World Bank questions its own impact on poverty

8 December 2006

A new report by the Bank's Independent Evaluation Group argues that Bank programs have failed to achieve sustained increases in per capita income.

The report also notes that development programs cannot focus solely on growth; the distribution of wealth within countries and communities is also critical.

Read the report

• Annual Review of Development Effectiveness 2006: Getting Results, Independent Evaluation Group, World Bank (World Bank website)

Press

• The Persistently Poor: An Internal Report Criticizes World Bank's Efforts on Poverty, by Peter S. Goodman, the Washington Post, December 8, 2006 (Washington Post website)
• World Bank Study Faults Its Work in Rural Africa, by Celia W. Dugger, the New York Times, December 8, 2006 (New York Times website)