THE

INTERNATIONAL
MONETARY FUND
AND THE WORLD
BANK
◦ The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Bank are institutions in the United Nations system.
They share the same goal of raising living standards in
their member countries. Their approaches to this goal
are complementary, with the IMF focusing on
macroeconomic and financial stability issues and the
World Bank concentrating on long-term economic
development and poverty reduction.
◦ The IMF was established in 1944 in the aftermath of
the Great Depression of the 1930s. 44 founding
member countries sought to build a framework for
international economic cooperation. Today, its
membership embraces 190 countries, with staff drawn
from 150 nations.
◦Each member of the IMF is assigned a quota,
based broadly on its relative position in the
world economy. Countries can then borrow
from this pool when they fall into financial
difficulty.
◦ The IMF’s mandate. The IMF promotes monetary
cooperation and provides policy advice and capacity
development support to preserve global
macroeconomic and financial stability and help
countries build and maintain strong economies. The
IMF also provides short- and medium-term loans.
◦ The World Bank is an international development
organization owned by 187 countries. Its role is to
reduce poverty by lending money to the governments
of its poorer members to improve their economies and
to improve the standard of living of their people.
 How the World Bank was established

The World Bank was established in 1944 to help rebuild

Europe and Japan after World War II. Its official name
was the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD). When it first began operations in
1946, it had 38 members. Today, most of the countries
in the world are members.
◦ The World Bank’s mandate. The World Bank
promotes long-term economic development and
poverty reduction by providing technical and
financial support to help countries reform certain
sectors or implement specific projects—such as
building schools and health centers, providing water
and electricity, fighting disease, and protecting the
environment.