Bretton Woods
Update 79
World Bank or US Bank?
Rumours that Robert Zoellick will not seek another term as World Bank president after his term ends in June have thrown open the debate about leadership selection at the Bank.
IMF from Argentina to Greece: similar but different
The economic crisis in Argentina in 2001 and Greece today share both similarities and differences, so we should be wary of stretching the comparison.
IMF and capital flows: all talk, no solution
As the IMF and Bank of England predict that increasing volatility of global capital flows will motivate widespread use of capital controls, academics and civil society organisations are calling for coordinated global solutions.
Harvesting controversy
While the Bank prepares to revise its agriculture strategy, its focus on market liberalisation is criticised, its own complaints bodies issue damning reports on agriculture projects in Peru and Papua New Guinea, and critics fault its gender focus.
IMF in a euromess?
The IMF responds to calls from European leaders to get more involved in the European debt crisis through greater lending to the region, however, the austerity policies being demanded are stoking further criticism from civil society organisations.
Gender WDR
The 2012 World Development Report is a watershed moment: it is the first time that the World Bank, the world’s largest and most influential development institution, has devoted its flagship publication to gender. Kate Bedford of the University of Kent argues that the report leaves the Bank failing to face up to its role in…
Unsafe haven? New IFC tax haven policy questioned
A new report finds widespread use of tax havens by World Bank clients, while the new Bank policy is criticised for having major loopholes.
IMF resources: quota, NAB and GAB
One of the IMF’s three roles is lending to members countries with balance of payments difficulties, using resources provided by its other members. Generally, these resources come in two forms: quota contributions tied to voting rights in the institution, and bilateral contributions which do not affect countries’ voting rights.
New World Bank infrastructure strategy
A World Bank infrastructure strategy update, developed because of a G20 push for more infrastructure investment, reaffirms the Bank’s commitment to large-scale projects and scaled up private finance through public-private partnerships (PPPs, see Update 77), despite questions about bloated costs and development impact.
The World Bank and extractives: a rich seam of controversy
As World Bank projects fail to reduce corruption in the mining sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), International Financial Corporation (IFC) investments in extractives are provoking complaints and protests around the world.
IFC’s private equity investments cause controversy
The increasing use of private equity (PE) firms as conduits for World Bank lending continues to stoke controversy.
On a carbon market mission
While steaming ahead with new carbon market initiatives, the World Bank attracted further criticism and suffered potential setbacks on agriculture and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) at the UN climate negotiations in Durban.
Green light for revised PforR, but concerns remain
The World Bank board has approved the controversial new Program-for-Results (PforR) lending instrument, with some concessions to criticism.
ICSID offers “impunity” for corporations
In October 2011 international coalition of civil society groups Seattle to Brussels Network held an international week of action against bilateral investment treaties.
IMF loan to Egypt branded as “odious”
Social movement Popular Campaign to Drop Egypt’s Debts has spoken out against Egypt’s military government agreeing to a $3.2 billion IMF loan.
World Bank revising governance and anti-corruption strategy
The Bank has opened an online consultation on proposed revisions to its governance and anticorruption strategy, which “will redefine and re-position its governance and anti-corruption work.”
World Bank-funded “toxic dumping ground”
Ugandan newspaper New Vision called attention to the “horrific sanitation conditions” of a Bank-funded waterway in Uganda in November 2011
HIPC winds down amid controversy
The World Bank and IMF’s joint Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative is winding down as its objectives “have largely been reached”.
World Bank loans linked to child mortality
A June 2011 academic paper that analysed health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa found that “when a country is under a World Bank structural adjustment loan it tends to have higher levels of child mortality”.
Transparency at the World Bank questioned
The information disclosure policies of the Bank has been criticised by a December report of the NGO network Global Transparency Initiative (GTI).
Petra Kjell joins the Project
We are delighted to welcome Petra Kjell as the new head of the Project’s work programme on climate and the environment, human rights and social impacts, taking over from Ama Marston.
Complaint against the IFC in Mozambique
The Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO), the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) accountability mechanism, has transferred a complaint over an IFC-supported project in Mozambique to its compliance function, which will assess whether the project has breached the IFC’s performance standards.
Questions hang over World Bank safeguard review
The World Bank has revealed that the planned period for updating its environment and social safeguard policies, which it aims to consolidate into one single policy, has been extended to December 2013