Reply #15: I agree with you on Wolfowitz.. [View All]

[American in Asia]

he's a total disaster wherever he is. I sincerely hope the Europeans kick up a major ruckus and derail this, though I'm not all that optimistic. His appointment is a major concern to development types because of fears he will attempt to change the institution in the wrong ways - back to larger infrastructure projects and away from the more recent trend towards greater use of grants, and more focus on community-driven development, HIV/AIDS, health, etc. And, of course, that he will try to push a US agenda, including Bush's definition of "democratization" as a goal, on an institution that has a broad membership that often is opposed to the goals of this Administration, or at a minimum, their methods. Witness the pressure on the World Bank to lend early to support Iraq reconstruction, and the difficulty it had resisting that, even to protect their own staff, and you have already an example of the things that concern many member countries, and staff of the institution itself, I'm sure.

As to why -- the World Bank was first - Marshall Plan and all that - and is the biggest. Some would argue it spends more on research and cross-country, cross-regional work, and has more expertise. Some would argue it has more prestige because the quality of its staff have traditionally been high. The others spun off for various reasons. And, some have a slightly different focus - the European Bank, for instance, focuses more on private sector type things. I'm honestly not that familiar with the Islamic and African development banks.