INTD 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Economic Globalization, Marshall Plan, United Nations Economic And Social Council
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16 Dec 2012
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture 18: World Trade Organization, World Bank
and IMF
12/16/12 9:22 AM
IMF and the World Bank: Bretton Woods Institutions
The WTO is not a Bretton Woods Institutions.
All three of these institutions have clashed with the UN’s main goal at some
point or another.
WTO and Development Agencies
• Economic globalization
• Applicability of economic, social and cultural rights
Bretton Woods Institutions
• World Bank and IMF
• Created to ensure economic stability and to deal with poverty
reduction
• Left: entrenching global poverty
• Right: to bureaucratic, not relevant
• SAPs
• World Bank: provide loan interest loans to developing countries for
infrastructure
o Post war reconstruction in post ww2 Europe ! over run by
the Marshall plan
o 1950s: switched focus to the developing world
o head office in DC, 100 offices world wide
o Policy Body: board of governors, usually ministers of finance
of member countries
" Meet once a year
o Major day to day decisions: 25 member executive directors
o Voting is weighted based on donations
o President has always been an American
o Voting: based on quota subscriptions
" Shifted in the favour of wealthy countries
o First world bank loan was made to France
o International Development Agency
" Sub-institution
" Loans and grants to the poorest countries
o 1970s: period of economic instability
" increased conditionality on loans
" SAPs
• IMF: ensure the stability of the international monetary system
o Provide financial resources to allow countries to solve there
balance of payments crisis without devaluing their currency
o Stable international exchange rates
o Subscription quotas ! determine ability to draw financial
support and votes
o President of the IMF is always a European
o 187 member countries
o Head in Washington
o 24 on the board of directors
o not as big as the World Bank
o Total Quotas: 380 billion dollars
o Biggest Beneficiaries: Greece, Portugal, Ireland
o Special Drawing Rights (SDR)
o Takes into account technical assistance
Structural Adjustment Programs
Laissez-faire economic polices
Free Market policies
Had to agree to these policies in order to get loans
World Trade Organization
Promotes free trade
The world as an international free trade system
Purely based on laissez-faire economics
The right to invest in other countries ! countries that have no labour and
environmental standards
Major corporations moved their manufacturing to countries with little to no
labour and environmental standards
Originally ECOSOC didn’t carry out its goals – lack of cohesion within the UN.
• SAPs vs. Human Rights
• 2000: ACC was replaced by the Chief Executive Board for
coordination
• CEB: originally 4 members, but has grown to 28 members
o Purpose: chief executives of all these groups meet together to
talk about overlaps and issues