Presented By:

Sykat Mondal

ID: 111605

4th Year 1st term,

Sociology Discipline,

Khulna University, Khulna.

Outline

World Bank Introduction

History Behind The World Bank

World bank Group

Special Features of The World Bank

Objectives

Need of World bank

Membership of World Bank

Operations of World Bank

The Millennium development Goals

World Bank Contributions in Bangladesh

Criticism

Conclusion

World Bank Introduction

The World Bank is an internationally supported bank that provides financial and

technical assistance to aid countries in their process of economic development

with loans, advice, and research. (Heakal, 2010)

President: Jim Yong Kim

Established: July 1, 1944.

Headquarters: Washington, D. C., United States.

Membership: 188 countries (IBRD), 172 countries (IDA).

Affiliates: IFC, MIGA, ICSID.

Moto: Working for A World Free Poverty.

Official Language: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish.

Country Office: More than 100 offices in member countries and about 10000 all

over the world.

(WB, 2015)

History Behind The World Bank

The World Bank was created at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference which

mission was to help rebuild Europe and to promote the economic growth of the

countries in the South , many of which were still under colonial rule. Lord

Keynes and Harry Dexter White are the founding father of world Bank.

Since inception in 1944 , the world bank has expanded from a single institution to

a closely associated group of five development institutions. (WB, 2015)

Lord Keynes Harry Dexter White

Founding Father of World Bank

World bank Group

Five development institutions have turned into the World Bank Group.

World

Bank

Multilateral

Investment

Guarantee Agency

Est.:1988,

Members:179

countries

International Development

Association, Est.: 1960, Members:

172 Countries

International

Center for

Settlement of

Investment

Disputes

Est.: 1966

Members: 168

countries

Five Agencies – One Group

Special Features of The World Bank

Special

Features of

The World

Bank

It is one of the world’s largest sources

of funding for the developing world.

Its primary focus on helping the

poorest people and poorest countries.

Bridge the economic divide between

poor and rich countries to turn rich

country resources into poor country

growth and to achieve sustainable

poverty reduction.

(WB, 2015)

Objectives:

The following objectives are assigned by the world Bank:

To provide long run capital to member countries for economic reconstruction

and development.

To ensure the implementation of development projects so as to bring about a

smooth transference from a wartime to peace economy.

To promote capital investment in member countries.

Reduce Corruption.

(Hegstad et al., 1987)

Need of World Bank

Need of World

Bank

Build capacity: Strengthen their governments and

educate their government officials.

Create Infrastructure: Implement legal and

judicial systems that encourage business,

protect individual and property rights, and

honor contracts

Develop Financial System: Robust enough to support

endeavors from micro credit to financing larger corporate

ventures.

Combat Corruption: There is not much that can be done that

is effective.

(Hegstad et al., 1987)

Membership of World Bank

Member countries govern the World Bank Group through the Boards of

Governor and The Boards of Executive Directors. These bodies make all

major decisions for the organizations.

To become a member of the world bank ,under the IBRD articles of

agreement, a country must first join the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

(WB, 2015)

Operations of World Bank

Agriculture and Rural Development

Economic Policy

Education

Energy Environment

Financial Sector

Health, Nutrition and Population Industry

Information, Computing and Telecommunication

Law, Justice and Social Protection

Water resources, supply and sanitation

(WB, 2015)

The Millennium development Goals (MDGs)

The eight MDGs listed below guide the efforts of virtually all organizations

working in development and have been commonly accepted as a framework for

measuring development progress:

Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger: For achieving this goal, they have

pointed out some key points such food security, investing in agriculture, creating

jobs, expanding nutrition program that target children under 2 years of age.

MDG one is fruitful in Nepal, Kenya, Senegal.

Achieve Universal Primary Education: Between 2000 and 2012, the total

number of out of school children worldwide declined from 100 million to 58

million. MDG two is fruitful in Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Chad.

Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women: Through Investing in girls’

education, they have succeeded in Afghanistan and Benin.

