Resources
Conditionality
Analysis
Denying Democracy: How the IMF and World Bank take power from people
The IMF and World Bank have, in recent years, responded to criticisms from civil society by adopting new ways of working and new rhetoric on 'country ownership' and 'participation'. In light of these developments, the World Development Movement (WDM) has taken a fresh look at whether the IFIs provide a real say for people, parliaments and governments from poor countries in how their economies are run and how the IFIs are run. Sadly, there is little evidence of significant change.
IFI governance
News
President of World Bank calls for change
James Wolfensohn, the outgoing World Bank president, said that the international financial institution should change the way it selects its leader.
Rights
News
Indigenous people want power to veto World Bank plans, Haider Rizvi
Accountability
News
New World Bank chief seen hawking Bush agenda, Emad Mekay
Knowledge
News
Scandal of ‘phantom’ aid money
Guardian coverage of the recently released 'Real Aid' report. Well-heeled consultants and companies in the west are the beneficiaries of a global aid system which results in less than 40p in every pound helping to eradicate poverty in the developing world, according to a report out today.
Social services
News
Flagship water privatisation fails in Tanzania
A flagship water privatisation scheme for Africa has collapsed amid claims that the British company involved has failed to improve the supply for millions of people
Accountability
News
New reports find that BTC pipeline is unsafe as safety of Azeri citizens is also jeopardised
Two reports released today, ahead of tomorrow's Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline 'opening' ceremony in Baku, reveal significant concerns regarding the environmental and social damage being caused by the World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) backed project in Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Knowledge
News
Latin America: Indigenous people fare poorly, World Bank says
World Bank report on indigenous peoples which focuses on the region's five countries with the largest indigenous populations: Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru.
Rights
News
Debt Cancellation: historic victories, new changes
How 100% debt cancellation for poor countries-now being debated by wealthy nations-was transformed from an implausible demand into a winning issue, and what barriers lie ahead for the debt relief movement.
Knowledge
News
Watchdog criticises World Bank focus
The World Bank's internal watchdog, the Operations Evaluation Department (OED) has just released its Annual Review of Development Effectiveness (ARDE), based on analysis of bank projects over the past 15 years. It concludes it should focus on promoting economic growth rather than social policies as the route to reducing poverty.
IFI governance
News
Are the IFIs responsible for the Tulip Revolution?
A couple of months have passed since the revolution in Kyrgyzstan and the changing of national authorities. Aside from the political reasons behind these events, economic factors may also have played a key role. Many have acknowledged that the crisis was caused by an inability of the former government to secure at least some improvements in the living standards of Kyrgyz citizens. Responsibility for the economic reform failures lies also with the international financial institutions (IFIs). Over