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Bretton Woods Update 19

  • Oct 2000
  • PDF
  • Text
  • Past Issues

News

New books and reports

26 October 2000

A selection of recent books and reports not mentioned in other articles.

IFI governance

News

Post Prague

Many people are wondering what the World Bank and IMF Prague annual meetings, plus associated independent discussions and protests amounted to.

26 October 2000

News

New global governance proposals

Three new books and reports set out proposals for reorienting and improving global governance arrangements.

26 October 2000

IFI governance

News

Reform of IMF governance now on the agenda?

At the Annual Meetings South African Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel, demanded a more powerful voice for developing countries.

26 October 2000

IFI governance

News

Bank global net plan: concern grows

In mid-September the Bretton Woods Project coordinated a joint letter of protest on the World Bank’s Global Development Gateway plans.

26 October 2000

Knowledge

News

WDR gets mixed response

The World Bank got a mixed response to the launch of its Poverty World Development Report in mid-September.

26 October 2000

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Advocacy Programs

  • Gender Equality & Macroeconomics project
  • Environmental advocacy

World Bank & IMF in the news

IFI governance

News

26 October 2000

Forest and adjustment policy reviews

The series of eight Regional Consultations on the World Bank’s forest policy have been completed.

Conditionality

News

26 October 2000

New directions for IMF?

“I have a heart” pleaded Horst K

IFI governance

News

26 October 2000

IMF Lending facilities reformed

As part of the IMF’s overhaul, the IMF Board has agreed to further changes in key credit lines: the Contingency Credit Line (CCL), the Extended Fund Facility and Stand-by Loans.

Finance

News

26 October 2000

Brazilians say “no” to debt and the IMF

In Brazil a national plebiscite on External Debt, held in September, rejected the government’s agreement with the IMF and its commitment to full debt repayment at whatever cost.

Environment

News

26 October 2000

Bank proposes World Commission on Mining

Bank president James Wolfensohn surprised NGOs at the annual meetings by suggesting that he would consider establishing a new world commission to look into concerns about the oil, gas and mining industries.

Conditionality

News

26 October 2000

Nigerian union takes IMF and Bank to court

In October, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) asked the High Court in Lagos to declare as illegal, pressures by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on President Olusegun Obasanjo to implement their economic policies on Nigerians.

Finance

News

26 October 2000

Little change in new IMF Indonesian programme

A revised programme agreed between the Indonesian government and the IMF in September has led to few changes.

Rights

News

26 October 2000

Human rights abuses in Indonesia

In a letter to Bank President, James Wolfensohn, the Japanese Network for Indonesian Democracy, called for the Indonesian Consultative Group meeting, scheduled for 17-18th October in Japan, to be postponed until the human rights situation improved.

IFI governance

News

26 October 2000

Financial review body formed

A Financial Sector Review Group has been set up to provide the IMF with an independent perspective on its financial sector and capital markets work.

Environment

News

26 October 2000

Chad-Cameroon mechanism contested

Civil society groups have provided detailed comments to the World Bank on the proposed International Advisory Group which is supposed to monitor implementation of the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline.

Land

News

26 October 2000

Union complaints on Bank labour standards

The International Federation of Building and Wood Workers’ Unions (IFBWW) has been trying to push the World Bank to insert core labour standard clauses into contracts for works under Bank-supported projects.

Conditionality

News

26 October 2000

Revision of IMF conditionality guidelines

The focus of the IMF’s internal review of IMF conditionality has expanded in the light of IMF Horst K

Social services

News

26 October 2000

Hondurans strike against privatization

In August, thousands of civil servants went on strike for 24 hours in Honduras disrupting education, transport and health services.

Conditionality

News

26 October 2000

Bank procedure changes

The World Bank has confirmed that it will tie its Country Assistance Strategies into the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers by 2001.

Conditionality

News

26 October 2000

Russian u-turn on IMF conditionality

In September, Russia reimposed energy sector controls to force Russian oil companies to sell some of their product on the home market, only months after it removed them to comply with IMF conditionality.

Conditionality

News

26 October 2000

Don’t dictate policy, Turkey tells IMF

In September, Turkish Prime Minister, Bulent Ecevit, told the IMF not to dictate policies after further protests erupted in Istanbul and the southern city of Adana.

Rights

News

26 October 2000

Pakistan cricket hero calls for IMF protests

In October, 50 supporters of Pakistani cricket hero-turned politician Imran Khan were arrested during a demonstration against the IMF.

Conditionality

News

26 October 2000

Bolivians appeal for end to conditions

The worsening social and economic crisis in Bolivia, has led to several weeks of riots, according to The Bolivian Foro Jubileo 2000, which appealed to the international community and the Paris Club, which met in October, not to impose any new adjustment conditions.

Rights

News

26 October 2000

Prague Declaration

Several NGOs from countries including the US, Thailand, the Czech Republic and South Africa released a “Prague Declaration” challenging the right of the IMF and World Bank and those who control them to dictate economic policy, and opposing the undemocratic and elitist character of the institutions and the meetings they hold.

Rights

News

26 October 2000

realworldbank.org - feedback wanted

A new collaborative website produced by a team including the Bretton Woods Project - www.

Social services

News

26 October 2000

World Bank economic modelling unmasked

Briefing to expose the problems with the data model still used by the World Bank to produce the influential projections used in every Country Assistance Strategy.

IFI governance

News

26 October 2000

IMF transparency pledges

The IMF’s Executive Board agreed to improve IMF transparency in September, including writing documents in clearer language and making them available in other languages than English.

IFI governance

News

26 October 2000

Evaluating the Fund

Terms of reference have been agreed for the IMF’s External Evaluation Office (EVO).

IFI governance

News

26 October 2000

Bank information policies under scrutiny

A number of NGOs are mobilizing to input into the redrafting of the World Bank’s information disclosure policy.

IFI governance

News

26 October 2000

Bank blocked on global public goods

Despite the public pressure it faced, the World Bank tried to use the Prague annual meetings to extend its remit to new issue areas.

IFI governance

News

26 October 2000

Environment strategy discussions

The World Bank has recently undertaken on- and off-line consultations about its environment strategy, to be released next year.

Finance

News

26 October 2000

Capital account liberalization and the poor

This report will consider the linkages between financial and capital account liberalization, the implications for governments’ choice of macroeconomic policies and the impacts on poor people.

More news

Featured briefings

8 December 2022

The Bretton Woods Observer: Winter 2022

6 October 2022

World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings 2022

4 October 2022

The Bretton Woods Observer: Autumn 2022

More briefings

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