Development without miracles: The World Bank after forty years

Forty years after the signing of the final act of the Bretton Woods Conference on 22nd July 1944, which embodied the agreement on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank now comprises three organisations: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). In simplified terms, these three institutions jointly aim to help raise the standard of living in developing countries by mobilising finance in developed countries, channelling it to less developed countries and using it there as efficiently as possible in accordance with the stated objective. Given the difficulties involved, the virtually undisputed role played by the World Bank group in international development policy comes as a surprise.