Question

What is the World Bank? What role does it play? What are the 6 strategic themes of the World Bank. Identify and explain 4 critical issues the World Bank faces. Identify and explain 2 criticisms of the World Bank. Identify and explain 2 opportunities for the World Bank.

Answer 1

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), generally referred to as the World Bank, is an international financial organization whose aims include assisting the development of the territories of its member country, fostering and supplementing private foreign investment and fostering the growth of long-range international trade balance. To encourage long-capital investment to ensure balance of payments (BoP) equilibrium and sustainable international trade growth. To guarantee loans given to member countries ' small and large units, and other programs.

The Bank's research is informed by six strategic themes, concentrating on the poorest nations, vulnerable and conflict-affected states, the Arab world, middle-income nations, global issues of public goods, and provision of information and learning services.

The challenges facing the World Bank are tremendous. Some of the challenges stem from a radically changed development environment created over the last two decades by a substantial reduction in global poverty, a major shift to middle-income status in a number of developing countries, and the emergence of many others as major geo-political actors.Such developments have caused others to challenge the World Bank's continued importance in today's world. In addition to those changes, the Bank has yet to establish a new vision for itself.

A number of nongovernmental organizations and scholars have long criticized the World Bank. Furthermore, internal assessments of the Bank may generate negative conclusions. It has been accused of being a weapon by the United States or the West to enforce economic policies that benefit Western interests. The World Bank has been criticized for a perceived inconsistency between its stated goals and actual objectives. Critics claim that the negative effects generated by the World Bank are obvious when they consider the many countries on the African continent that are basically "held" by the World Bank. In many African countries national debt is that, particularly those "owned" by the World Bank.