Swimming Against the Tide: How Developing Countries Are Coping with the Global Crisis

Background Paper prepared by World Bank Staff for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, Horsham, United Kingdom on March 13-14, 2009

Corporate Misgovernance at the World Bank

We test for evidence of corporate misgovernance at the World Bank. Most major decisions at the World Bank are made by its Board of Executive Directors. However, in any given year the majority of the Bank's member countries do not get a chance to serve on this powerful body. In this paper, we empirically investigate whether board membership leads to higher funding from the World Bank's two main development financing institutions, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). We find that developing countries serving on the Board of Executive Directors can expect an approximate doubling of funding from the IBRD. In absolute terms, countries serving on the board are rewarded with an average $60 million "bonus" in IBRD loans. This is more likely driven by soft forces like boardroom culture rather than by the power of the vote itself. We find no significant effect in IDA funding.

Međunarodna banka za rekonstrukciju i razvoj i Projekt poboljšanja kvalitete i učinkovitosti zdravstvenih službi u Republici Hrvatskoj (program prema rezultatima)

Međunarodna banka za rekonstrukciju i razvoj (The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD) kao glavni cilj ima smanjenje siromaštva u zemljama srednjeg dohotka i siromašnijih zemalja koje su kreditno sposobne promoviranjem održivog razvoja kroz zajmove, garancije, alate upravljanje rizicima i usluge analitike i savjetovanja.Projekt poboljšanja kvalitete i učinkovitosti zdravstvene zaštite u Republici Hrvatskoj je financiran zajmom IBRD odobrenog u svibnju 2014. godine i za cilj ima poboljšanje dostupnosti i kvalitete kao i učinkovitosti javnih zdravstvenih ustanova osnaživanjem upravljačkih kapaciteta, reorganizacijom strukture i aktivnosti ustanova koje provode zdravstvenu zaštitu, poboljšanjem kvalitete zdravstvene zaštite, osnaživanjem preventivnih aktivnosti i osiguranjem financijske održivosti sustava zdravstva

The World Bank’s Early Reflections on Development: the Housing Issue

Until the late 1960s, the World Bank presented itself as an institution devoted to sound and directly productive project loans. Yet, during its very early years, some discussions developed inside the Bank regarding the possibility of issuing different types of loans, namely loans which – albeit sound – were aimed at tackling social issues («social loans»), or not directly project-related needs for foreign currencies («impact loans»). This paper analyzes the housing issue as a good case in point. The analysis reveals that the Bank was unwilling to lend for housing programs not because these were not sound – in fact, they were – but because they appeared to be too socialbiased and not directly linked to productive investment projects, such as dams, power stations, and railroads. This early decision had a significant impact on the subsequent development of the Bank’s view of policy making. In fact, it was not until the late 1960s that the Bank began to take social issues into consideration, rather late as opposed to other multilateral institutions.

Međunarodna banka za rekonstrukciju i razvoj i Projekt poboljšanja kvalitete i učinkovitosti zdravstvenih službi u Republici Hrvatskoj (program prema rezultatima)

Međunarodna banka za rekonstrukciju i razvoj (The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD) kao glavni cilj ima smanjenje siromaštva u zemljama srednjeg dohotka i siromašnijih zemalja koje su kreditno sposobne promoviranjem održivog razvoja kroz zajmove, garancije, alate upravljanje rizicima i usluge analitike i savjetovanja.Projekt poboljšanja kvalitete i učinkovitosti zdravstvene zaštite u Republici Hrvatskoj je financiran zajmom IBRD odobrenog u svibnju 2014. godine i za cilj ima poboljšanje dostupnosti i kvalitete kao i učinkovitosti javnih zdravstvenih ustanova osnaživanjem upravljačkih kapaciteta, reorganizacijom strukture i aktivnosti ustanova koje provode zdravstvenu zaštitu, poboljšanjem kvalitete zdravstvene zaštite, osnaživanjem preventivnih aktivnosti i osiguranjem financijske održivosti sustava zdravstva

The World Bank’s Early Reflection on Development: a Development Institution or a Bank?

Until the late 1960s, the World Bank presented itself as an institution devoted to sound and directly productive project loans. Yet, during its very early years, some discussions developed inside the Bank regarding the possibility of issuing different types of loans, namely loans which – albeit sound – were aimed at tackling social issues («social loans»), or not directly project-related needs for foreign currencies («impact loans»). This paper analyzes the housing issue as a good case in point. The analysis reveals that the Bank was unwilling to lend for housing programs not because these were not sound – in fact, they were – but because they appeared to be too social-biased and not directly linked to productive investment projects, such as dams, power stations, and railroads. This early decision had a significant impact on the subsequent development of the Bank’s view of policy making. In fact, it locked the institution into a particular lending pattern, and deprived it of important intellectual resources. It was not until the late 1960s that the Bank began to take social issues into consideration, rather late as opposed to other multilateral institutions.

99th Congress

The 99th Congress has before it several proposals to authorize additional U.S. contributions to multilateral development banks. These include potential subscriptions or contributions to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the African Development Fund (AFDF), and the special African aid facility of the International Development Association (IDA). There is no legislation now before Congress to authorize new contributions to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the regular budget of the IDA, or any of the other regional development banks. These have been dealt with in previous years. This paper provides some background on the World Bank and a summary of the pending legislation

The World Bank and development: Measuring the effectiveness of lending programs in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study tests the assumption that borrowing from the World Bank, specifically the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), promotes economic development. The focus of this study is the poorest region in the world today, Sub-Saharan Africa, for the 25 year time period of 1974--1999. Other hypothesized influences on wealth include human capital, debt, aid, foreign direct investment, savings, regime, and population. Two models include 36 countries in the data set and estimate the coefficients using generalized least squares regression. Two additional models use a data set that is complete for 27 countries and estimate the coefficients with Prais-Winsten regression using panel-corrected standard errors. The results suggest there is not a significant impact of World Bank lending on a country\u27s level of wealth. The implications of this research deal with the effectiveness of development policies of international institutions in this region