Bank
In May Northwestern University, Chicago, and SOAS, London, organised a meeting to examine the World Bank’s mission, operations and research output.
Knowledge
News
Bank Poverty Assessments - “irrelevant”?
The Bank’s Poverty Assessments contain “relatively little of policy relevance” because of their narrow focus on income-based poverty lines, according to a report by the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague.
Private Sector
News
Confusion about WB private sector review
Government officials who negotiated contributions to the Bank’s IDA 12 lending window agreed with the Bank that “a clear private sector development strategy should be established for the World bank Group during the course of 1999 to guide the work of the IBRD, IDA, IFC and MIGA”.
Infrastructure
News
Dams Commission workplan nears completion
The World Commission on Dams has nearly completed its workplan and selected consultants to lead work on the thematic reviews.
Accountability
News
Corporate lobbying at the Bank exposed
A recent article in the Legal Times alleges that there is significant corporate lobbying of the World Bank.
News
Thanks for support
The Bretton Woods Project thanks the CS Mott Foundation and Christian Aid for their continued support.
Knowledge
News
Bank approach to social capital criticised
Ben Fine, Professor of Economics at SOAS, University of London, has produced a 30,000 word paper which reviews and severely critiques the World Bank’s approach to social capital.
Rights
News
Post-crisis social code diluted to weak Bank principles
There is danger that the aims and scope of the social principles (formerly the Social Code), which was proposed by Gordon Brown as a fourth pillar of the new international architecure, will be watered down to become simply a framework for the Bank’s social policy.
Accountability
News
Last ditch attempt to save Inspection Panel
On March 24 the World Bank Board will hold a special consultation session about likely changes to the Bank’s Independent Inspection Panel.
