The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) is a specialised agency of the UN. It is a multilateral development lender. It was established with the Bretton Woods agreement of 1944 and its goal was to fight poverty. Economic growth was seen as a prerequisite for reducing poverty. Capital markets in the 1940s were small and risk averse so an institution such as this was seen as necessary. There are now 187 member countries. Its headquarters are in Washington DC. (2012)
ROLE
The World Bank was originally established to assist post-war economic recovery. Today it is primarily concerned with promoting the development of poorer nations by providing loans for infrastructure and technical assistance. They also assist developing economies to adjust to the process of globalisation. The major aim in recent years has been to reduce the percentage of people living on US$1 a day from 29% (1990 level) to 10% by 2015. All regions except the Sub-Saharan Africa region are on track to halve the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day between 1990 and 2015. However, the Sub-Saharan region will only reduce poverty by 33%. South Asia had the second highest proportion of people living on less than $1 a day in 1990 (43%) but has made substantial progress in reducing this statistic and may even surpass the target in 2015, based on current trends.
It is hoped that the assistance provided by the World Bank will help alleviate poverty by boosting productivity. It provides loans at little or no interest (i.e. soft loans) for long term development projects. Funds are provided by member nations and from the borrowings undertaken by the World Bank in global financial markets.
INFLUENCE & IMPORTANCE
Loans are made directly to member governments or to a private enterprise with the condition that the government guarantee the loan. The emphasis in recent years has shifted from loans to technical assistance.
In 2010 this institution was working on 303 projects in developing countries. In 2011 it was involved in over 1800 projects in virtually every sector and developing country. It works in partnership with the national governments and many non-profit organisations to jointly fund development projects around the world. The World Bank attaches conditions to their loans. These may affect government policy settings.
IMPORTANCE
The World Bank has been the world’s most significant source of development assistance in the years since its establishments. With the growth of FDI in recent years World Bank’s role as lender has diminished e.g. in 2002 they provided only 3% of capital flows going to developing countries.
In 2008, the World Bank committed $24.7 billion in loans, credits, and grants to its member countries. Africa received the highest Bank Group support, at more than $7.2 billion in loans, grants, equity investments, and guarantees, which is a record for the
The World Bank History of the World Bank The World Bank was established in 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, and is comprised of two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). It was created to help countries in need of post-war construction and development.1. It was the world's first multilateral development bank, and was funded through the sale of World Bonds. Its first loans were to France and other…
~THE WORLD BANK~ The World Bank was created in 1944. Its headquarters is located in Washington D.C. The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs. It’s designed to revive postwar international trade; it drew on the resources of member nations to make economic development loans to governments for such projects as new dams or agricultural modernization. Its main purpose is to reduce poverty. It has over 9,000 employees in…
the role World Bank in Poverty Reduction, as the primary role of the World Bank is to enable development and progress in the backward countries and regions of this world. This paper explains the brief history of the World Bank, and World Bank’s five institutions. It also investigates how the World Bank is continually trying to reduce poverty by lending billions of dollars to poor countries .This paper gives some of the facts of the under-developed countries and the strategies which World Bank has incorporated…
IMF and the World Bank (Functions of) The International Monetary Fund[->0] and the World Bank[->1] were both created at an international conference convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States in July 1944. The goal of the conference was to establish a framework for economic cooperation and development that would lead to a more stable and prosperous global economy. While this goal remains central to both institutions, their work is constantly evolving in response to new economic developments…
of the World Bank Group A. Introduction The World Bank was established in 1944 as a facilitator for post-war reconstruction and development. At that time, Europe had been devastated by war and needed long term investment for rebuilding its infrastructure. That is why it was named the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). Over the years, its mission has undergone a change with a shift in focus to removing poverty. Along with a change in its focus, the Bank has expanded…
change of the World Bank, which is discussed by journalist Annie Lowry on New York Times’ October 7th, 2013 paper1. Specifically, this memo includes a summary on the World Bank’s situation, key organization design concepts related to World Bank’s organizational structure, and key organization design concepts related to World Bank’s potential organizational structure. With the following information, you can gain a better understanding of the application of organizational design. World Bank’s situation…
honoured to have been elected by the nations of the world to serve on the UNSC (United Nations Security Council) in 2013 and 20143. It is of great importance to the maintenance of international peace and security now than it has ever been. World Trade Organization: Australia has been a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since January 1st, 19954. World Economic Forum: In the late 1990’s the foundation, along with the G7, World Banks, WTO, and International Monetary Fund, came under heavy…
International Monetary Fund and World Bank World Bank(WB) and International Monetary Fund(IMF) was first formed after a conference held by World Leaders at Bretton Woods, they were both formed in 1944, with the aim of helping with international economy. (World Bank,2007) The driving economic realities that led to the formation of WB and IMF was the Great Depression. The main purpose of the formation of WB and IMF was to help with economic development for countries after the World War. The initial plan for…
Name: Ms. Kristen Westrick English 1101 CRN: 53134 7 March 2013 An Ethical Treatment of World Bank to Padma Bridge Project Padma is most widespread river in Bangladesh. The Government of Bangladesh took plan to build up Padma Multipurpose Bridge. The project is estimated to cost US$2.4 billion and work is to begin 2013 with the target of completing the project by 2016. Bangladesh had request proposal to World Bank (WB), and other co-financier to invest in this project. In the hiring process of construction…
being the world’s 5th biggest importer and exporter (EW World Economy Team, 2013). However, several news reports highlighted the fact that the economic growth of advanced economies like Japan was badly affected by the global financial and economic recession that has occurred between 2008 to 2011 (Rasmus, 2013). As a result, Japan’s annual GDP growth rate fell from 2.2% in 2007 down to -1.0% and -5.5% in 2008 and 2009 respectively (The World Bank, 2014c). In general, either monetary or fiscal policies…
