The World Bank and the IMF are no strangers to criticism. Both organisations have pursued controversial policies in their attempts to improve the lot of people in developing countries. Recent events at the World Bank have heightened criticism of the organisation and in the first article below Naomi Klein (author of No Logo – nologo.org) argues that the behaviour of Paul Wolfowitz is symptomatic of a wider hypocrisy in the behaviour of the World Bank around the world. In the second article George Monbiot writes a criticism of the behaviour of the IMF and its approach.
The World Bank has the perfect standard bearer Guardian (27/4/07)
If Britain wants to help Africa’s poor, it must stop acting like an emperor Guardian (17/4/07)
Questions
| 1. | Use the web sites of the IMF and the World Bank to write a summary of their roles. |
| 2. | Assess the validity of the arguments of (a) George Monbiot with respect to the IMF and (b) Naomi Klein with respect to the World Bank. |
| 3. | Discuss possible changes in World Bank policies that would help address Naomi Klein’s criticisms. |