The International Monetary Fund And The World Bank In A Globalized World

The IMF and the World Bank have integrated a large number of countries into the world economy by requiring governments to open up to global trade, investment, and capital. They have not done this out of pure economic zeal. Politics and their own rules and habits explain much of why they have presented globalization as a solution to challenges they have faced in the world economy.—from the Introduction The greatest success of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank has been as globalizers. But at whose cost? Would borrowing countries be better off without the IMF and World Bank? This book takes readers inside these institutions and the governments they work with. Ngaire Woods brilliantly decodes what they do and why they do it, using original research, extensive interviews carried out across many countries and institutions, and scholarship from the fields of economics, law, and politics. The Globalizers focuses on both the political context of IMF and World Bank actions and their impact on the countries in which they intervene. After describing the important debates between U.S. planners and the Allies in the 1944 foundation at Bretton Woods, she analyzes understandings of their missions over the last quarter century. She traces the impact of the Bank and the Fund in the recent economic history of Mexico, of post-Soviet Russia, and in the independent states of Africa. Woods concludes by proposing a range of reforms that would make the World Bank and the IMF more effective, equitable, and just.

Seminar paper from the year 2015 in the subject Economics - International Economic Relations, grade: 1,7, Pforzheim University, language: English, abstract: This seminar paper mainly explains the areas of responsibility as well as the objectives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Differences between the two international institutions will get clearer and a case study and criticism contribute to a better understanding. There is no doubt that the process of globalization, defined as the gradual movement towards a more intertwined world, has enriched our personal life economically and culturally. We benefit from international cooperation, free trade, innovation, a broader knowledge, and facilitated communication and generally, we are offered more possibilities to shape our life as it may best please us. Nevertheless, global interdependence implicates fierce competition and therefore a stronger divide between rich and poor. Moreover, increasing environmental pollution and the violation of human rights are accepted, just to push forward economic success. In order to solve negative side effects caused by globalization, several associations have been established over the years. Among these, there is for example the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. This seminar paper focuses on the two latter institutions with the intention to illustrate their significant influence on prosperity and development. Even though the IMF and its "twin institution" are independent bodies that do not always collaborate in current projects, their responsibilities often overlap as they pursue the same goals: reducing poverty, supporting economic growth and global trade as well as stabilizing the international financial system. To maintain a clear overview about the organizations' differences, they will be described separately in the investigation. The roles of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are diverse, but always pursuing international stability. Superficially, the Bank and the IMF possess many similar characteristics, which makes it difficult to distinguish between them.

As the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) celebrate fifty years of economic dominion over the Third World, this reader brings the best progressive authors together to critique these two main proponents of neo-liberalism. 50 Years is Enough covers such topics as failed development projects, the feminization of poverty, the detruction of the environment, the internal workings of the World Bank and the IMF, and the struggle to build alternatives to neo-liberal policies.It also includes a guide to the many organizations involved in the struggle to reform the World Bank and the IMF.

An authoritative review of the position of the IMF and World Bank in their sixtieth year.

A veritable "Globalization for Dummies," 10 Reasons to Abolish the IMF & World Banklays bare the most common myths of globalization in a clear and understandable way. Looking with hope to grassroots movement-building on a global scale, Danaher presents ten arguments for abolishing the IMF and World Bank and replacing them with democratic institutions that would make the global economy more accountable to an informed and active citizenry. Conceived as an effort to educate the public about how international institutions of "free trade" are widening the gap between the rich and poor globally, Danaher reveals how the lending policies of the IMF and the World Bank fail to benefit Third World peoples, and instead line the pockets of undemocratic rulers and western corporations while threatening local democracies and forcing cuts to social programs. Through anecdotes, analysis, and innovative ideas, Danaher argues that the IMF and the World Bank undermine our most basic democratic values, and calls for reframing the terms on which international economic institutions are operated using the principles of environmental sustainability, social justice, and human rights.

In 2011 the World Bank—with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—launched the Global Findex database, the world's most comprehensive data set on how adults save, borrow, make payments, and manage risk. Drawing on survey data collected in collaboration with Gallup, Inc., the Global Findex database covers more than 140 economies around the world. The initial survey round was followed by a second one in 2014 and by a third in 2017. Compiled using nationally representative surveys of more than 150,000 adults age 15 and above in over 140 economies, The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution includes updated indicators on access to and use of formal and informal financial services. It has additional data on the use of financial technology (or fintech), including the use of mobile phones and the Internet to conduct financial transactions. The data reveal opportunities to expand access to financial services among people who do not have an account—the unbanked—as well as to promote greater use of digital financial services among those who do have an account. The Global Findex database has become a mainstay of global efforts to promote financial inclusion. In addition to being widely cited by scholars and development practitioners, Global Findex data are used to track progress toward the World Bank goal of Universal Financial Access by 2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The database, the full text of the report, and the underlying country-level data for all figures—along with the questionnaire, the survey methodology, and other relevant materials—are available at www.worldbank.org/globalfindex.

Studies the evolving relationship between China and the keystone international economic organizations

This first report deals with some of the major development issues confronting the developing countries and explores the relationship of the major trends in the international economy to them. It is designed to help clarify some of the linkages between the international economy and domestic strategies in the developing countries against the background of growing interdependence and increasing complexity in the world economy. It assesses the prospects for progress in accelerating growth and alleviating poverty, and identifies some of the major policy issues which will affect these prospects.