Bretton Woods
Update 21
Language a barrier in Cambodia PRSP
Insufficient time and a failure to write documents in the national language limited the opportunity for NGO involvement in Cambodia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process, according to the NGO Forum on Cambodia, which includes local and international NGOs.
World Bank relations with parliamentarians enter new phase
World Bank interactions with parliamentarians have been increasing in recent years.
Is capital account liberalisation good for the poor ?
Experts gathered in Oxford in January to discuss the linkages between capital account liberalization (CAL) and poverty reduction at a meeting organized by Bretton Woods Project and Oxfam-GB and sponsored by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).
UK government launches globalisation strategy
The UK white paper on globalization – endorsed by the entire UK Government – was published in December.
New research on African PRSPs
A study for the Strategic Partnership for Africa of eight countries provides a useful summary of experience to date with producing interim PRSPs.
Bank forest policy process crash
In early January a meeting was held in Washington to discuss the latest World Bank forest strategy.
New annual World Bank civil society forum
A new World Bank-Civil Society Forum will be held each year.
New Project member
The Bretton Woods Project has been joined by a new Communications and Research Officer, Charlotte Carlsson.
Poverty process acronyms
Poverty process acronyms
Banking on knowledge
A new book examines the World Bank’s reinvention as a “knowledge Bank” in the context of think tanks, NGOs and others trying to influence policies.
Kyrgyzstan land moratorium lifted
The five-year moratorium on the sale and purchase of land in Kyrgyzstan will be lifted.
Adjustment lending is “bad news” for poor: Bank study
An internal Bank report has concluded that the poor are better off without structural adjustment.
IMF critical of Indonesian decentralisation
The IMF is critical of the Indonesian’s government’s decentralization plans, which it believes could lead to excessive borrowing by regional governments.
Bank strategy on governance
The World Bank has published a new strategy on governance.
Bank governance strategy, G24 cautious
The World Bank has published a new strategy on governance.
Critiquing social capital
This book by Ben Fine, Professor of Economics at SOAS, London, comprehensively critiques the theory and application of the concept of social capital.
G24 report on IFI governance agendas
The Group of 24 Southern countries published a research paper on “Governance-related conditionalities of the International Financial Institutions”.
Dakar 2000: from resistance to alternatives
In December a meeting of campaigners in Dakar, Senegal assessed Africa’s debt crisis and the human effects of structural adjustment.
Protests against Bank meeting in India
On 17 January 150 people were arrested in Bhopal while marching against World Bank and Asian Development Bank policies.
Kenya faces new aid embargo
In January the IMF and World Bank threatened to cut off Kenya from more than $450 million in aid as a result of a parliamentary bill on interest rate controls.
Earth Summit 2002 – A New Deal
A new book with ideas, experiences and expectations in preparation for next year’s World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg.
Bolivian development processes
A new paper examines the different development framework processes in Bolivia and how they interrelate.
Local leaders criticise Nicaragua’s PRSP
The IMF has approved Nicaragua’s plans to fight poverty despite criticisms from local leaders.
Bank net Gateway latest
The World Bank’s Global Development Gateway is proceeding gradually.
New report on global warning
Scientists from 99 nations issued a report in late January that predicted severe climate change.
World Bank gives grants to Palestine
The World Bank has provided US$12m in grants to Palestine to help offset the effects of the economic crisis caused by the Israeli blockade.
Why officials and NGOs disagree on poverty analysis
Ravi Kanbur, who resigned as lead author of the World Bank’s Poverty World Development Report last May, has produced a paper on the disagreements which surround debates on poverty.
Pesticide companies chat with World Bank
A closed-door meeting between CEOs of leading pesticide/biotech companies and World Bank President James Wolfensohn in early December received strong opposition from Pesticide Action Network North America and 14 other NGOs.
World Bank to push for more adjustment lending
A draft World Bank report outlining experience with structural adjustment lending proposes that such lending should be increased.
UK parliament scrutinises IMF
In January the UK Treasury released its second Annual Report to Parliament on the Activities of the IMF.
New Freshwater Action Network
A new network has been launched to support NGO advocacy around freshwater issues.
Lack of impact assessments constrains policy choices
Due to a lack of information on impacts associated with adjustment reforms, there is still no discussion of realistic policy choices and trade-offs in Poverty Reduction Strategies, according to an Oxfam International letter sent to the heads of the Bank and Fund in December.
Health policy attacked
The People’s Health Conference 2000 criticized the World Bank’s health policies for being “anti-Third World”.
No more lending without forestry reforms
In January, local and international NGOs wrote to the World Bank demanding actions to achieve genuine forest reform in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Proposal on environmental impacts on adjustment
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) have set out new proposals for assessing the environmental consequences of macro-economic reforms.
Davos and “anti-Davos”
The World Economic Forum, held 25-28 January 2001, saw many of the world’s business and political leaders convene in Davos, Switzerland.
Indian power sector employees protest privatisation
More than a million electricity workers protested for a day in December against a proposed bill that follows “World Bank prescriptions” to privatize the power sector in India.
Loans for El Salvador emergency
The World Bank was accused of “behaving like vultures, like loan sharks” by US NGO 50 Years is Enough Campaign after it offered to help finance emergency relief efforts in El Salvador in the wake of January’s earthquake.