IFI governance

Commentary

Charla del Banco del 2007

18 February 2008

El uso del lenguaje inglés más incomprensible empleado por las instituciones de Bretton Woods durante el añ 2007.

Knowledge

Background

Recursos recomendados del 2007

Recursos recomendados del 2007

18 February 2008 | Resource

Environment

Analysis

Is the Bank's carbon markets approach an effective way to address climate change?

The World Bank's involvement in the carbon market is under hot debate: Janet Redman from the Institute for Policy Studies opposes its approach while Jon Sohn, from Climate Change Capital argues that there is a role for the Bank to play.

4 February 2008 | At Issue

Knowledge

Background

Recommended resources 2007

Recommendations from Bretton Woods Project staff on the best papers, books and electronic resources of 2007.

1 February 2008 | Resource

Knowledge

News

New figures cast shadow over Bank poverty reduction claims

Preliminary recalculations of global economic output excluding differences in domestic prices and currencies, released by the World Bank in mid-December, may undermine the much-trumpeted claims that globalisation has reduced the number of people living in extreme poverty.

1 February 2008

Rights

Commentary

Whoever loses, the Bank always wins

The World Bank developed its campaign to 'combat' climate change through curbing carbon emissions from deforestation in tropical countries, but nobody noticed that the Bank, through its lending and development policies, has been promoting deforestation in tropical countries like Indonesia.

1 February 2008 | Guest comment

IFI governance

Background

The IFIs and Islamic finance

The World Bank Group and the IMF have become more involved in assistance to and oversight of Islamic financial institutions.

1 February 2008 | Inside the institutions

Rights

News

Bank violates indigenous rights

The World Bank-funded Nam Theun 2 (NT2) dam in Lao PDR is under scrutiny once again from NGOs, UN representatives and 'international experts' for its violation of human and indigenous peoples' rights, and its failure to achieve the development and environment goals it has promised

1 February 2008

Finance

News

IMF's proposed sovereign wealth fund code ruffles feathers

The IMF’s effort to craft a voluntary code of conduct for sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) has sparked concern in different parts of the globe.

1 February 2008

Environment

News

World Bank and power

Calls for the Bank to end its lending for fossil fuels have increased in the aftermath of the 13th conference of the parties of the UN framework convention on climate change in Bali but the Bank has continued to push oil, gas and coal operations.

1 February 2008

IFI governance

Commentary

Bankspeak of the year 2007

Annual Bretton Woods Project award for the most incomprehensible or absurd use of language in a Bank or Fund document or speech.

1 February 2008 | Humour

Social services

News

IFC and health "unsubstantiated claims"

In a December report financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimates that over the next decade $25 to $30 billion will be needed to meet the needs of Africa's health care and announced that it will coordinate $1 billion, in equity investments and loans to finance private sector health provision in Sub-Saharan Africa

1 February 2008

Finance

News

Donor contributions to IDA up record amount

Despite evidence that it has failed to end the practice of forcing policy reforms on recipient countries, the World Bank will collect a record $41.6 billion for its low-income arm, the International Development Association.

1 February 2008

IFI governance

News

IMF conditionality high, effectiveness low

A report by the IMF’s evaluation arm faulted the Fund’s overuse of structural conditionality and partially blamed donors for the problem, but civil society critics of conditionality are not satisfied with the scope of the report or the changes accepted by the Fund.

1 February 2008

IFI governance

News

Zoellick and corruption: A new approach?

World Bank president Robert Zoellick's handling of corruption in India and changes to the anti-corruption unit, signal a different approach to the problem from predecessor Paul Wolfowitz.

1 February 2008

IFI governance

News

Staff in black

Thanks to pressure from the major shareholders the IMF’s new managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn is being forced to cut the IMF’s budget. Internal documents reveal some details of the restructuring, including 15 per cent staff layoffs and charges for technical assistance, but fail to shed light on whether the Fund will shift away from dictating to poor countries and towards overseeing global markets.

31 January 2008