financial institutions (IFIs). For multilateral development banks like the World Bank, their central mission, the promotion of … growth and the reduction of poverty, is clear. The steps toward fulfilling this mission in a changing world are also … our thinking both on why we have IFIs in the first place, and the role that they should play in a changing world. …

Since the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were launched at Bretton Woods more than 50 years ago, and the … regional development banks in subsequent decades, the world economy has changed in important respects. In considering the role … result, world real interest rates have increased markedly. Second, the poor performance of statist models of development has …