Rescuing the World Bank: A CGD Working Group Report and Selected Essays - Softcover

Nancy Birdsall

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1933286113 ISBN 13: 9781933286112

Publisher: Centre for Global Development, 2007

Synopsis

The World Bank is assailed by critics on the left, right and center on the grounds it is not effective, not accountable, not democratic or legitimate, and most threatening of all, not relevant in a global economy where private capital, production, and ideas dominate. Yet the world needs a strong World Bank working with other international institutions to manage development and the related global challenges of the 21st century. Are the Bank's shortcomings exaggerated or potentially fatal? If potentially fatal, can this critical institution be rescued? Rescuing the World Bank explores the answers to these questions. The first part of the book, The Hardest Job in the World: Five Crucial Tasks for the New President of the World Bank, is a report by a Center for Global Development (CGD) Working Group delivered to Paul Wolfowitz on his first day in the office in June 2005. The second part comprises selected essays, many first presented at a CGD Symposium in the fall of 2005. The Working Group members and essay authors represent a rich array of experience and views. CGD president Nancy Birdsall was co-chair of the Working Group and selected and edited the essays. Her view that the Bank is a crucial global institution but potentially at risk is widely -but not universally -shared by the Working Group members and the essay authors. The provocative volume will be widely read and discussed by those who are actively grappling with how to strengthen the World Bank, by its many stakeholders, and by readers with a broad interest in development seeking a better understanding of this vital and complex institution as it struggles to adapt to the demands of the 21st century.

About this title

About the Author

Nancy Birdsall is the founding president of the Center for Global Development, USA. Prior to launching the center, Birdsall was senior associate and director of the Economic Reform Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. From 1993 to 1998, Birdsall was executive vice president of the Inter-American Development Bank, USA.

Edition details

• Publisher: Centre for Global Development
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1933286113
• ISBN 13: 9781933286112
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 201
• Editor: Nancy Birdsall