The Second Trump Administration and Development: The First 100 Days

Secretary Bessent's speech was a relief to this fearing US withdrawal from the IMF and World Bank, but it’s also clear that this speech represents a departure from the past in key ways.

Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent affirmed the Trump administration’s ongoing commitment to the IMF and World Bank, but called out mission creep at the institutions and laid out an ultimatum. What does this mean for the IMF?

More than 20 years ago, the Bush administration very deliberately confronted fundamental questions about how to spend aid dollars most effectively to reduce poverty. The overarching aim was to concentrate aid in countries that needed it most and could best use it, and to fund investments with the g...

On April 22nd, MCC staff were told the agency would be effectively shuttered, with most work immediately suspended. The agency’s model means its spending is concentrated in a few countries. For a subset of those countries, the impact will be considerable.