Robert Zoellick has showed that the World Bank can move with the times, writes a senior fellow from the Council on Foreign Relations.
In his opinion piece at the Financial Times, Sebastian Mallaby, author of “The World’s Banker,” notes some of the changes that took place at the international financial institution under Zoellick, who announced last week he will be stepping down as the bank’s president in June.
The World Bank, Mallaby says, has adapted quickly to the “new world.” This is evident in the lending agency’s efforts to tap technology and the expertise of a wide array of people — including those from developing countries — in conducting its business affairs.
Shortly after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, the bank sent out aircraft to take aerial photographs of the damage. Photos were then uploaded immediately to allow some 600 engineers in 21 countries to brainstorm and look for ways to rebuild the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince. The same year, the financial institution staged ”Apps for Development,” a competition that challenged software developers to come up with innovative apps using World Bank data.
The World Bank has also opened its doors to “new powers.” Today, nearly half of the Bank’s senior positions are filled by people from developing countries, including its chief economist Justin Yifu Lin, who hails from China.
The temptation to lose confidence in multilateral institutions is there, Mallaby writes. Zoellick has proved the World Bank can make “real contributions” in today’s changing times. Here’s hoping his successor can too.
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