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World Bank

World Bank logo
Formation	27 December 1945
Type	International organization
Legal status	Treaty
Purpose/focus	Poverty elimination
Membership	185 countries
President	Robert B. Zoellick
Main organ	Board of Directors[1]
Parent organization	World Bank Group
Website	http://www.worldbank.org/

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides financial and technical assistance^[2] to developing countries for development programs (e.g. bridges, roads, schools, etc.) with the stated goal of reducing poverty.

The World Bank differs from the World Bank Group, in that the World Bank comprises only two institutions:

• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
• International Development Association (IDA)

Whereas the latter incorporates these two in addition to three more:^[3]

• International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
• International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

Contents 1 History 1.1 1945-1968 1.2 1968-1980 1.3 1980-1989 1.4 1989-Present 2 Activities 2.1 Millennium Development Goals 2.2 Five key factors 2.3 Loans 2.4 Grants 2.5 Other services 3 Leadership 4 Members 5 Areas of operation 6 Comprehensive development framework 7 Poverty reduction strategies 8 Clean Technology Fund management 9 Training wings 9.1 World Bank Institute 9.2 Global Development Learning Network 9.3 GDLN Asia Pacific 10 Country assistance strategies 11 Criticism 11.1 Knowledge Production 11.2 Structural Adjustment 11.3 Water Privatization 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 External links

[edit] History

The World Bank is one of two major financial institutions created as a result of the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. The International Monetary Fund, a related but separate institution, is the second. Delegates from a wide variety of countries attended the Bretton Woods Conference, but the most powerful countries in attendance mainly shaped negotiations, the United States and Britain.^[4]

[edit] 1945-1968

From the banks conception until 1968 the bank undertook a relatively small level of lending. Fiscal conservatism and careful screening of loan applications was generally accepted practice at the World Bank during this early period. Bank staff attempted to balance the priorities of providing loans for reconstruction and development with the need to instill confidence in the bank as a reliable institution suitable for investment^[5]. Bank president John McCloy selected France to be the first recipient of World Bank aid, two other applications presented at this time from Poland and Chile were rejected. The loan was for $250 million dollars, half the amount requested and came with strict conditions. Staff from the World Bank would monitor the end use of the funds, ensuring that the French government presented a balanced budget, and give priority of debt repayment to the World Bank over other foreign governments. The United States State Department also acted at this time to inform the French Government that Communist elements within the Cabinet needed to be removed. The French Government complied with this request and removed the Communist elements from the 1947 coalition government. Within hours of this event the loan to France was approved^[6]. The Marshall Plan of 1947 caused lending practices at the bank to be altered, as many European countries received aid that competed directly with World Bank Loans. Emphasis was shifted to Non-European countries and up until 1968 loans were primarily earmarked for projects that would directly enable a borrower country to repay loans (such projects as ports, highway systems, power plants).

[edit] 1968-1980

In the period lasting from 1968-1980 the bank focused on poverty alleviation and meeting the basic needs of people in the developing world. During this period the size and number of loans to borrower nations was greatly increased as the spectrum of loan targets expanded from infrastructure into social services and other sectors. These changes can to a large extent be attributed to Robert McNamara who assumed the Presidency in 1968 after being appointed by US president Lyndon B. Johnson^[7]. McNamara imported a technocratic managerial style to the bank that he had employed during periods he had spent serving as United States Secretary of Defense, and President of the Ford Motor Company^[8]. McNamara shifted the focus of bank policy towards measures such as building schools and hospitals, improving literacy rates and conducting large-scale agricultural reform. McNamara created a new system of gathering information from potential borrower nations that enabled the bank to process loan applications at a must faster rate. In order to finance the increased loan volume, McNamara tasked bank treasurer Eugene Rotberg to seek out new sources of capital outside of the northern banks that had previously been the primary sources of bank funding. Rotberg utilized the global bond market to greatly increase the amount of capital available to the bank^[9]. One unfortunate consequence of the period of poverty alleviation lending was the rapid rise of third world debt. During the period of 1976-1980 third world debt rose at an average annual rate of 20%.^[10][11].

