Policy Movement and Technical Assistance

Gender and the Multilateral Development Banks: From WID to GAD to Retroliberal WID

“…While not the only actors in international development, they are influential. Owned by member countries that serve as shareholders and governance board representatives, the MDBs provide loans, shape policy and popularize norms (Babb, 2009; Bazbauers, 2018; Wihtol, 2014). This article analyses the World Bank, which is comprised of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA) and five regional development banks (for details, see Table 1).…”

“…With private capital often reluctant to invest in non-traditional sectors and many countries unable to secure project financing due to poor credit ratings, the MDBs fill-the-gaps where private capital is unwilling to incur risk and catalyse public and private investment through co-financing arrangements. Yet the MDBs themselves are risk-averse financiers, favouring projects capable of timely repayment (Humphrey, 2017), while also shaping how development is conceptualized and practiced (see Bazbauers, 2018; Goldman, 2001; Park, 2006). This means that what they are willing to finance signals to other actors the feasibility of investments; they are market-makers.…”