The MDBs in a Changed World – Podcast with Nancy Birdsall and Scott Morris

The multilateral development banking (MDB) system is regarded as having been remarkably successful—but is the model still fit for purpose? How can MDBs remain relevant in a changed world and tackle this century’s greatest challenges, including climate change, pandemic response, humanitarian crises, and more? 

These questions are at the heart of a major new CGD report called Multilateral Development Banking for This Century's Development Challenges, the product of a High Level Panel chaired by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Lawrence Summers, and Andrés Velasco. 

In a previous CGD Podcast, Summers explained how the recommendations in the report can help the MDBs come together to address transnational problems. For this week, I sat down with the co-directors of the High Level Panel, CGD president Nancy Birdsall and senior fellow Scott Morris, to delve further into what those recommendations are and how they can make MDBs more effective. 

Watch the clip below to learn why MDBs are so important to borrowing countries, and listen to the full podcast at the top of this page.