IMF And World Bank Spring Meetings WorldNews.com, Thu 26 Apr 2001 World Bank News Roundup.
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The Financial Times (p.16) says in an editorial that the most prominent issue at the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank this weekend will be the slowing world economy. But the most important, in the long term, will be poverty reduction. There are three ways in which the world's richest countries can, and should, do more to help the world's poorest, says the FT. These are: to give more financial help to those countries that have earned it, probably via more generous debt relief; to bring down trade barriers; and to take action on Africa's catastrophic health situation.
The lack of any political impetus behind poverty reduction means there is a risk that the only outcome of the spring meetings will be a worthy press statement, says the editorial. The leaders of the world's industrialized nations should instead realize that helping the poor is not just a charitable whim to be indulged in prosperous times. Meaningful progress on deeper debt relief, on trade and on health is in everyone's interests, rich and poor alike.
Meanwhile, the prospect of a slowdown in worldwide economic growth is likely to raise tensions at a meeting of the world's economic leaders this week in Washington, BBC Online reports. But it is not the only issue that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank must contend with at their annual spring meeting nations, which starts Thursday.
A row has developed between Europe and the US over how to handle the economic slowdown, with US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill lobbing criticism at his European counterparts for their decision to stand pat on interest rates.
"Once conditions reach the degree of tension, which they clearly have, there is no substitute for a face-to-face exchange of views," says CSFB chief economist Giles Keating. "They they'll agree to stop blasting each other in public," Keating says. That will come on Saturday when the G7 finance ministers, including Mr O'Neill will meet informally on the sidelines of the IMF gathering. The tension stands in sharp contrast to the unity at the G7 meeting last September in Prague, when ministers endorsed moves by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to help prop up the euro.
The global slowdown is exacerbating the problems of developing countries, some of whom are in negotiations with the IMF for further aid. And it has increased pressure for further concessions to the world's poorest countries, where campaigners have been pressing for the IMF and World Bank to cancel their debts entirely. The IMF and World Bank, which have approved debt-relief programs for 22 highly-indebted countries at the end of last year, says that to increase debt relief further would jeopardize lending to other countries.
Last but certainly not least is the possibility of protests by anti-globalization forces, like those seen in Quebec City last weekend, when the three-day meeting of Western Hemisphere nations was marred by fiery protests with police responding with tear gas and over 400 arrests. Both the IMF meeting in Prague in September, and its spring meeting in Washington last April, faced mass protests from thousands of demonstrators objecting to the organization's role in managing the world economy.
While some demonstrations are expected in Washington, meeting officials do not expect them to resemble the riots seen in Quebec City or Seattle in 1999. Demonstrators have said they are saving their fire for the September meeting.
The World Bank says the subject of this year's meeting will be on how to reduce poverty among the poorest nations. When officials look back, however, resolving conflict may be the overriding theme.
Further, [NGOs] do not represent anyone, opines columnist Anne Applbaum in Slate Magazine. In particular, she says Global Trade Watch doesn't necessarily represent all the people in Latin America whose salaries would go up if a Free Trade Area of the Americas really were to be created. The more fundamental point is this: At least when we're talking about democracies, governments-until we come up with some better institution-are still the legitimate representatives of their peoples' interests abroad.
NGOs have many extremely important roles to play; negotiating international trade treaties isn't one of them. "We were elected, after all," spluttered Jean Chrétien, the Canadian prime minister, which sounded rather pitiful, but reflected the apparent balance of power in Quebec City. With thousands of marching protesters outside in the streets, and a handful of officials skulking inside the buildings, it might have been easy to forget who had a popular mandate-and who did not.
Also commenting columnist Donald Lambro writes in the Washington Times (p, A17) that the Western Hemisphere leaders who gathered in Quebec last week know what the problem is: poverty on a vast scale across most of Central and South America. And they know what the cure is: free markets, free trade and lower taxes. No matter how well-meaning they are, those who oppose these economic prescriptions are not part of the solution, says Lambro, they are part of the problem.
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