[edit] 1980-1989

in 1980 A.W. Clausen replaced Robert McNamara as World Bank president after being nominated by US President Ronald Reagan. Clausen replaced a large number of bank staffers who had been active during the McNamara era and instituted a new ideological focus in the bank. The replacement of Chief Economist Hollis Chenery by Anne Krueger in 1982 marked a notable policy shift at the bank. Krueger was known for her criticism of development funding as well as Third World Governments as Rent seeking States. Lending for the purposes of servicing third world debt largely marked the period of 1980-1989. Structural adjustment policies aimed at streamlining the economies of developing nations (largely at the expense of health and social services reductions) were also a large part of World Bank policy during this period. UNICEF reported in the late 1980’s that the Structural Adjustment Programs of the World Bank were responsible for the “reduced health, nutritional, and educational levels for tens of millions of children in Asia, Latin America, and Africa”.^[12]

[edit] 1989-Present

From 1989 to present, World Bank policy has shifted greatly largely in response to criticism from a plurality of groups. Environmental groups and NGOs are often now integrated into the lending practices of the bank in order to mitigate the negative results of the previous era that prompted such harsh criticism.^[13] Bank projects now explicitly embrace a "green" focus.

[edit] Activities

[edit] Millennium Development Goals

The World Bank's current focus is on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), lending primarily to "middle-income countries" at interest rates which reflect a small mark-up over its own (AAA-rated) borrowings from capital markets; while the IDA provides low or no interest loans and grants to low income countries with little or no access to international credit markets. The IBRD is a market based non-profit organization, using its high credit rating to make up for the relatively low interest rate on its loans, while the IDA is funded primarily by periodic "replenishments" (grants) voted to the institution by its more affluent member countries.

[edit] Five key factors

The Bank’s mission is to aid developing countries and their inhabitants to achieve development and the reduction of poverty, including achievement of the MDGs, by helping countries develop an environment for investment, jobs and sustainable growth, thus promoting economic growth through investment and enabling the poor to share the fruits of economic growth. The World Bank sees the five key factors necessary for economic growth and the creation of an enabling business environment as:

1. Build capacity: Strengthening governments and educating government officials.
2. Infrastructure creation: implementation of legal and judicial systems for the encouragement of business, the protection of individual and property rights and the honoring of contracts.
3. Development of Financial Systems: the establishment of strong systems capable of supporting endeavors from micro credit to the financing of larger corporate ventures.
4. Combating corruption: Support for countries' efforts at eradicating corruption.
5. Research, Consultancy and Training: the World Bank provides platform for research on development issues, consultancy and conduct training programs (web based, on line, tele-/ video conferencing and class room based) open for those who are interested from academia, students, government and non-governmental organization (NGO) officers etc.

The Bank obtains funding for its operations primarily through the IBRD’s sale of AAA-rated bonds in the world’s financial markets. The IBRD’s income is generated from its lending activities, with its borrowings leveraging its own paid-in capital, plus the investment of its "float". The IDA obtains the majority of its funds from forty donor countries who replenish the bank’s funds every three years, and from loan repayments, which then become available for re-lending. –

[edit] Loans

The Bank offers two basic types of loans: investment loans and development policy loans. The former are made for the support of economic and social development projects, whereas the latter provide quick disbursing finance to support countries’ policy and institutional reforms. While the IBRD provides loans with a relatively low interest rate, the IDA’s "credits" are interest free. The project proposals of borrowers are evaluated for their economical, financial, social and environmental aspects prior to their approval. But not all of this is true; sometimes it's different.

[edit] Grants

The Bank also distributes grants for the facilitation of development projects through the encouragement of innovation, cooperation between organizations and the participation of local stakeholders in projects. IDA grants are predominantly used for:

• Debt burden relief in the most indebted and poverty struck countries
• Amelioration of sanitation and water supply
• Support of vaccination and immunization programs for the reduction of communicable diseases such as malaria
• Combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic
• Support civil society organizations
• Creating initiatives for the reduction of greenhouse gases
• Taking to the forests and helping the people who live in the rainforests.

[edit] Other services

The Bank not only provides financial support to its member states, but also analytical and advisory services to facilitate the implementation of the lasting economic and social improvements that are needed in many under-developed countries, as well as educating members with the knowledge necessary to resolve their development problems while promoting.

