PSIA Seminar: Looking at an International Financial Institution Through a Political Economy Lens: How Development Banks Function and What Role – if any? – Political Economy Plays in their Mission, Mandate, and Operations

The international financial institutions that support economic development – global ones like the World Bank as well as regional banks like ADB, EIB, EDB/EFSD, EBRD, KfW – have missions like “reduce poverty” and “support economic growth” that are apolitical, but they exist in a world of nation-states where politics, or at least political economy, is central. Our discussion will use the example of one of these development banks – The World Bank – to explore the intersection of non-political economic development goals and global political dynamics. Question of interest may include: Who owns the world bank? How does the WB establish and apply factors and criteria to make decisions? How does politics play in the decision-making process? Does the recipient country’s performance matter and to what extent? Does the country’s institutional capacity make a difference?

Laura E. Bailey
Armenia Country Manager, World Bank

http://psia.aua.am/psia-seminars/