Contact:
Holly Shulman
holly.shulman@gmail.com
Center for Global Development
Today, a community of think tanks from across the globe launched a joint platform to provide research and analysis to spur critical reforms and modernization at the World Bank and other multilateral development banks.
The MDB Reform Accelerator Hub is a joint project of the Center for Global Development, the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, the Policy Center for the New South, Centro Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais, the African Center for Economic Transformation, and the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, and ODI (formerly the Overseas Development Institute).
"The world has changed since the inception of the World Bank and the IMF. In a context of heightened risks of fragmentation, shared challenges have grown more pressing and decisive. The reform should resolutely amplify the voice of Africa in the IFI system." said Karim El Aynaoui, executive president of the Policy Center for the New South. "The international financial system must reform and modernize to meet these challenges - and must listen to its borrowers to be able to chart a new and inclusive course."
The Hub's research and analysis will focus in three areas:
- Broader mandates: What the scope and the focus of multilateral development banks including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund should be and how addressing global challenges that transcend borders like the climate crisis should be balanced with country-specific development initiatives without compromising their focus on poverty.
- Better governance: How the MDBs should be governed, including exploring a larger role for emerging markets as donors.
- Modern business models: What tools and policies are best-suited to address today's challenges.
The Hub will also consider how ramped up investments in addressing the climate crisis and other emerging priorities can be reconciled with the bank’s and countries' current limited resources - and what additional resources will be needed to meet the moment.
"The time for this reform is now." said Masood Ahmed, president of the Center for Global Development "With political support from the World Bank's largest shareholders, a new World Bank president poised to take the reins, this moment offers a unique opportunity to reform and modernize the World Bank and to create a stronger, well-functioning, and more relevant multilateral development bank system."
For more information about the MDB Reform Accelerator Hub and to sign up for research, commentary, and analysis from the Hub, visit https://mdbreformaccelerator.cgdev.org/.
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