The World Bank is on the cusp of a major transformation.
Led by the United States, Group of 20 governments have pushed it to increase support for the fight against climate change. Following recommendations by a G20-created independent panel on how to update the bank’s financial policies to respond faster to global crises, shareholders have given it until Christmas to produce a roadmap for operational reform.
The World Bank is in dire need of a shakeup. It must leverage its considerable financial firepower more efficiently to mobilize private investors and redirect its own resources toward achieving sustainable development and other global priorities. But the reforms will be effective only if the bank’s shareholders address the reasons why low- and middle-income countries are reluctant to work with it.