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Obstacles to progress

Realities

multiple ways through which the organization's own policy advice has contributed to inequality

in the developing world.”
"How Structural Adjustment Programs Affect Inequality: 268
A Disaggregated Analysis of IMF Conditionality, 1980–2014."
Forster, Timon, Alexander E. Kentikelenis, Bernhard Reinsberg,
Thomas H. Stubbs, and Lawrence P. King.
*****
"The Bank management's process for presenting a PRSP to the Board undermines ownership.

Stakeholders perceive this practice as 'Washington signing off' on a supposedly country owned
strategy."

Operations Evaluation Department (OED) 269
World Bank.

*****

“ the policies contained within PRSPs bear striking similarity both to each other and to the
standard prescriptions of the supposedly defunct 'Washington Consensus'. Out of the nine
standard IMF and World Bank policies, PRSPs contain an average of six. More fundamentally,

there are very few instances of unorthodox policies being mentioned (11 out of a possible 450)
***
If countries really were free to promote their own choice of poverty reduction strategy in
PRSPs, we would surely expect significant variation between countries and adaptation of

policies to suit local circumstances (rather than a high degree of similarity) and we would
surely expect a range of 'alternative' approaches (rather than an adherence to the narrow

confines of the Washington Consensus) “
"One size for all_ A study of IMF and World Bank Poverty Reduction Strategies" 270
Global Justice

*****
“...we show why policymakers need to focus on the poor and the middle class.

Earlier IMF work has shown that income inequality matters for growth and its sustainability.
Our analysis suggests that the income distribution itself matters for growth as well.

Specifically, if the income share of the top 20 percent (the rich) increases, then GDP growth
actually declines over the medium term, suggesting that the benefits do not trickle down. In
contrast, an increase in the income share of the bottom 20 percent (the poor) is associated

with higher GDP growth. The poor and the middle class matter the most for growth via a
number of interrelated economic, social, and political channels.

***
Policies that focus on the poor and the middle class can mitigate inequality. Irrespective of the

level of economic development, better access to education and health care and well-targeted