The function of governments and intergovernmental organizations in the international resource transfer : the case of the World Bank

The "world social welfare" approach is rejected, and the political economy approach is adopted to analyze the international resource trasnfer of activity of the World Bank. Four types of behaviour implying distinct incentive structures are the theoretically derived and econometrically tested. Selfish behaviour of the top World Bank officials fares best. There is little possibility of influencing the behaviour of the World Bankers in the current politico-economic process. Changing the institutional structure by, e.g., increasing competition between lenders or by stronger monitoring by controlling offices is more effective, but necessary agreement among the sovereign international actors is difficult to achieve. (JEL)