[edit] Leadership

The President of the Bank, currently Robert B. Zoellick, is responsible for chairing the meetings of the Boards of Directors and for overall management of the Bank. Traditionally, the Bank President has always been a U.S. citizen nominated by the President of the United States, the largest shareholder in the bank. The nominee is subject to confirmation by the Board of Governors, to serve for a five-year, renewable term.^[14]

The Executive Directors make up the Board of Directors, usually meeting twice a week to oversee activities such as the approval of loans and guarantees, new policies, the administrative budget, country assistance strategies and borrowing and financing decisions.

The Vice Presidents of the Bank are its principal managers, in charge of regions, sectors, networks and functions. There are 24 Vice-Presidents, 3 Senior Vice Presidents and 2 Executive Vice Presidents.

[edit] Members

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has 185 member countries, while the International Development Association (IDA) has 168 members.^[15] Each member state of IBRD should be also a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and only members of IBRD are allowed to join other institutions within the Bank (such as IDA).^[16]

[edit] Areas of operation

The World Bank is active in the following areas ^[17]

Agriculture and Rural Development Conflict and Development Development Operations and Activities Economic Policy Education Energy Environment Financial Sector Gender Governance Health, Nutrition and Population Industry Information and Communication Technologies Information, Computing and Telecommunications International Economics and Trade Labor and Social Protections

Law and Justice Macroeconomic and Economic Growth Mining Poverty Reduction Poverty Private Sector Public Sector Governance Rural Development Social Development Social Protection Trade Transport Urban Development Water Resources Water Supply and Sanitation

[edit] Comprehensive development framework

According to the World Bank, in virtually all successful assistance projects the country itself was the driving factor. The Bank therefore strives to help governments lead and implement their own development strategies and thus take a stronger hand in their own future development. The strategy was initiated by the former president of the bank, James Wolfensohn. Since 1999, it has followed a set of philosophies known as the Comprehensive Development Framework. These philosophies state that:

• Development strategies should be comprehensive and shaped by a long-term vision
• Development goals and strategies should be “owned” by the country, based on local stakeholder participation in shaping them
• Countries receiving assistance should lead the management and coordination of aid programs through stakeholder partnerships
• Development performance should be evaluated through measurable results on the ground in order to adjust the strategy to outcomes and a changing world

[edit] Poverty reduction strategies

For the poorest developing countries in the world the Bank’s assistance plans are based on Poverty Reduction Strategies; by combining a cross-section of local groups with an extensive analysis of the country’s financial and economical situation the World Bank develops a strategy pertaining uniquely to the country in question. The government then identifies the country’s priorities and targets for the reduction of poverty, and the World Bank aligns its aid efforts correspondingly.

The Bank supports certain kinds of poor people's organisations such as the Self-Employed Women's Union and Shack/Slum Dwellers International.

Forty-five countries pledged US$25.1 billion in "aid for the world's poorest countries", aid that goes to the World Bank International Development Association (I.D.A.) which distributes the gifts to eighty poorer countries. While wealthier nations sometimes fund their own aid projects, including those for diseases recently, and although I.D.A. is the recipient of criticism, Robert B. Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, said when the gifts were announced on December 15, 2007, that I.D.A. money "is the core funding that the poorest developing countries rely on".^[18]

[edit] Clean Technology Fund management

The World Bank has been assigned temporary management responsibility of the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), focused on making renewable energy cost-competitive with coal-fired power as quickly as possible, but this may not continue after UN's Copenhagen climate change conference in December, 2009, because of its continued investment in coal-fired power plants. ^[19]

[edit] Training wings

[edit] World Bank Institute

The World Bank Institute (WBI) creates learning opportunities for countries, World Bank staff and clients, and people committed to poverty reduction and sustainable development. WBI's work program includes training, policy consultations, and the creation and support of knowledge networks related to international economic and social development.

[edit] Global Development Learning Network

The Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) is a partnership of over 120 learning centers (GDLN Affiliates) in nearly 80 countries around the world. GDLN Affiliates collaborate in holding events that connect people across countries and regions for learning and dialogue on development issues. Offering a combination of distance learning tools such as interactive videoconferencing and the internet, and expert facilitation and learning techniques, GDLN Affiliates enable individuals, teams, and organizations working in development around the world to communicate, share knowledge, and learn from each others’ experiences in a timely and cost-effective manner.

