Critics of the World Bank Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Critics of the World Bank - Case Study Example Still there remain a lot of issues that point out at the loopholes. Though the World Bank in known for its achievements over the past few decades, it has been subject to various criticisms over the years for its policies, functions and activities. The World Bank is attack from all sides by critics on grounds that it is not efficient, not accountable or responsible, not democratic or legitimate, and most importantly that the World Bank is not relevant in a global economy which is presently subjugated by private capital, production and ideas. This paper focuses on the critics faced by the World Bank. Ever since its establishment, it has been subject to various criticisms. At this stage it will be useful to give a brief overview of how the world bank functions and what are the divisions of World Bank. The World Bank is the largest public development institution in the world. The World Bank lends about US$ 25 billion each year to developing countries or various developmental activities with the main purpose of reducing poverty. The main goals of the World Bank, as outlined in Article One of its Articles of Agreement, are: "to assist in the reconstruction and development of territories of members by facilitating the investment of capital for productive purposes" and "to promote the long-range balanced growth of international trade and the maintenance of equilibrium in balances of payments by encouraging international investment ... thereby assisting in raising the productivity, the standard of living and conditions of labour in their territories" (Bretton Woods Project, 2005a). The World Bank is a group of five closely associated international organizations responsible for providing finance and advice to countries for the purposes of economic development and eliminating poverty. Its five agencies are: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD); International Finance Corporation (IFC); International Development Association (IDA); Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The World Bank's activities are particularly focused on economically backward developing countries. Each of these organizations has their own aims and objectives. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) aims to reduce poverty in middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries by promoting sustainable development through loans, guarantees, risk management products, and analytical and advisory services. The IBRD and IDA provide loans at preferential rates to member countrie s, as well as grants to the poorest countries for developmental activities. The main activities of the IFC and MIGA include investment in the private sector and capitalizing insurance respectively (Wikipedia, 2007). In the recent years criticism of the World Bank and the IMF on various issues has been a cause of concern to the Bank. These criticism in general centre on the fear about the approaches adopted by the World Bank and the IMF in defining their policies. Especially the socioeconomic impact these policies have on the population of countries who benefit themselves of financial assistance from these two institutions. To be more specific it can be said