Publication: Too Global to Fail : The World Bank at the Intersection of National and Global Public Policy in 2025
Date
2015
ISSN
Published
2015
Author(s)
Evans, J. Warren
Davies, Robin
Abstract
This report is about global public goods
(GPGs), particularly those related to the environment, in
the context of the global development process. This concerns
the long-term sustainability of development, as the
distinction between developing and developed countries is
expected to continue for the foreseeable future. This report
contends that global sustainability depends (indeed,
consists of) the provision of certain GPGs, and that the
prevailing approach to development assistance does not
sufficiently recognize this fact. A key question is whether
the country-ownership model is even compatible with global
sustainability. A second key question is whether the
political will exists to make the provision of GPGs an
explicit and central objective of official development
assistance, especially in the face of objections from those
who believe aid should be solely concerned with the
eradication of poverty through national or community-level
interventions. A third key question concerns the
mobilization and use of resources for the World Bank's
work to support the provision of GPGs. The Bank is a major
player on many regional and global issues, but its work at
these levels is usually enabled by donor contributions, most
often in the form of grants, targeted for a particular
purpose. International development assistance needs to
undergo a major transition, such that it takes as an
explicit and principal objective the provision of GPGs
important for development. The World Bank can play a
leadership role in this transition, working within new kinds
of coalitions but not abandoning the fundamentals of its
operating model. Some of the most important GPGs are
provided through the separate and cumulative actions of
multiple countries, so the challenge for the Bank is to find
ways of investing strategically and sharing knowledge across
countries, while keeping faith with their national
development strategies, so as to achieve maximum global
impacts. The World Bank can also play a unique role in
stimulating the private provision of GPGs through
risk-sharing and market creation.
Citation
“Evans, J. Warren; Davies, Robin. 2015. Too Global to Fail : The World Bank at the Intersection of National and Global Public Policy in 2025. Directions in Development--Environment and Sustainable Development;. © Washington, DC: World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/20603 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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