Losing the global development war; a contemporary critique of the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO

Reference & Research Book News, August, 2008

Losing the global development war; a contemporary critique of the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO.

Head, John W.

BRILL

2008

344 pages

$65.00

Paperback

HG1975

Writing for a general readership, Head (international and comparative law, U. of Kansas) offers a critical account of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization. He assesses, from a legal perspective, complaints about these organizations connected to such issues as bad policy advice, poor project selection and implementation, environmental and human rights shortcomings, distributional unfairness, lack of transparency, weaknesses in staffing and management, asymmetry in obligations, and the democracy deficit. He finds some to be well founded, but not to the extent of more vociferous critics, and provides recommendations for reform in terms of transparency, participation, legality, competent, and accountability. He also calls for greater support for multilateralism, particularly on the part of the United States.

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