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    Exclusive: Experts warn World Bank reforms might leave the poor behind

    World Bank reform risks being dominated by the wealthiest shareholders and activists from advanced economies. A new paper argues for putting in place an evolution that integrates climate into the core anti-poverty strategies needed in each country.

    By Shabtai Gold // 27 March 2023

    The World Bank’s reform trajectory risks sidelining core development priorities such as education and health in poorer countries, as a “one-size-fits-all” climate approach dominates momentum for modernizing the lender, according to a group of scholars and former development bank officials.

    Their new research paper, on which Devex is the first to report, argues that high-income shareholders’ reform push risks articulating grand ideas while underfunding the bank’s capacity to carry them out. In a way, this fits a pattern in which wealthy countries make promises on climate finance that never fully materialize, sowing distrust and disillusionment in lower-income nations.

    The paper reflects concerns that the reform agenda is being dominated by the most powerful countries and civil society groups from advanced economies, reflecting their interests and risking the bank’s core anti-poverty mandate. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has spearheaded the reform push and wants sweeping changes before the end of the year.

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    More reading:

    ► David Malpass: Reforms to yield $40B in additional World Bank lending

    ► Yellen hails 'progress' on World Bank reform, but demands more action

    ► Experts react: The good, bad, and meh in the World Bank's reform plan (Pro)

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    About the author

    • Shabtai Gold

      Shabtai Gold

      Shabtai Gold is a Senior Reporter based in Washington. He covers multilateral development banks, with a focus on the World Bank, along with trends in development finance. Prior to Devex, he worked for the German Press Agency, dpa, for more than a decade, with stints in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, before relocating to Washington to cover politics and business.

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