In October the Bank Information Center held a strategy meeting for 80 people from NGOs and foundations concerned about the World Bank.
International
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.
Knowledge
News
Organising for the 2000 poverty report
The 2000 Report will tackle poverty and be led by Ravi Kanbur, of Cornell University in the USA, working with a team of Bank staff including Michael Walton, Director, Poverty Reduction.
Knowledge
News
Draft Bank gender policy queried
The World Bank has circulated a consultation paper towards a proposed Policy Research Report on gender issues to be published in Spring 2000.
Knowledge
News
What is the WDR for, and how is it produced?
Given the lack of clarity and satisfaction about how WDRs are produced, and the difficulty of persuading the authors to recognise and include alternative views, the Bretton Woods Project has written to the Bank asking for a formal explanation.
IFI governance
News
Forest review concession
The Bank has now accepted that its Forest Policy Implementation Review will look at effects on forests of its non-forest lending, and that its Operations Evaluation Department will do some of the field studies.
Finance
News
IDA talks climax
The World Bank is now in the advanced stages of negotiation with donor countries on funding for the next 3 years of its International Development Association soft loan funding arm.
Finance
News
IMF hints at U-turn on capital controls
There are signs that the IMF may be reconsidering its stance that all capital flows are harmful.
IFI governance
News
CAS publication agreed
The Bank has agreed to publish Country Assistance Strategies (CAS) - the documents which set out the Bank’s multi-year lending plans - once they have been discussed by the Board and if the borrower government requests it.
Finance
News
“New debt crisis”
Investors’ growing aversion to risk is leading to a general withdrawal of finance from many Southern countries.
IFI governance
News
Distilling lessons from the ESAF Reviews
Many NGOs have fed in comments to the IMF about its staff report Distilling the Lessons of the ESAF Reviews.
IFI governance
News
East Asia Crisis group examines NGO roles
The World Bank has established an East Asia Crisis working group to tackle some of the social aspects of the financial crisis.