Forum Five crucial tasks for new World Bank president Laura Wallace Editor-in-Chief can readily access private capital markets. But the Sheila Meehan group’s report says the fall in lending to these coun- Managing Editor tries could pose a number of risks to the Bank, Christine Ebrahim-zadeh including reduced income from lending operations Production Manager and increased costs of borrowing because of height- Camilla Andersen ened portfolio risk. It recommends that the Bank Jacqueline Irving Conny Lotze make it easier for middle-income countries to bor- Assistant Editors row by creating loan facilities that could be accessed Maureen Burke ency Ag more quickly. Lijun Li Kelley McCollum The report suggests greater differentiation in Editorial Assistants Pressphoto dealings with low-income countries. Well-run Julio Prego European countries should get large amounts of financing, Graphic Artist On his first trip to Africa as World Bank chief, Paul Wolfowitz met _______ in Nigeria with (center) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Minister of Finance) with commitments for five years or more. Graham Hacche and Oby Ezekwesili (Special Assistant to the President). Countries with annual per capita incomes under Senior Advisor a certain threshold (possibly $500) should get help Prakash Loungani Associate Editor ncoming World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz mostly through grants. In poorly governed coun- faces five crucial tasks if he is to successfully tries, the Bank should remain engaged by providing The IMF Survey (ISSN 0047- reshape the development institution to address carefully targeted technical assistance but should 083X) is published in English, I French, and Spanish by the IMF the problems of the 21st century, according to a not generally provide financing to the government. 22 times a year, plus IMF in Focus. Opinions and materials June 1 report by the Washington-based Center for The report also calls for a new trust fund to sup- in the IMF Survey do not neces- Global Development. These include (1) revitalizing port the Bank’s work in promoting global public sarily reflect official views of the IMF. Any maps used are for the the World Bank’s role in China, India, and the goods, particularly in agriculture, health, and the convenience of readers, based middle-income countries; (2) bringing new disci- environment. It recommends giving borrowing on National Geographic’s Atlas of the World, Sixth Edition; the pline and greater differentiation to low-income countries a greater say on the Bank’s executive denominations used and the country operations by providing more financing board. And it calls for an external, independent boundaries shown do not imply any judgment by the IMF on the to better-governed countries and suspending aid evaluation mechanism. legal status of any territory or financing to countries where progress has stalled; Wolfowitz appears to agree with at least some any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Text from the (3) obtaining an explicit mandate, adequate grant of the advice. He has promised to make the Bank IMF Survey may be reprinted, instruments, and a special governance arrangement more attractive to fast-growing economies like with due credit given, but photo- graphs and illustrations cannot for the Bank’s work on global public goods; (4) tak- India and China, where many people remain poor be reproduced in any form. Address editorial correspondence ing leadership to ensure truly independent evalua- despite booming economic growth, and has singled to Current Publications Division, tion of selected Bank and other aid-supported out corruption as a major problem in development. Room 7-106, IMF, Washington, DC 20431 U.S.A. Tel.: (202) 623- programs; and (5) pushing member governments Identifying Africa as his top priority, he has also sig- 8585; or e-mail any comments to to make the Bank’s governance more representative naled that he would put renewed emphasis on [email protected]. and thus more legitimate. developing infrastructure in poor countries. To request an IMF Survey The report,“The Hardest Job in the World,” was “Development is about a lot more than pouring subscription ($109.00 annually prepared by a group of 20 well-known develop- concrete,” he has acknowledged,“but on the other for private firms and individuals) or IMF publications, please ment experts headed by Nancy Birdsall and Devesh hand, it’s pretty hard to have development without contact IMF Publication Services, Box X2005, IMF, Washington, DC Kapur. It underlines that borrowing from the Bank roads and electricity and fundamental infrastruc- 20431 U.S.A. by middle-income countries, as well as China and ture, so it’s got to be part of the picture.” Tel.: (202) 623-7430; Jeremy Clift fax: (202) 623- 7201; India, has dropped dramatically, and it pins the e-mail: [email protected]. blame on the high “hassle costs” of obtaining IMF External Relations Department The IMF Survey is mailed first class in Canada, Mexico, and the financing through the World Bank. The Meltzer United States, and by airspeed Commission, in a report to the U.S. Congress in The Hardest Job in the World: Five Crucial Tasks for elsewhere. the New President of the World Bank is available at 2000, recommended that the Bank stop lending to www.cgdev.org/docs/HardestJobintheWorld.pdf. emerging market and middle-income countries that 184 IMF SURVEY ©International Monetary Fund. Not for Redistribution.