Bretton Woods
Update 48
IMF strategic review: Reform or be left behind
The IMF’s strategic review portends changes in its mandate and structure, but critics charge that it does not go far enough.
HIV/AIDS and the World Bank
Summary of the Bank’s response to HIV/AIDS
UN says World Bank and IMF “bound by international law”
Bold statements made by the UN special rapporteur on the right to food argue that international law is binding on organisations such as the World Bank, IMF and WTO.
IMF modifies disclosure policy to address deletions, delay
The IMF has taken steps that may reduce the number of deletions made in the publicly disclosed versions of its key reports about member countries, including Article IV reports.
Development effectiveness of HIV/AIDS uneven
Summary of OED report on the Bank’s response to HIV/AIDS and civil society criticisms.
Lao dam: obligations undermined?
A report by Can and Leader analyses the concession agreement for the Bank-supported Nam Theun 2 dam in Lao PDR (Update 45), between the country’s government and the Nam Theun 2 Power Company Ltd (NTPC).
OED slates Bank development effectiveness
In October, the Operations Evaluation Department published a report summarising lessons from recent evaluations; Bank management, in unusually strong language, has expressed concerns about both the methodology OED used to reach its conclusions, and the conclusions themselves.
World Bank’s community development efforts ineffective, poorly monitored and unsustainable
Summary of the Operations Evaluation Department report on the effectiveness of World Bank support for community-based development, and community-driven development.
The Bank and Fund: do civil society groups in the Arab region realise what’s going on?
Comment by the Arab NGO Network for Development on the need for civil society in the region to take a more active role in monitoring the work of the IFIs.
Policy support instrument: Helping hand or more thumb screws?
In October, the IMF board approved the establishment of a Policy Support Instrument (PSI), a non-lending programme which will provide policy advice to poor countries and send a signal to donors and markets about the quality of a country’s economic policies. Critics suspect the instrument is little more than a new way “to extend Fund…
WDR on equity: Practice what you preach
Civil society organisations welcomed many of the findings of the latest instalment of the World Bank’s World Development Report on equity and development; question marks remain over its historical amnesia and the likelihood that the Bank will practice what it preaches.
Parliamentary initiatives around the IFIs gather steam
Parliamentarians were in Washington in September for the WB-IMF annual meetings to press the demands of the International Parliamentarians’ Petition while the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank has finally started to assert its independence from the World Bank.
World Bank anti-corruption: discourse versus practice
A new report from corruption watchdog Transparency International indicates that despite improved efforts by the World Bank on corruption ahead of other regional development banks, there is still a striking inconsistency between the discourse and practice of the Bank. A new US anti-corruption bill and an oil revenue agreement with Chad are the latest tests.
IFI ‘aid for trade’ carrot ahead of Hong Kong trade summit
Details of the BWIs aid for trade package were unveiled at the annual meetings, as officials turned up the pressure to reach a deal at the upcoming trade summit in Hong Kong.
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UK parliament hearings on World Bank, IMF
The UK all-party committee on international development held its evidence session on the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF in October, with evidence heard from the Bretton Woods Project and the Rainforest Foundation, secretary of state for international development Hilary Benn, and representatives of the Treasury.
World Bank and climate change: power failure
Summary of a report by Friends of the Earth US, the November meeting in London on climate change and the UK parliamentary early day motion to end UK support for harmful oil subsidies.
Bankspeak of the Year, Resources 2005
Continuing a much-heralded tradition at the Bretton Woods Project, the first issue of 2006 will…
World Bank loan at human rights tribunal
Argentine NGO CEDHA has filed a complaint to the IFC’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman on a pulp and paper mill project in Uruguay.
IEO to evaluate multilateral surveillance
The Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF has released an issues paper for an evaluation of the Fund’s multilateral surveillance.
WDR 2007: Development and the next generation
The WDR 2007 will “seek to determine how economic policies can help young people during the crucial transition points to adulthood” including leaving school, staying healthy, entering the labour market, forming families, and becoming good citizens.
IFC safeguard review closes
Summary of final public comment period of the IFC safeguard policy review.
Mass exodus of Bank senior staff
The past two months have seen a flood of senior World Bank management leaving the institution.
Guatemala mine: IFC response
IFC responds to a highly critical assessment of the Marlin mine in Guatemala by the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman.