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Norwegian
Delegation,
Bretton Woods,
July 1944
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Conceived during World War II at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, the
World Bank initially helped rebuild Europe after the war. Its first loan
of $250 million was to France in 1947 for post-war reconstruction.
Reconstruction has remained an important focus of the Banks work, given
the natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies, and post conflict
rehabilitation needs that affect developing and transition economies.
Today's Bank, however, has sharpened its
focus on poverty reduction as the overarching goal of all its work. It
once had a homogeneous staff of engineers and financial analysts, based
solely in Washington, D.C. Today, it has a multidisciplinary and diverse
staff including economists, public policy experts, sectoral experts, and
social scientists. 40 percent of staff are now based in country offices.
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US
Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morganthau, Bretton Woods, July 1944
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The Bank itself is bigger, broader, and far
more complex. It has become a Group, encompassing five closely associated
development institutions: the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association
(IDA), the International Finance
Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral
Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement
of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Transition
During the 1980s, the Bank was pushed in many directions: early in the
decade, the Bank was brought face to face with macroeconomic and debt
rescheduling issues; later in the decade, social and environmental issues
assumed center stage, and an increasingly vocal civil society accused the
Bank of not observing its own policies in some highprofile projects.
To address concerns about the quality of Bank
operations, the Wapenhans Report was released and soon after, steps
toward reform were taken, including the creation of an Inspection Panel
to investigate claims against the Bank. However, criticism increased,
reaching a peak in 1994 at the Annual Meetings in Madrid.
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Mother and
daughter, China, 1993
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Reform and Renewal
Since then, the Bank Group has made much progress. All five institutions
have been working - separately and in collaboration - to improve internal
efficiency and external effectiveness. Clients report to be broadly
pleased with the changes they see in Bank Group service levels,
commitment, deliveries, and quality.
More than ever before, the Bank is playing an
important role in the global policy arena. It has effectively engaged
with partners and clients in complex emergencies from post-conflict work
in Bosnia to post-crisis assistance in East Asia to post-hurricane clean
up in central America to post-earthquake support in Turkey and in Kosovo
and East Timor.
Notwithstanding these considerable progress,
the Bank Group's agenda is not yet complete, nor can it ever be, while
the challenges of development continue to grow.
For a timeline of key events in Bank history,
see the World
Bank Group Historical Chronology.
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