In September the World Bank organised an electronic consultation on its planned poverty World Development Report, due out October 2000.
International
News
IMF forecasts in doubt again
Just two weeks after it published its “World Economic Outlook” in September the Fund admitted some of its figures were out of date and would have to be revised downward.
Knowledge
News
Globalization and institutions: the Bank aims to set agenda
The World Bank’s World Development Report for next year will tackle the thorny questions of which institutions can direct economic, social and environmental policies in an age of globalization.
Accountability
News
IFC new ombudsman, consultation document
The IFC is appointing an environmental and social compliance ombudsman to monitor implementation of environmental and social policies.
Social services
News
Social policy limitations
Bob Deacon, Director of the Globalization and Social Policy Programme (based in Sheffield and Helsinki) criticised the World Bank’s stand on social policy at a recent Overseas Development Institute discussion meeting in London.
Conditionality
News
ESAF reviews latest
NGOs’ comments on the findings and recommendations of the ESAF reviews will be published and discussed by the Board soon.
Accountability
News
New Bank fraud hotline
The World Bank Group has set up a telephone hotline to provide a central point for reporting allegations of fraud and corruption.
WB/IMF roles
News
Bank is “not the IMF”
Bank President James Wolfensohn spent much of the Bank Annual Meeting distancing his institution from its sibling, insisting that it is not a “second level IMF” and does not provide bail-out funds.
Knowledge
News
New Bank paradigm: Stiglitz and Fine approaches clash
In October World Bank Chief Economist Joe Stiglitz made another major speech going “beyond the well-documented failures of the Washington consensus to begin providing the foundations of an alternative paradigm”.
Conditionality
News
WB/IMF collaboration plans
In response to the external ESAF Review, the World Bank is to collaborate with the IMF in pilot projects in Nicaragua, Vietnam, Tajikistan, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Zimbabwe over the next 12-18 months.
IFI governance
News
The future of NGO World Bank strategy discussed
In October the Bank Information Center held a strategy meeting for 80 people from NGOs and foundations concerned about the World Bank.
IFI governance
News
Transparency
The G7 has agreed to the G22 Working Group on Transparency and Accountability’s recommendation to establish a formal mechanism to evaluate IMF policies and programmes, but it is not clear what form this will take.
Featured briefings
16 October 2024
The Bretton Woods Observer: Autumn 2024
16 October 2024
The lost call for international financial architecture reform in the G20
At the 80th anniversary of the World Bank and IMF, global civil society must maintain pressure on the Brazilian and South African G20 presidencies to ensure the forth Financing for Development Conference in 2025 results in urgently required international financial architecture reform.
16 October 2024
Sustainable development requires sustainable finance: why local currency financing is part of the solution
Multilateral development banks can reduce their dependence on hard currency lending and make local currency financing a central element of their developmental mandate.