Bretton Woods
Update 54
Knowledge Bank-rupted: Evaluation says key World Bank research ‘not remotely reliable’
An evaluation by a panel of self-described ‘academic superstars’ has cast doubt over the independence and reliability of World Bank research.
Congo: mining, conflict and complicity
A confidential World Bank memo dated September 2005 finds that three of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s biggest mining contracts were approved with “a complete lack of transparency”.
Reading from the script
The decisions by Ghana and Tanzania to use the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) reflect the IMF’s success in convincing countries to accept conditionality without any financing, despite the evidence from Uganda and elsewhere that PSI conditions are numerous and will be enforced.
Developing countries say World Bank trade research “misleading”
The World Bank has drawn criticism from developing countries, trade economists and NGOs over a paper on the poverty impacts of the use of ‘special products’ measures.
The IMF programme cycle
The IMF has regular, systematic engagement with government representatives at many levels. Implementation of the IMF’s programme cycle varies from one country to the next, depending on the situation and need of the country in question. The nature of the programme cycle is highlighted by looking at the cases of Uruguay and Mozambique.
Recommended resources 2006
Books, papers and electronic resources of note in 2006 which discuss the World Bank and IMF.
Huge gaps in the World Bank’s Gender Action Plan
The World Bank’s new Gender Action Plan (GAP), aptly named Gender equality as smart economics, is tightly framed in the Bank’s economic policy framework.
World Bank reconstruction role in Timor-Leste creating problems
Guteriano Nicolau S. Neves of the La’o Hamutuk Institute in Dili argues for a critical appraisal of the World Bank’s role in the reconstruction of Timor Leste.
Mortgaging Iraq’s oil wealth
As a “key ingredient” of IMF lending and debt relief, Iraq’s government has just presented a new draft petroleum law to its cabinet that could permit up to two-thirds of Iraq’s known reserves to be exploited by multinational oil companies under contracts lasting for 20 years.
IMF crisis prevention: running on the spot
Nearly ten years on from the Asian financial crisis and the IMF has yet to find a workable solution to the need for a precautionary financing arrangement that helps middle-income countries prevent financial crisis. The IMF’s inability to articulate a plan to mitigate global economic risks will force countries to continue searching for ways to…
Growth alone is not the answer: evaluation chides World Bank
In early December the World Bank’s evaluation body released a report which found that the Bank’s growth strategies have not done enough to help the poor, and that the Bank has failed to sufficiently assess the distributional impacts of its policy recommendations.
Ortega opts for new PRGF for Nicaragua
Newly elected Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista party are presenting two different faces to the IMF.
Bujagali funding imminent
Funding from the World Bank and the European Investment Bank for the controversial Bujagali dam in Uganda is imminent.
Ecuador, Philippines repay IMF debt
Newly elected Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa, announced in January that he would make early repayments of his country’s $33 million debt to the IMF.
Senior Bank staff exodus continues
Long-serving heads of the African and Middle Eastern regions have departed after disagreements with Bank president Wolfowitz.
Update readers ask for more links, newswire
The Bretton Woods Update survey, launched in September, showed that our readers are very satisfied with the detail-level, tone, frequency, and length of Update articles, with approval ratings ranging from 80 to 90 per cent.
Bankspeak of the year 2006
Bankspeak of the year for 2006.
IMF outsources to abate cash crunch
The IMF is in the midst of negotiations on a multi-million dollar outsourcing contract with Tata Consultancy Services, India’s biggest computer-services provider.
Debt sustainability framework unchanged
NGOs contest a review of the World Bank and IMF’s debt sustainability framework for low income countries which concluded that the system was “broadly appropriate”.
Bank embraces labour standards
In December at an international trade union officials’ meeting in Washington, Paul Wolfowitz announced that Bank-funded public sector projects will respect core International Labour Organisation standards.
Indian forestry project violates safeguards
An Indian forestry project is found to violate Bank safeguards.
Bank mining advice boosts private profits
Two recent reports question the World Bank’s involvement in the mining sector.
IMF wants tax on mosquito nets in Zambia
The IMF provoked public ire in Zambia by asking the government to remove value added tax exemptions on a range of goods, including mosquito nets used to fight malaria.
Bank directors bound by rights obligations
A report by a coalition of German NGOs finds that Germany extra-territorial obligations extend to its role in multilateral development banks.
Labour rights of IMF guards violated
The private firm that supplied the guards to the IMF headquarters has been found in violation of workers’ rights by the US National Labor Relations Board.
Dominican Republic taxes at IMF “gun point”
A controversial tax reform programme in the Dominican Republic was forced onto the country by the IMF, in the words of finance minister Vicente Bengoa, “at gun point”.