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This page in: English
 * Français
 * Español
 * العربية
 * Русский
 * 中文
 *  * Português




EXPLORE HISTORY


 * Overview
 * Exhibits
 * Past Presidents
 * Past Presidents' Speeches
 * Timeline
 * Development Reflections

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Overview
 * Overview
 * Exhibits
 * Past Presidents
 * Past Presidents' Speeches
 * Timeline
 * Development Reflections


JULY 1944 BRETTON WOODS CONFERENCE

In July 1944 – one year before the end of World War II – delegates from 44
countries met for the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference held at
the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The conference aimed
to create the framework for post-war international economic cooperation and
reconstruction. The intellectual leaders at the conference were John Maynard
Keynes (Adviser to the Treasury in the United Kingdom), and Harry Dexter White
(Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the United States).

While the conference resulted in the formation of two institutions, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (World Bank), the creation of the World Bank was not the primary
focus. The majority of time and effort was spent on the IMF Commission under
Harry Dexter White’s leadership. The work of the World Bank Commission, on the
other hand, occurred only in the last few days of the conference. Its articles
of agreement - primarily drafted by John Maynard Keynes – included rebuilding
the economies of countries devastated by war and increasing the economic
development of developing countries.


1946 - 1967 THE WORLD BANK AS BUILDER AND ENGINEER

The Bank’s first loan was to France and loans to other European countries
followed. But when the 1947 Marshall Plan took over post-war reconstruction
efforts in Europe, the Bank quickly shifted to funding infrastructure projects
around the world in sectors such as power, irrigation, and transportation. The
first loan to a non-European country was to Chile in 1948 for $13.5M USD for
hydroelectric power generation. The Bank also initiated a technical assistance
program and in 1955 established the Economic Development Institute to provide
training to officials from member countries.

During the early years, the Bank evolved to meet the needs of its members. In
1956, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was established to focus
exclusively on the private sector, and in 1960 the International Development
Association (IDA) was created to provide resources for less creditworthy
members. The IFC’s first loan was to Brazil, in the amount of $2M USD, for the
manufacture of electrical equipment. The Bank also mediated three international
disputes that had an economic element: the nationalization of Iran’s oil
industry; the development of the Indus River Water system; and the financing for
the Aswan High Dam on the Nile.


1968 - 1981 THE WORLD BANK CONFRONTS POVERTY

By the 1970s, over 40% of people in developing countries lived in absolute
poverty. In response, the World Bank’s projects aimed to help the poor directly.
World Bank President Robert McNamara coined the term “absolute poverty” in his
1973 Annual Meeting speech, and was the first to communicate the World Bank’s
twin goals: “…to accelerate economic growth and to reduce poverty.” (World
Development Report, 1978). These concepts transformed the Bank into the
institution focused on development that we know today.

Lending to member countries increased twelve-fold between 1968 and 1981, and
expanded into new sectors: environment, rural development, water, sanitation,
education, and others. The global effort to eradicate river blindness is one
example of how the Bank worked to improve the lives of the poor, which was
different from the large infrastructure projects that were done in the Bank’s
first 20 years. The first loan for the environment was in 1971 for pollution
control in Brazil, and the Bank subsequently built environmental safeguards into
its process. During the 1970s economists were the primary advisers in the Bank,
but staff with different skills in anthropology, sociology, environmental
science and other sectors were hired to provide even more expertise to clients.


1982 - 1994 ECONOMIES IN TRANSITION AND STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT

The 1980s and 90s brought additional challenges related to oil shocks, debt
crises and environmentalism, and the Bank reacted by bringing new skills and
safeguards into its work, as well as structural adjustment. Structural
adjustment loans came with policy conditions, such as fiscal discipline, tax
reform and liberalization of foreign direct investment; but while they were
intended to improve the policy and institutional environment in which the loans
were made, their overall effectiveness was debated internally and in the client
community.

In the 1990s, the Bank assisted former Soviet nations to redirect their
economies after the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and
many of these newly sovereign nations became World Bank members. In 1991, the
Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established to further the focus on
safeguarding the environment, and in 1996 the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
debt initiative was approved to enable poor countries to focus on sustainable
development and reducing poverty. The World Bank added another institution to
the group when the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) was formed in
1988 to provide political risk insurance and credit enhancement to investors and
lenders.


1995 - NOW SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS

During the late 1990s, the World Bank moved back into the areas of conflict
prevention, post-conflict reconstruction, and assistance for countries to
redirect their economies after major political change. This period also brought
concern about the impact of government corruption on the effectiveness of
lending operations, which led the World Bank to adopt an anti-corruption
strategy under President James Wolfensohn. Wolfensohn gave a ground-breaking
speech on the “cancer of corruption” at the 1996 annual meetings, and under his
leadership the focus on country accountability and ownership of development work
became central with the Comprehensive Development Framework.

The mid-2000s ushered in the idea of the World Bank as a knowledge institution,
and by 2010, the Open Agenda guided the Bank to a more transparent approach to
development. In collaboration with the United Nations’ Millennium Development
Goals in 2000, and subsequently the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, the
World Bank moved into the new century emphasizing community-driven development
and aid coordination, working to safeguard vulnerable groups, and mitigating the
impact of climate change.

