World Bank - How can it work to promote growth and stability, and does it also exacerbate inequalities and injustices Flashcards
What is the World Bank?
Promotes economic development and growth in developing countries, provides long term ivesment loans for development projects with the aim of reducing poverty.
Successes of the World Bank
- Internatinal Development Association (IDA) provides special interest-free loans to countries with very low per capita incomes and aims to reduce poverty by providing policy advice and financial support.
In West Africa, an Ebola-era disease surveillance project has prepared countries to face the COVID-19 health crisis.
In Tonga, IDA’s emergency funding allowed the government to respond to the eruption and Tsunami in January 2022.
Failures of the World Bank
- Tanzania
- Bolivia
Failures of the World Bank - Tanzania
- The 140 million USD World Bank funded privatisation scheme intended to be a model for the worlds poorest communitites and how they could be lifted out of poverty and hoe countries can meet the milennium development goal targets .
- Although there were signifcant accusations that the water quality and supply was not managed properly and many were left without safe access to water.
Failures of the world bank - Bolivia
In 1994 the World Bank refused a $25 million dollar loan to a local water co-operative in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Instead, they insisted that the Bolivian government hand over the running of the local water supply to a French mulitnational named Bechtel. The agreement that the World Bank forced onto the Bolivian government gave the French company total control over the local water supply in Cochabamba, even over the rain water, and locals were forbidden from collecting rain water to drink – they either had to pay the company for water or die of thirst.
In this case, the government eventually backed down, and the water supply was returned to the control of the local community
