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Protecting Power: How Western States Retain The Dominant Voice in The World Bank’s Governance

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  • Vestergaard, Jakob
  • Wade, Robert H.

Abstract

The global economic crisis raised the urgency of reforming the Bretton Woods organizations in order to get more “buy in” from developing countries. But the “voice” reforms announced in 2010, heralded as a major shift in favor of developing countries, left them severely under-represented relative to their weight in the world economy, both collectively and many individually. This paper reveals how the World Bank and representatives of western states manipulated the process to make voting power changes appear substantial. The paper then discusses alternative voting power systems for the Bank, in light of the generally accepted need to enhance the legitimacy of the organization.

Suggested Citation

  • Vestergaard, Jakob & Wade, Robert H., 2013. "Protecting Power: How Western States Retain The Dominant Voice in The World Bank’s Governance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 153-164.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:46:y:2013:i:c:p:153-164
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.01.031
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert H. Wade, 2011. "Emerging World Order? From Multipolarity to Multilateralism in the G20, the World Bank, and the IMF," Politics & Society, , vol. 39(3), pages 347-378, September.
    2. Phillips,David A., 2009. "Reforming the World Bank," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521883054.
    3. Wade, Robert H., 2011. "Emerging world order? From multipolarity to multilateralism in the G20, the World Bank, and the IMF," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 38603, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Woods, Ngaire, 2000. "The Challenge of Good Governance for the IMF and the World Bank Themselves," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 823-841, May.
    5. David WOODWARD, 2007. "IMF Voting Reform: Need, Opportunity and Options," G-24 Discussion Papers 49, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    6. Jakob Vestergaard & Robert H. Wade, 2012. "Establishing a new Global Economic Council: governance reform at the G20, the IMF and the World Bank," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 3(3), pages 257-269, September.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew F. Cooper, 2017. "The BRICS’ New Development Bank: Shifting from Material Leverage to Innovative Capacity," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 8(3), pages 275-284, September.
    2. David P. Rapkin & Jonathan R. Strand & Michael W. Trevathan, 2016. "Representation and Governance in International Organizations," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(3), pages 77-89.
    3. Wade, Robert H. & Vestergaard, Jakob, 2015. "Why is the IMF at an impasse, and what can be done about it?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 64106, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Mustafa TÜTER, 2019. "China's Strategies Towards Institutional Reform: Creation of the AIIB and Its Development Success," Journal of Research in Economics, Politics & Finance, Ersan ERSOY, vol. 4(2), pages 151-171.
    5. Kreuder-Sonnen, Christian & Zangl, Bernhard, 2016. "Varieties of contested multilateralism: positive and negative consequences for the constitutionalisation of multilateral institutions," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 5(3), pages 327-343.
    6. Yanguas, Pablo & Hulme, David, 2015. "Barriers to Political Analysis in Aid Bureaucracies: From Principle to Practice in DFID and the World Bank," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 209-219.
    7. Hang Luo & Lize Yang, 2021. "Equality and Equity in Emerging Multilateral Financial Institutions: The Case of the BRICS Institutions," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(4), pages 482-508, September.
    8. Hang Luo & Lize Yang & Kourosh Houshmand, 2021. "Power Structure Dynamics in Growing Multilateral Development Banks: The Case of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(1), pages 24-39, February.
    9. Mehmet Hecan, 2016. "Dynamics of Institutional Proliferation in Financing for Development: The birth of the AIIB," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 59(1), pages 158-166, June.
    10. Strand, Jonathan R. & Zappile, Tina M., 2015. "Always Vote for Principle, Though You May Vote Alone: Explaining United States Political Support for Multilateral Development Loans," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 224-239.
    11. Jonathan R. Strand & Kenneth J. Retzl, 2016. "Did Recent Voice Reforms Improve Good Governance within the World Bank?," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(3), pages 415-445, May.

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