GDLN clients are typically NGOs, government, private sector and development agencies who find that they work better together on subregional, regional or global development issues and challenges using the facilities and tools offered by GDLN Affiliates. Clients also benefit from the ability of Affiliates to help them choose and apply these tools effectively, and to tap development practitioners and experts worldwide. GDLN Affiliates facilitate around 1000 videoconference-based activities a year on behalf of their clients, reaching some 90,000 people worldwide. Most of these activities bring together participants in two or more countries over a series of session. A majority of GDLN activities are organized by small government agencies and NGOs.

[edit] GDLN Asia Pacific

The GDLN in the East Asia and Pacific region has experienced rapid growth and Distance Learning Centers now operate, or are planned in 20 countries: Australia, Mongolia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Japan, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Thailand, Laos, Timor Leste, Fiji, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and New Zealand. With over 180 Distance Learning Centers, it is the largest development learning network in the Asia and Pacific region. The Secretariat Office of GDLN Asia Pacific is located in the Center of Academic Resources of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.

GDLN Asia Pacific was launched at the GDLN’s East Asia and Pacific regional meeting held in Bangkok from 22 to 24 May 2006. Its vision is to become “the premier network exchanging ideas, experience and know-how across the Asia Pacific Region”. GDLN Asia Pacific is a separate entity to The World Bank. It has endorsed its own Charter and Business Plan and, in accordance with the Charter, a GDLN Asia Pacific Governing Committee has been appointed.

The committee comprises China (2), Australia (1), Thailand (1), The World Bank (1) and finally, a nominee of the Government of Japan (1). The organization is currently hosted by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, founding member of the GDLN Asia Pacific.

The Governing Committee has determined that the most appropriate legal status for the GDLN AP in Thailand is a “Foundation”. The World Bank is currently engaging a solicitor in Thailand to process all documentation in order to obtain this legal status.

GDLN Asia Pacific is built on the principle of shared resources among partners engaged in a common task, and this is visible in the organizational structures that exist, as the network evolves. Physical space for its headquarters is provided by the host of the GDLN Centre in Thailand – Chulalongkorn University; Technical expertise and some infrastructure is provided by the Tokyo Development Learning Centre (TDLC); Fiduciary services are provided by Australian National University (ANU) Until the GDLN Asia Pacific is established as a legal entity tin Thailand, ANU, has offered to assist the governing committee, by providing a means of managing the inflow and outflow of funds and of reporting on them. This admittedly results in some complexity in contracting arrangements, which need to be worked out on a case by case basis and depends to some extent on the legal requirements of the countries involved.

[edit] Country assistance strategies

As a guideline to the World Bank's operations in any particular country, a Country Assistance Strategy is produced, in cooperation with the local government and any interested stakeholders and may rely on analytical work performed by the Bank or other parties. In the case of low income countries, the Country Assistance Strategy is derived from the country’s Poverty Reduction

[edit] Criticism

The World Bank has long been criticized by a range of non-governmental organizations and academics, notably including its former Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz, who is equally critical of the International Monetary Fund, the US Treasury Department, and US and other developed country trade negotiators.^[20] Critics argue that the so-called free market reform policies – which the Bank advocates in many cases – in practice are often harmful to economic development if implemented badly, too quickly ("shock therapy"), in the wrong sequence, or in very weak, uncompetitive economies.^[21]

In Masters of Illusion: The World Bank and the Poverty of Nations (1996), Catherine Caufield reveals how the assumptions and structure of the World Bank operation in the end harms southern nations rather than promoting them. In terms of assumption, Caufield first criticizes the highly homogenized and Western recipes of "development" held by the Bank. To the World Bank, different nations and regions are indistinguishable, and ready to receive the "uniform remedy of development". The danger of this assumption is that to attain even small portions of success, Western approaches to life are adopted and traditional economic structures and values are abandoned. A second assumption is that poor countries cannot modernize without money and advice from abroad.

A number of intellectuals in developing countries have argued that the World Bank is deeply implicated in contemporary modes of donor and NGO driven imperialism and that its intellectual contribution functions, primarily, to seek to try and blame the poor for their condition.^[22]

Defenders of the World Bank contend that no country is forced to borrow its money. The Bank provides both loans and grants. Even the loans are concessional since they are given to countries that have no access to international capital markets. Furthermore, the loans, both to poor and middle-income countries, are at below market-value interest rates. The World Bank argues that it can help development more through loans than grants, because money repaid on the loans can then be lent for other projects.

