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46 lines
3.7 KiB
XML
46 lines
3.7 KiB
XML
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<xml>
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<p><ent type='ORG'>World Bank</ent>
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A specialized agency of the <ent type='ORG'>United Nations</ent>, the <ent type='ORG'>World Bank</ent> (officially, the
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International <ent type='ORG'>Bank</ent> for Reconstruction and Development, or <ent type='ORG'>IBRD</ent>) was established,
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along with <ent type='ORG'>the INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND</ent> (<ent type='ORG'>IMF</ent>), by the <ent type='PERSON'>Bretton Woods</ent> Agreement
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(1944) to assist <ent type='NORP'>European</ent> postwar recovery. When this initial role was absorbed
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by the Marshall Plan, the focus shifted (1949) to loans and technical assistance
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to promote the balanced growth of international trade and economic development,
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especially in underdeveloped areas. With its affiliates--the <ent type='ORG'>INTERNATIONAL</ent>
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FINANCE CORPORATION, created in 1956, and the <ent type='ORG'>INTERNATIONAL</ent> DEVELOPMENT
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ASSOCIATION, founded in 1960--the <ent type='ORG'>World Bank</ent> Group has become the single most
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important lending agency in international development.
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By 1983, membership consisted of 146 nations, including <ent type='GPE'>China</ent>, which replaced
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<ent type='GPE'>Taiwan</ent> in 1980. Most loans are made to member governments, but if a member will
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guarantee repayment, loans can be arranged for private firms. Funds from loans
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are used to support a variety of long-range projects in such fields as energy,
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agriculture, and transportation. From 1973 to 1982 loans increased from $3.4
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billion to $13 billion annually. Of the $13 billion in loans dispersed in 1982,
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23.7% was used for agriculture, 22.3% for energy, and 12.4% for transportation.
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Terms of the loans have ranged from near-commercial rates, lent by the <ent type='ORG'>Bank</ent>
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itself, to zero-interest loans, lent to the poorest countries by the <ent type='ORG'>IDA</ent>, with
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payment due within 10 to 40 years. In the late 1970s the <ent type='ORG'>Bank</ent>'s lending policy
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changed from funding development projects aimed at helping a particular economic
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sector of a country to financing broad economic reform.
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The technical assistance program of the <ent type='ORG'>Bank</ent> works in two ways: it helps set up
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a project that may secure a loan, and it then aids recipients in utilizing the
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loan when it is granted. When members request a mission to survey their
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economies, other international organizations may be brought in; for example, the
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FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) added its own personnel to the <ent type='ORG'>Bank</ent>'s
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missions to assist in agricultural and irrigation projects. With headquarters in
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<ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>, D.C., the <ent type='ORG'>Bank</ent> is run by a president and a board of governors who
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meet annually to determine policies. Decisions on loans are made by the
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executive directors (20), who meet monthly. Voting on loans is weighted
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according to members' contributions (capital subscription), and therefore the
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organization is controlled by the wealthier nations. Recent presidents of the
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<ent type='ORG'>World Bank</ent> include <ent type='PERSON'>Robert MCNAMARA</ent>, A. W. CLAUSEN, and <ent type='ORG'>Barber Conable</ent>. JOHN G.
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STOESSINGER</p>
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<p>Bibliography: Heilbroner, Robert L., <ent type='EVENT'>This Growing World</ent>: Economic Development
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and the <ent type='ORG'>World Bank</ent> Group, rev. ed. (1966); Mason, E. S., and <ent type='PERSON'>Asher</ent>, R. E., The
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<ent type='ORG'>World Bank</ent> since <ent type='PERSON'>Bretton Woods</ent> (1973); Reid, Escott, Strengthening <ent type='ORG'>the World</ent>
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<ent type='ORG'>Bank</ent> (1973); Van de Laar, J. M., The <ent type='ORG'>World Bank</ent> and <ent type='ORG'>the World</ent>'s Poor (1976).
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973); Reid, Escott, Strengthening the Worl</p></xml>
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