Mission

Over the last couple of months the World Bank has been under turmoil concerning the actions of now former president, Paul Wolfowitz. Full documentation of the events is available on their website, www.worldbank.org. The documents explain that Wolfowitz engaged in making salary arrangements in the Bank and outside the Bank for his companion, Shaha Ali Riza. Wolfowitz and the Bush Administration claimed that the accusations were more about his involvement with the Iraq war and his habitual inattention to consensus building. The irony of the favoritism accusation was the self proclaimed mission of the former president to combat corruption. The reality of the situation is that the ousting of Wolfowitz was likely a combination of his inability to be an effective leader and the incident of favoritism.

Currently the Bush administration has named Robert B. Zoellick as their candidate for the position. Zoellick has worked in top economic policy posts under three Republican presidents beginning with Ronald Regan. The top position at the Bank has always been an American, but this is by tradition, not the bylaws of the organization. European leaders threatened to disrupt this tradition if Wolfowitz did not step down. Zoellick has been described as one of the few in the inner circle of the Bush administration that will be acceptable to European leaders (NY Times, May 29, 2007).

The rift caused by Wolfowitz and the impending appointment of Zoellick highlight a larger tension at the World Bank. As a general rule the organization operates on the idea that economic development will decrease poverty in developing countries. As a result, the Bank pushes policies that favor privatization of utilities, construction, and education. The reality of the situation is that economic growth does not necessarily reduce poverty. Higher education is a small portion of Bank lending and is currently a GHERC research project. This summer an impact analysis is being conducted on Bank loans for higher education in Uganda and Thailand. Reactions to a new president (to be announced on June 30, 2007) are yet to be seen. Undoubtedly this position is an influential aspect of the ability of developing countries to participate in the knowledge economy, in which universities are key players.