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46 lines
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<p>World Bank
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A specialized agency of the United Nations, the World Bank (officially, the
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International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or IBRD) was established,
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along with the INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF), by the Bretton Woods Agreement
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(1944) to assist European 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 INTERNATIONAL
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FINANCE CORPORATION, created in 1956, and the INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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ASSOCIATION, founded in 1960--the World Bank 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 China, which replaced
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Taiwan 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 Bank
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itself, to zero-interest loans, lent to the poorest countries by the IDA, with
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payment due within 10 to 40 years. In the late 1970s the Bank'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 Bank 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 Bank's
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missions to assist in agricultural and irrigation projects. With headquarters in
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Washington, D.C., the Bank 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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World Bank include Robert MCNAMARA, A. W. CLAUSEN, and Barber Conable. JOHN G.
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STOESSINGER</p>
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<p>Bibliography: Heilbroner, Robert L., This Growing World: Economic Development
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and the World Bank Group, rev. ed. (1966); Mason, E. S., and Asher, R. E., The
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World Bank since Bretton Woods (1973); Reid, Escott, Strengthening the World
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Bank (1973); Van de Laar, J. M., The World Bank and the World's Poor (1976).
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973); Reid, Escott, Strengthening the Worl</p></xml>
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