The Future of the World Bank

CGD has an active program of research and analysis of the World Bank, the world’s largest development institution and a leading source of funds, ideas and expertise for development. Recent outputs include "The Hardest Job in the World: Five Crucial Tasks for the New President of the World Bank." The report was prepared by a 20-person CGD working group drawn from the private sector, academia, and civil society in rich countries and the developing world, including former ministers of finance and foreign affairs, former U.S. Treasury officials, and former vice presidents of the World Bank. CGD released the group's recommendations on June 1, 2005, the day that Paul Wolfowitz, previously U.S. deputy defense secretary, became president of the World Bank.

The group was co-chaired by CGD President Nancy Birdsall and Non-Resident Fellow Devesh Kapur, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin and co-editor of a two-volume history of the Bank.

One of the most controversial issues concerning the Bank's operations is under what circumstances it should disburse grants instead of loans. The working group's recommendation that grants go to the poorest countries rather than to the most indebted is elaborated in a note by CGD Senior Fellow Steve Radelet, "Grants for the Poorest: How the World Bank Should Distribute Its Funds."