One of the strongest criticisms of the World Bank has been the way in which it is governed. While the World Bank represents 184 countries, it is run by a small number of economically powerful countries. These countries choose the leadership and senior management of the World Bank and as such, their interests are dominant within the bank^[23]. The World Bank has dual roles that are often contradictory: that of a political organization and that of an action-oriented organization. As a political organization, the World Bank must meet the demands of donor and borrowing governments, private capital markets as well as other international organizations. As an action-oriented organization, it must fulfill the role of a neutral organization specialized in delivering development aid, technical assistance and loans. These dual roles are often inconsistent with one another. The World Bank’s obligations to donor countries and private capital markets have caused it to adopt policies and programs that endorse liberal economic theory which dictates that poverty is best alleviated by the implementation of market-oriented policies.^[24]

In the 1990s the World Bank and the IMF forged the Washington Consensus, a set of policies which included deregulation and liberalization of markets, privatization and the downscaling of government. Though the Washington Consensus was conceived as a policy that would best promote development, it was criticized for ignoring issues such as equity, employment and how reforms, such as privatization, were carried out. Many now agree that the Washington Consensus placed too much emphasis on the growth of GDP and not enough on the sustainability of that growth; economically, socially, politically and environmentally, or on questioning whether or not this growth actually contributed to increased living standards.^[25]

Some critics of the World Bank believe that the institution was not started in order to reduce poverty but rather to support United States' business interests, and argue that the bank has actually increased poverty and been detrimental to the environment, public health, and cultural diversity.^[26] Some critics also claim that the World Bank has consistently pushed a neoliberal agenda, imposing policies on developing countries which have been damaging, destructive and anti-developmental.^[27][28] Some intellectuals in developing countries have argued that the World Bank is deeply implicated in contemporary modes of donor and NGO driven imperialism and that its intellectual output functions to blame the poor for their condition.^[29]

The World Bank supported from the beginning the Brazilian Castello Branco’s authoritarian-rightist government, supplying it with a $80 million loan for power projects.^[30]

It has also been suggested that the World Bank is an instrument for the promotion of U.S. or Western interests in certain regions of the world. Consequently, seven South American nations have established the Bank of the South in order to minimize U.S. influence in the region.^[31] Criticisms of the structure of the World Bank refer to the fact that the President of the Bank is always a citizen of the United States, nominated by the President of the United States (though subject to the approval of the other member countries). There have been accusations that the decision-making structure is undemocratic, as the U.S. effectively has a veto on some constitutional decisions with just over 16% of the shares in the bank;^[32] moreover, decisions can only be passed with votes from countries whose shares total more than 85% of the bank's shares.^[33] A further criticism concerns internal governance and the manner in which the World Bank is alleged to lack transparency to external publics.^[34]

In 2008, a World Bank report which found that biofuels had driven food prices up 75% was not published. Officials confided that they believed it was withheld from publication to avoid embarrassing the President of the United States, George W. Bush.^[35]

[edit] Knowledge Production

The World Bank has been critiqued for the manner in which it engages in “the production, accumulation, circulation, and functioning” of knowledge . The Bank’s process in the production of knowledge has become integral to the funding and justification of large capital projects . The Bank relies on “a growing network of translocal scientists, technocrats, NGOs, and empowered citizens to help generate data and construct discursive strategies”.^[36]Its capacity to produce authoritative knowledge is a response to intense scrutiny of Bank projects resulting from the successes of growing anti-Bank and alternative-development movements^[37]. “Development has relied exclusively on one knowledge system, namely, the modern Western one. The dominance of this knowledge system has dictated the marginalization and disqualification of non-Western knowledge systems”^[38]. It has been remarked, that in these alternative knowledge systems researchers and activists might find alternative rationales to guide interventionist action away from Western (Bank) produced ways of thinking . Knowledge production has become an asset to the Bank and “it is generated and used in highly strategic ways”^[39] to provide justifications for development.