JULY 1944


BRETTON WOODS CONFERENCE

In July 1944 – one year before the end of World War II – delegates from 44
countries met for the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference held at
the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The conference aimed
to create the framework for post-war international economic cooperation and
reconstruction. The intellectual leaders at the conference were John Maynard
Keynes (Adviser to the Treasury in the United Kingdom), and Harry Dexter White
(Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the United States).

While the conference resulted in the formation of two institutions, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (World Bank), the creation of the World Bank was not the primary
focus. The majority of time and effort was spent on the IMF Commission under
Harry Dexter White’s leadership. The work of the World Bank Commission, on the
other hand, occurred only in the last few days of the conference. Its articles
of agreement - primarily drafted by John Maynard Keynes – included rebuilding
the economies of countries devastated by war and increasing the economic
development of developing countries.


1946 - 1967


THE WORLD BANK AS BUILDER AND ENGINEER

The Bank’s first loan was to France and loans to other European countries
followed. But when the 1947 Marshall Plan took over post-war reconstruction
efforts in Europe, the Bank quickly shifted to funding infrastructure projects
around the world in sectors such as power, irrigation, and transportation. The
first loan to a non-European country was to Chile in 1948 for $13.5M USD for
hydroelectric power generation. The Bank also initiated a technical assistance
program and in 1955 established the Economic Development Institute to provide
training to officials from member countries.

During the early years, the Bank evolved to meet the needs of its members. In
1956, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was established to focus
exclusively on the private sector, and in 1960 the International Development
Association (IDA) was created to provide resources for less creditworthy
members. The IFC’s first loan was to Brazil, in the amount of $2M USD, for the
manufacture of electrical equipment. The Bank also mediated three international
disputes that had an economic element: the nationalization of Iran’s oil
industry; the development of the Indus River Water system; and the financing for
the Aswan High Dam on the Nile.


1968 - 1981


THE WORLD BANK CONFRONTS POVERTY

By the 1970s, over 40% of people in developing countries lived in absolute
poverty. In response, the World Bank’s projects aimed to help the poor directly.
World Bank President Robert McNamara coined the term “absolute poverty” in his
1973 Annual Meeting speech, and was the first to communicate the World Bank’s
twin goals: “…to accelerate economic growth and to reduce poverty.” (World
Development Report, 1978). These concepts transformed the Bank into the
institution focused on development that we know today.

Lending to member countries increased twelve-fold between 1968 and 1981, and
expanded into new sectors: environment, rural development, water, sanitation,
education, and others. The global effort to eradicate river blindness is one
example of how the Bank worked to improve the lives of the poor, which was
different from the large infrastructure projects that were done in the Bank’s
first 20 years. The first loan for the environment was in 1971 for pollution
control in Brazil, and the Bank subsequently built environmental safeguards into
its process. During the 1970s economists were the primary advisers in the Bank,
but staff with different skills in anthropology, sociology, environmental
science and other sectors were hired to provide even more expertise to clients.


1982 - 1994


ECONOMIES IN TRANSITION AND STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT

The 1980s and 90s brought additional challenges related to oil shocks, debt
crises and environmentalism, and the Bank reacted by bringing new skills and
safeguards into its work, as well as structural adjustment. Structural
adjustment loans came with policy conditions, such as fiscal discipline, tax
reform and liberalization of foreign direct investment; but while they were
intended to improve the policy and institutional environment in which the loans
were made, their overall effectiveness was debated internally and in the client
community.

In the 1990s, the Bank assisted former Soviet nations to redirect their
economies after the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and
many of these newly sovereign nations became World Bank members. In 1991, the
Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established to further the focus on
safeguarding the environment, and in 1996 the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
debt initiative was approved to enable poor countries to focus on sustainable
development and reducing poverty. The World Bank added another institution to
the group when the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) was formed in
1988 to provide political risk insurance and credit enhancement to investors and
lenders.


1995 - NOW


SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS

During the late 1990s, the World Bank moved back into the areas of conflict
prevention, post-conflict reconstruction, and assistance for countries to
redirect their economies after major political change. This period also brought
concern about the impact of government corruption on the effectiveness of
lending operations, which led the World Bank to adopt an anti-corruption
strategy under President James Wolfensohn. Wolfensohn gave a ground-breaking
speech on the “cancer of corruption” at the 1996 annual meetings, and under his
leadership the focus on country accountability and ownership of development work
became central with the Comprehensive Development Framework.

The mid-2000s ushered in the idea of the World Bank as a knowledge institution,
and by 2010, the Open Agenda guided the Bank to a more transparent approach to
development. In collaboration with the United Nations’ Millennium Development
Goals in 2000, and subsequently the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, the
World Bank moved into the new century emphasizing community-driven development
and aid coordination, working to safeguard vulnerable groups, and mitigating the
impact of climate change.




EXPLORE HISTORY

 * Exhibits
 * Past Presidents
 * Past Presidents’ Speeches
 * Historical Timeline
 * Country Historical Profiles

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