WORLD BANK

History  Founded in 1944,at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire  First loan to France in 1947 of $250 million  Incorporation into UN System  Lending for the fiscal year crosses the $10 billion mark for the first time  1995 – James D. Wolfensohn becomes Bank president

What is the World Bank ?  One of the world’s largest sources of development assistance (FY 2001 provided more than US$17 billion in loans)  IBRD has 183 members, IDA has 161, the IFC has 174, MIGA has 154 and ICSID has 133

Partners  International Organizations (EU,IMF,UN,WTO)  Affiliates (CGIAR,CGAP, Development Gateway, GEF)  NGO’s and Civil Society  Business and the Private Sector  Donors & Co-financing  Students and the Academic Community

The Bank is Accountable  Information sharing essential for effective and sustainable growth….publicly accountable to member countries  Staff and management held directly accountable by its members  OED reviews all Bank-financed projects and reports directly to the Board

Where does the money go?

Where does the money go? (cont.)

The role of the World Bank  Partner in strengthening economies and expanding markets – lends money, doesn’t make grants  G-7 members (Canada,France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and U.S)- U.S. has largest shareholding in the Bank (approximately 17%)  Bank comparable to a Global Cooperative

Conclusion: Lessons of Experience  Challenges  Proposal for a comprehensive development Framework might be too holistic  Absolute number of poor people is rising as a result of rapid population growth  Resistance by some governments