The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are being challenged to make substantial reforms so that they become fit for purpose in the 21st century.
Some suggest that they cannot be sufficiently reformed and should be shut down. Others, including myself, contend the world needs effective international financial institutions. If they did not exist, we would have to create them. Consequently, we must try to make them more credible, legitimate, inclusive, responsible and effective. The challenge is doing so within the constraints of their founding treaties.
This article is based on my book The Law of International Financial Institutions. It provides some background on these institutions and discusses the problems they are confronting and their potential for reform.
