CBA 300 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: International Development Association, International Monetary Fund, Washington Consensus
11 Jan 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
United Nations
• Functions include peacekeeping & humanitarian aid
• Main bodies are General Assembly, Security Council, & Specialized Agencies
• 193 nations are members
The World Bank
• Found in 1944, the goal of the World Bank is to reduce poverty through loans & grants.
• 189 member’s states, 10000+ employees.
• Based in Washington, DC
The World Bank Group
• International Bank for Reconstruction & Development lends to middle income & credit –
worthy poor nations.
• International Development Association provides interest free loans & grants to poorest
nations
• International Finance Corp. helps private business in developing nations.
• Two other institutions, MIGA & ICSID
Do World Bank Programs Work?
• Perhaps 1/3 of WB projects have not met development goals.
o Development of poor nations is a very challenging social goal.
o Government corruption has redirected aid
o Neoliberal or “ free market” agenda may not be appropriate for all countries
International Monetary Fund
• The IMF helps nations with balance of payment problems via short-term loans.
• IMF has 189 members. Voting power depends upon the size of a member’s economy.
• Portugal, Greece, Ukraine & Ireland are largest borrowers.
Criticism of IMF
• The IMF tries to correct borrowers fiscal & monetary policies
• But the austerity programs demanded (the “Washington consensus”) may be
inappropriate for some nations.
• By precedent, the Director of the IMF comes from outside the U.S.
World Trade Organization
• Created in 1994 from GATT- General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade (1948)
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• 164 member nations
• Forum for trade negotiations
• Arbitrates trade disputes.
• Oversees members trade policies
• Much criticism of WTO despite its limited powers.
Politics within the WTO
• Rich country agricultural subsidies
• Various agricultural & industrial tariffs in both rich & poor countries
• Intellectual property disputes
The OECD
• The Organization of Economic Co-operation & Development, launched in1961, consists
of 35 riche & middle income countries.
• It collects & shares data to identify best social and economic policies
Custom Union
• In a free area nations agree to reduce trade restrictions among themselves.
• In a customs union they also adopt common trade policy toward outsiders.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
United nations: functions include peacekeeping & humanitarian aid, main bodies are general assembly, security council, & specialized agencies, 193 nations are members. The world bank: found in 1944, the goal of the world bank is to reduce poverty through loans & grants, 189 member"s states, 10000+ employees, based in washington, dc. International bank for reconstruction & development lends to middle income & credit worthy poor nations. International development association provides interest free loans & grants to poorest nations. International finance corp. helps private business in developing nations: two other institutions, miga & icsid. International monetary fund: the imf helps nations with balance of payment problems via short-term loans, portugal, greece, ukraine & ireland are largest borrowers. Voting power depends upon the size of a member"s economy. World trade organization: 164 member nations, forum for trade negotiations, arbitrates trade disputes, oversees members trade policies, much criticism of wto despite its limited powers.
