The Future of the World Bank: A CGD Symposium
September 23, 2005
Closing Remarks by Nancy Birdsall, President, Center for Global Development
[TRANSCRIPT PREPARED FROM A TAPE RECORDING.]
MS. BIRDSALL: Well, closing remarks for the stalwarts here. I feel that Michael's
comments, in particular, were so important, that I'm a little disappointed there aren't
questions, but I'm sure everybody's tired and hungry and I apologize to Michael that we
got behind, and that you were at the end.
Because what I want to say in the form of closing remarks goes back to a
comment of, I think it was Pierre Jacquet, "We live in a murky and chaotic world," and in
this murky and chaotic world, managing globalization I think is emerging in the 21st
Century as a huge challenge, and as we look at the challenge of managing globalization, I
want us to think of institutions like The World Bank as precious. I used that word in my
opening remarks.
We don't have a sufficient number of global fora where there is a club-like
environment, or at least the potential for a club-like environment, where nations come
together to interact with each other on a common enterprise, and this goes back to a
limited extent, to a point Adam Lerrick made with which I don't agree, and that is that we
should think of the Bank as a development agency.
We have many development agencies. In fact we have so many, that from time to
time throughout the morning, we heard about the chaos and confusion for recipient
governments associated with the proliferation of donor agencies and funding projects,
missions, procurement rules, disbursement arrangements.
What we need more of is not development agencies. I believe we need more
organizations and institutions which can be thought of as clubs for the kind of dialogue
and discussion that The World Bank can represent, particularly on the singular mission of
the Bank, which has to do with reducing poverty in the world.
So I invite all of you, as you leave, and think about this morning's incredibly rich
and fruitful discussion, to communicate with us in any way you want, I think everyone
here knows how you can find the Center for Global Development, and give us your
thoughts, if you wish. We'd like very much--maybe we should start a blog--that's a
Lawrence specialty--on what are the implications of the different issues raised for your
thinking about a club? What is the implication for thinking about impact evaluation, for
provision in financing of global public goods, for the role of middle income countries in
the Bank, not only as recipients of subsidized loans, but as members of a club with some
voice for the mission of the Bank in the poorest countries, and I've missed at least one
subject there--for the nature of the governance arrangements in this potentially important
global club for the 21st Century.
Thank you all for staying with us, and do communicate with us, and a great thank
you to Lawrence for sitting up here the whole time and managing such--well, an excellent
and cooperative group of speakers but he managed them very well indeed. Thank you,
Lawrence.
[Applause.]
[END OF TAPED RECORDING.]