Reduce Child Mortality: Between 2003 and 2013, more than 117 million

people gained access to essential health services through IDA’s help. MDG four

is fruitful in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso (100%), Ghana.

The Millennium development Goals (MDGs)

Improve Maternal Health: Between 2003 and 2013, more than 117 million

people in the poorest countries gained access to essential health services.

MDG five is fruitful in Burundi (25%) and Guinea (95%).

Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Other Diseases: IDA is helping to

achieve MDG six by providing prevention, care, and mitigation services.

MDG six is fruitful in Benin (64%), India, Republic of Congo (77%).

Ensure Environmental Sustainability: The World Bank is the largest

external source of financing for water projects. In the last three years, the

World Bank’s commitment for water projects totaled $17 billion, with 56% for

water supply and sanitation. MDG seven is fruitful in Bangladesh, Brazil,

Egypt, Ethiopia and Haiti.

Develop a Global Partnership for Development: MDG eight is fruitful in

Afghanistan and Cameroon. Following strategy reduce, improve and connect.

(WB, 2015)

World Bank eLibrary

Subscribers in 113 countries

Top traffic comes from US, India, UK and

Australia

Nearly 9000 World Bank publications.

66% increase in visitors from FY11 vs. FY12

85% increase FY12 vs. FY13.

(WB, 2015)

World Bank Contributions in Bangladesh

The World Bank has helped make Dhaka’s air more breathable.

The World Bank is the largest external funder of micro credit in

Bangladesh.

The World Bank is Bangladesh’s largest external funder of education and

has assisted Bangladesh in achieving gender parity in education.

The World Bank leads the donor consortium for health programs.

The World Bank works in partnership and the civil society plays an ever

larger role in the Bank’s work.

The World Bank helped Bangladesh modernize its agricultural sector.

The World Bank is deeply involved in building and improving roads and

infrastructure in Bangladesh.

The World Bank helps Bangladesh create a better investment climate.

(WB, 2015)

Criticism

It was stated to reduce poverty but it is being blamed for supporting United

States’ business interests.

It is deeply implicated in contemporary modes of donor and NGO driven

imperialism.

The president of this bank has always been a citizen of the United States

without present president.

Lacks transparency of public.

The decision making process is undemocratic.

(HPA, 2015)

Conclusion

World bank has consistently pushed a neoliberal agenda imposing policies on

developing countries which have been damaging, destructive and anti

developmental. It is also considered as an instrument for promotion of western

interests in certain regions of the world. Despite of some flaws, helping various

nations by the world bank can never be undermined.

Reference (S)

Heakal, R. 2010. What is World Bank. Investopedia, Sweden. Accessed on 25th

February, 2015. Retrieved from [http://www.investopedia.com.asp.html]

WB. 2015. The World Bank. Washington, D. C., United States. Accessed on 25th

February, 2015. Retrieved from [http://www.worldbank.org]

WB. 2015. History. The World Bank. Washington, D. C., United States.

Accessed on 28th February, 2015. Retrieved from

[http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/history]

WB. 2015. Course features that help participants learn : experience at the

World. Washington, D. C., United States. Accessed on 24th February, 2015.

Retrieved from [http://worldbank.org/all?qterm=features+of+world+bank]

Hegstad., Olaf, S. and Ian, N. 1987. Management contracts : main features and

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[http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/leadership/members]

Reference (S)

WB. 2015. Bank Operations. The World Bank, Washington, D. C., United

States. Accessed on 25th February, 2015. Retrieved from

[http://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/decentralization/operations.htm]

WB. 2015. Millennium Development Goals. The World Bank, Washington,

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[http://data.worldbank.org/about/millennium-development-goals]

WB. 2015. eLibrary. The World Bank, Washington, D. C., United States.

Accessed on 25th February, 2015. Retrieved from

[http://elibrary.worldbank.org. html]

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[http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/bangladesh/overview]

HPA. 2015. World Bank: Critique. Health Poverty Action, London. Accessed

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