[edit] Structural Adjustment

The impact of structural adjustment policies on developing countries has been one of the most significant criticisms of the World Bank. The oil crisis in the late 1970s, the second in a decade, plunged many developing countries into economic crisis^[40]. The World Bank responded with structural adjustment loans which distributed aid to ailing countries while enforcing policy changes meant to mitigate domestic inflation and fiscal imbalance. Some of these policies included encouraging production, investment and labour-intensive manufacturing, changing real exchange rates and altering the distribution of government resources.^[41] Structural adjustment policies were most effective in countries with an institutional framework already in place that allowed for these policies to be implemented more easily^[42]. For some countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, with or without the implementation of structural adjustment policies, economic growth regressed and inflation worsened^[43]. The alleviation of poverty was not a goal of structural adjustment loans and in fact, the circumstances of the poor often worsened due to a reduction in social spending and an increase in the price of food as subsidies were lifted.^[44] By the late 1980s, international organizations began to recognize that structural adjustment policies were exacerbating the circumstances of the world’s poor. The World Bank responded by restructuring structural adjustment loans allowing for social spending to be maintained and encouraging a more gradual implementation of policies such as subsidy reductions and price changes^[45]. In 1999 the World Bank and the IMF introduced the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper approach to replace structural adjustment loans^[46]. The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper approach has been interpreted as an extension of structural adjustment policies as it continues to reinforce and legitimize global inequities^[47]. Neither approach has addressed the inherent flaws within the global economy that contribute to economic and social inequities within developing countries^[48]. By reinforcing the relationship between lending and client states, many believe that the World Bank has prevented indebted countries from implementing autonomous national economic policy^[49].

[edit] Water Privatization

Sociologist Michael Goldman has argued that “Industry analysts predict that private water will soon be a capitalized market as precious, and as war-provoking, as oil”^[50] . Goldman continues to argue “These days, an indebted country cannot borrow capital from the World Bank or IMF without a domestic water privatization policy as a precondition”^[51]. The Bank is utilizing “the "Washington Consensus" model of development to promote water privatization. Following this model, the World Bank is forcing many countries to commodify their water resources, rather then using their expertise in the public sector to acknowledge water as a universal human right and an essential public service^[52]. The push for water privatization development plays upon “the shocking tragedy that much of the world lacks access to affordable and clean water” . This image creates “new opportunities in development though it may have little to do with ultimately quenching” the needs of impoverished countries . “The problem of water scarcity for the world’s poor has been analyzed by the World Bank as one in which the public sector has failed to deliver and has therefore prevented development from “taking off” and the economy from modernizing. If the state cannot deliver something as basic as water and sanitation, the argument goes, it is a strong indication of a general failure of public-sector capacity”^[53]. However, “with the sale or lease of a public good comes more than simply a privatized service; alongside it comes a while set of postcolonial institutional forces that intervenes in state-citizen relations and North-South dynamics”^[54].

[edit] See also

• Praxis Discussion Series
• Globalization
• International Monetary Fund
• Carbon finance
• Globalization and Health
• World Bank Development Marketplace Award
• Global Justice Movement
• infoDev

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Transforming the Rural Nonfarm Economy: Opportunities and Threats in the Developing World. Edited by Steven Haggblade, Peter B. R. Hazell, and Thomas Reardon (2007). Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Markwell, Donald (2006), John Maynard Keynes and International Relations: Economic Paths to War and Peace, Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press.

[edit] External links

• World Bank site
• World Bank Data and Analysis on Poverty and Economic Growth in South Asia
• Ease of Doing Business Index
• Partnership for Disaster reduction and recovery
• iSimulate @ World Bank
• Arno Tausch (2005) ‚World Bank Pension reforms and development patterns in the world system and in the “Wider Europe”. A 109 country investigation based on 33 indicators of economic growth, and human, social and ecological well-being, and a European regional case study’. A slightly re-worked version of a paper, originally presented to the Conference on “Reforming European pension systems. In memory of Professor Franco Modigliani. 24 and 25 September 2004”, Castle of Schengen, Luxembourg Institute for European and International Studies

Critical Perspectives

• Essential Action
• DC Indymedia
• CADTM
• WALHI
• IFIwatchnet: an international network of independent organisations monitoring the World Bank and other International Financial Institutions
• The Bank Information Center
• The Bretton Woods Project
• Free, online critical video on the World Bank, IMF etc
• Eurodad report: Untying the knots - How the World Bank is failing to deliver real change on conditionality

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