Drafting the 1998 World Development Report has proved so controversial that one of its co-authors resigned and the Board asked for changes which delayed its print schedule.
International
IFI governance
News
Adjusting the SPA
Donor procedures and aid coordination have improved and resource flows to Sub-Saharan African countries increased under the Special Programme of Assistance for Africa (SPA), according to a recent report.
Finance
News
Loan costs set to rise
Borrowers from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the main World Bank lending arm, may have to pay higher charges for their loans in the future.
Knowledge
News
Faith meets finance
In February World Bank President James Wolfensohn met the leaders of nine religious faiths to discuss views on development.
Knowledge
News
Are the 2015 targets realistic?
A new World Bank paper asks whether and how the international development targets (formerly known as “DAC targets”) for reducing poverty and improving social and environmental indicators might be achieved.
Finance
News
J2000 mobilise 70,000
An estimated 70,000 people demonstrated in Birmingham to call on G8 leaders to cancel poor countries’ unpayable debts.
IFI governance
News
Bank reform: what’s new?
In April the Bank’s Board discussed a progress report on the Strategic Compact: Wolfensohn’s reform package agreed one year ago.
Private Sector
News
Bank "Business Partnerships" scheme launched
The World Bank has committed $3 million to a “Business Partners for Development” initiative to undertake studies and pilot projects involving companies, NGOs and governments.
Finance
News
Private flows slowdown
Private capital flows fell sharply in the latter half of 1997 after having risen in the beginning of the year, as short-term capital flowed out of emerging markets in the wake of the Asian crisis.
News
International Finance Guide
A Citizen’s Guide to the Globalisation of Finance outlines current trends, and examines the recent financial crash in Southeast Asia and the potential for a similar crisis in India.
Knowledge
News
Bulletin dissects Bank report on the State
The April 1998 Institute for Development Studies Bulletin critiques the Bank’s World Development Report, The State in a Changing World.
IFI governance
News
Sibling rivalry: can the Fund and Bank cooperate?
UK Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short told the Financial Times in April: “We are in a very silly situation. The international institutions are meant to be complementary, but the IMF keeps charging around taking other peoples’ jobs in areas where it is not necessarily competent”.
