scholarly journals The Shanghai Cooperation Organization: An Emerging Venue for China’s New Diplomacy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Enayatollah Yazdani
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Shanghai Cooperation Organization ◽  
Strategic Investment ◽  
Global Institutions ◽  
Global Power ◽  
To Come ◽  
Global Affairs ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

China’s increasing strategic investment and continued diplomatic outreach has indicated that it aims to play a larger leadership role in global affairs in the years to come. To project its global power, Beijing has not only tried to bolster its position in existing regional and global institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, but also launched its own initiatives, programs, and projects to reinforce and reform the current international order. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) stands out as the only grouping whose inception, expansion, and functioning best showcase China’s rise and ambitions in the region and the larger world. Indeed, the SCO is a key platform for Beijing’s efforts to play such a role; it is a multilateral mechanism that has long provided an effective means for achieving China’s regional and international goals and interests. Yet, internal tensions between member states may pose new challenges, which will be a major test of the SCO’s resilience and capacity in the years to come.

Migrant Remittances

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Waddell
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Migrant Remittances ◽  
To Come ◽  
Development Outcomes ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
Positive Effect

Untapped resources are hard to come by in the realm of international development. Migrant remittances, however, represent a relatively unexploited resource bank for developing countries. Still, researchers often debate the degree to which migrant remittances actually incite community development in practice. I rekindle the this theoretical discussion by comparing the development effects of household remittances with investments made through the remittance-channeling program 3×1 para migrantes in Guanajuato, Mexico. Regression analysis demonstrates that household remittances repress development outcomes across Guanajuato's 46 municipalities, while remittances invested through the 3×1 program have a positive effect on indicators of municipal wellbeing, including healthcare, education, and income. To my knowledge, this is the first attempt to systematically compare the development effects of household remittances with the development outcomes of remittances transferred through a government-supported program like 3×1 para migrantes. This research has meaningful implications for policy makers in migrant-sending regions around the world as well as agents of international development such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Angling for Influence: Institutional Proliferation in Development Banking

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Market Failures ◽  
Multilateral Development Banks ◽  
Institutional Control ◽  
Bretton Woods ◽  
Global Power ◽  
Identification Strategy

Abstract Why do states build new international organizations (IOs) in issue areas where many institutions already exist? Prevailing theories of institutional creation emphasize their ability to resolve market failures, but adding new IOs can increase uncertainty and rule inconsistency. I argue that institutional proliferation occurs when existing IOs fail to adapt to shifts in state power. Member states expect decision-making rules to reflect their underlying power; when it does not, they demand greater influence in the organization. Subsequent bargaining over the redistribution of IO influence often fails due to credibility and information problems. As a result, under-represented states construct new organizations that provide them with greater institutional control. To test this argument, I examine the proliferation of multilateral development banks since 1944. I leverage a novel identification strategy rooted in the allocation of World Bank votes at Bretton Woods to show that the probability of institutional proliferation is higher when power is misaligned in existing institutions. My results suggest that conflict over shifts in global power contribute to the fragmentation of global governance.

scholarly journals Adding Fuel to Fire: How IMF demands for austerity will drive up inequality worldwide

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nona Tamale
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Uneven Distribution ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Global Institutions ◽  
Briefing Paper ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
The Imf

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a huge blow to every country, and many governments have struggled to meet their populations’ urgent needs during the crisis. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stepped in to offer extra support to a large number of countries during the pandemic. However, Oxfam’s analysis shows that as of 15 March 2021, 85% of the 107 COVID-19 loans negotiated between the IMF and 85 governments indicate plans to undertake austerity once the health crisis abates. The findings in this briefing paper show that the IMF is systematically encouraging countries to adopt austerity measures once the pandemic subsides, risking a severe spike in already increased inequality levels. A variety of studies have revealed the uneven distribution of the burden of austerity, which is more likely to be shouldered by women, low-income households and vulnerable groups, while the wealth of the richest people increases. Oxfam joins global institutions and civil society in urging governments worldwide and the IMF to focus their energies instead on a people-centred, just and equal recovery that will fight inequality and not fuel it. Austerity will not ‘build back better’.

Repercussions of the economic reform policies on the urban poor in Egypt

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali El-Din Abd El-Badee Al-Qosbi
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Economic Reform ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
International Market ◽  
Urban Society ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
Consistent Problem

As a result of empirical data gathered through sociological surveys, the author argues persuasively that Egyptian economic reform policies – largely based on structural readjustment and rehabilitation programmes devised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank – have adversely affected the most seriously impoverished sectors of Egyptian urban society. The paper examines the correlation between theoretical suppositions of predicted adverse effect on this sector and actual repercussions as evidenced in such indicators as healthcare, sanitation, employment and access to education. While poverty has been a consistent problem and while these policies – which were undertaken in the context of increasing integration into the international market – cannot be blamed for its original occurrence, there is persuasive evidence that they have caused measurable harm, compounded existing inequities and increased the marginalization of Egypt's urban poor who appear to have been among the most adversely affected in the population as a result of the various initiatives.

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