The World Bank : Structural Or Sovereignty Adjustment Program

The World Bank advances loans to member countries primarily to help them lay down the foundation of sound economic growth. The loans made by the Bank either directly or through guarantees are intended for certain specific projects of reconstruction and development in the member countries.

This paper considers two issues: firstly, human rights in the developing world and secondly Canada’s responsibility of humanitarian assistance. Both issues are of grave importance and are mutually exclusive - as nations lacking strong human rights standards are more likely to require the greatest humanitarian assistance. Additionally, the need for humanitarian assistance will increase as global crises become more frequent, due to climate change insecurity (Adger, Huq, Brown, Conway & Hulme, 2003). The example of climate change will be utilised throughout this paper to explore the disparaging links between climate justice and human rights. In defining humanitarian assistance this paper will take Jamieson’s (2004) definition that humanitarian assistance is a response to crises via support in the short term to overcome disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. Whereas, development assistance considers the longer term issues in developing countries. By defining the two main types of assistance this paper will propose that greater investment into development aid may reduce the need for humanitarian aid as nations become more capable to support themselves. The body of this paper will consider key arguments concerning humanitarian assistance and human rights, including: Canadas humanitarian response in the developing world, the increasing need for global crisis response, human rights as a global responsibility and lastly the move from humanitarian to development assistance. In

~ Today the bank functions as an international organization that attempts to fight poverty by offering developmental assistance to middle and poor-income countries. By giving loans, and offering advice and training in both the private and public sectors, the World Bank aims to eliminate poverty by helping people

In the case of the proposal to fund Brazil with dams, irrigation, power, roads, and funds to develop crops the World Bank has those funds. As a representative of the World Bank, this proposal is currently not very wise and the impact it will have on the people of Brazil will not be a positive one, and that it will not yield a great return to the World Bank unless some adjustments to the proposal are made.

The World Bank was established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, DC, the World Bank was created from a single institution to a development of five institutions. It is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. It was created as a facilitator of post-war reconstruction and development and prevention of worldwide poverty. It has more than 10,000 employees located throughout 120 offices worldwide.

International development and underdevelopment are major issues in global society today. John Perkins’ book The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is a very critical account on the activities of private corporations such as MAIN and international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and how many actions are based on self-interest, corruption and greed. The book does an exceptional job at giving us an insider’s perspective on why debt induced developing nations are in a constant state of underdevelopment from the corrupt actions of Economic Hit Men and their colleagues Jackals who deal with the dirty side of the business and political economics. Global economics and debt have

The World Bank, created in 1944, was made to provide assistance to poverty-stricken or financially unstable countries around the world. Although it originated as an amazing idea, today the World Bank sometimes causes more harm than benefit in the countries that it intends to assist ("International Monetary Fund and World Bank," n.d.). One example of this is the Chixoy Power Project the World Bank funded in Guatemala. In 1978, the project was started " with the intent of “bringing development” to Guatemala" (Russell, 2015). However, this project leads to one of the most horrific genocides in Guatemalan history.

This never-ending cycle of debt is the reality for most, if not all of Third World countries. In the 1970’s, Western banks loaned out huge sums of money to Third World nations with the intention of one day making profit. And they succeeded.

The world bank has the authority and ability to lend to countries, if these countries want to borrow. Borrowing from the bank is an important way for low and middle income countries to strengthen their economy as well as their overall standard of living.

The World Bank and the IMF are among the two most corrupted financial institutions to exist today. They're also two of the wealthiest institutions in the world. While they were created after WWII supposedly to help countries recover in during harsh conditions or during economic troubles, they have seemingly done the opposite. They manipulate poor countries by giving loans out to countries that are in such harsh conditions that they must accept the loans. Once they do accept the loans, it becomes a never ending maze of debt. Examples of this corrupt dealing exists still today in countries within Africa. The institutions charge huge amounts of interest and place special conditions on the loans that are accepted which creates a great amount debt. Quickly,

In an effort to bring an end to world poverty the World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund) were established in 1944. Consisting of members from 44 nations “The Bank and the IMF are twin intergovernmental pillars supporting the structure of the world's economic and financial order”(Driscoll, 1996). In other words they are international economic organizations that grant loans to third world countries for development programs.

Before this, its chief goals were to liberalize trade and promote industrialization in countries. Prior to this project, the World Bank had been doing so without considertion to the environment, but would be forced to change after it. The World Bank could then be seen as an evolving mechanism to bring about global change. While at the time of the Polonoreste program, the World Bank was completely blindsided by the social and environmental consequences of investing in such a project, afterwards it gained new perspectives and perhaps learned from

Angry protesting, political upset, governments falling, privatization failing, and money lost are a few outcomes that influence the public opinion on the World Bank, and its involvement in many underdeveloped countries. While the World Bank claims that reducing poverty across the globe is its foremost priority, many opponents believe that it is responsible for increasing poverty. The World Bank is a multifaceted organization that loans money to government around the world for development.

The World Bank is known to fund many infrastructure projects in developing countries, presumably as a means to achieve their goals of increasing development in those countries. Hydroelectric dams are some of the much-maligned infrastructure projects funded by the World Bank. In a report authored by employees of the World Bank itself, the authors themselves highlight the “adverse environmental and related social impacts” of large dams, while attempting to draw a distinction between “relatively good dams and bad dams”. (Ledec & Quintero, 2003)

Review: Rodrik, Dani (2006). Goodbye Washington Consensus, Hello Washington Confusion? A Review of the World Bank’s Economic Growth in the 1990s: Learning from a Decade of Reform. Journal of Economic Literature