World Bank Thesis Statement

World Bank: Final Perspective

The World Bank is an international organization that supports nations’ development through financial instruments and related services. Its lending programmes support governments in undertaking growth and development agendas, especially in the least developed and developing economies. It has been instrumental in structural reforms in many countries. Lending is mostly based on structural adjustment policies and conditional cash transfer. Several researchers have examined the World Bank programmes and Abouharb, and Duchesne (2019) established that there was no evidence that the institution improved the post-reform 1999-2009 period’s economic growth rates.

The World Bank’s development policy loans have prompted resistance to funds uptake by some countries, citing intrusion of sovereignty and state strategies for development. Further, its cost for less-instrument for analytical and advisory support services creates a stringent reform structure which is perceived as control over the state. Designs for conditional lending are based on other nation’s experiences but may not be practical in others, leading to the failure of programmes and high indebtedness to recipient countries. Thus, the lending leads to impoverishment in the countries, poverty and lower standards of living. Bradley, Harutyunyan and DiLorenzo (2020) while evaluating the World Bank Programmes established strong evidence that the institutions advisory programmes influenced the design, direction and implementation of government policies in low and middle-income countries globally.

However, there was no strong evidence of the influence of lending services on government policy. Thus, the World Bank lending cannot proclaim to enhance the growth and development of recipient countries today. This is possibly due to ineffectiveness of lending terms and conditions and poor assessment of lending needs of the recipient nations. The empirical studies affirm this perspective that the World Bank’s lending does not positively influence the world today.

References

Abouharb, R., & Duchesne, E. (2019). Economic Development and the World Bank.

Social Sciences, 8(5), 1-1

Parks, B., Harutyunyan, A., & DiLorenzo, M. (2020). What makes the World Bank so

influential-its money or its ideas? Future Development. Brookings, May 19. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2020/05/19/what-makes-the-world-bank-so-influential-its-money-or-its-ideas/