World Bank

The World Bank and the Gods of Lending
$24.95
This is a decent book on a relatively narrow topic, corruption within the World Bank. The author's thesis: the Bank developed a "approve projects and loans at any cost" culture which caused it to lose sight of how funds (billions of dollars worth) have actually been used in many recipient countries. Much of the loaned money, he asserts, was extracted by corrupt individuals and wasted, contributing nothing to development. Much of the book is rather repetitive, as he documents multiple cases of corruption. He was in a position to do this as a Bank employee so these insights are worthwhile, but he drives the point into the ground.

Other sections of the book take on the Bank's overreliance on economists and economics as a means of making sense of the complex process of "development," its highly bureaucratic nature, as well as the Bank's limited and rather grudging acceptance under President James Wolfensohn that corruption is an enormous obstacle to development. These are worthwhile insights but receive only limited attention, which is unfortunate.

The book does not provide enough background on the history, structure and mission of the World Bank. It badly needed an initial chapter that put his accusations in some context. If you aren't already familiar with the differences between the two main arms of the Bank, the IBRD and IDA, for example, you'll need to do some background research. Also, Berkman makes very broad claims about the extent of corruption influencing the Bank and its loans, but his examples are from Africa. That weakens his case. A consistent theme in the book is his irritation that as a non-economist he was relatively powerless in the Bank's economist-dominated power structure. Clearly, he was highly frustrated during his time as a World Bank employee and wanted to document the systemic problems he encountered.

This is a useful, generally well-written, but limited book. If you're after a more sweeping portrayal of the Bank, Mallaby's The World's Banker, about former Bank president James Wolfensohn, is a much more comprehensive and compelling read.

Unholy Trinity: The IMF, World Bank and WTO
$36.95
Peet is largely correct in his claims that the International Monetary Fund(IMF),World Bank(WB),and World Trade Organization(WTO) have ,since 1981,mistakenly imposed inappropriate constraints on Second and Third World countries that have sought international aid over the last 37 years.The imposition of a laissez-faire " free market " framework on countries in Africa,Asia, and South America that have no developed legal,political,social, or economic institutions,no independent judiciary or police force,no system for enforcing basic tort law,etc., means that such policies were doomed to fail from the beginning.The necessary conditions do not exist in many of these countries for economic development since property rights are not enforced or respected.Laws are broken regularly with complete impunity.Too many of these countries are simply strong man dictatorships that simply loot the loans provided by the WB and IMF.A perfect recent example is Kenya.Billions of dollars in loans for infrastructure investment have simply melted into thin air.


The book is marred by some inaccurate assessments of Adam Smith(pp.4-5,10) and J M Keynes(p.7,p.35,ch.2).Smith's concept of self interest does not translate as selfish or greedy.Smith recognizes an important role for government in providing public goods and services,the most important of which is universal education,provided for free if necessary.Smith recognized the existence of a major negative externality that only government could deal with through extensive education(see The Wealth of Nations(WN),pp.734-741,Modern Library (Cannan) edition).Smith's views on trade and tariffs are the opposite of the current views of the IMF,WB,and WTO (See pp.434-439 of WN)

Keynes's GT is also not handled correctly.Investemnt is undertaken in an atmosphere of uncertainty ,as opposed to risk.Uncertainty,not risk,is the major problem.Confidence is important under conditions of uncertainty.Confidence is not a problem under conditions of risk.Finally,Keynes was not in favor of running budget deficits or an activist fiscal policy.Keynes's position was to maintain a low ,fixed rate of interest permanently in the long run a little bit above the prime rate of interest,a la Smith(pp.339-340).This would be combined with a policy of credit restriction that would make the speculators and rentiers the unsatisfied fringe of borrowers.
Overall, I would recommend this book.It could have been much stonger if the authors had understood what it was that Smith and Keynes were arguing for.

Casio Men's World Time Ana-Digi Data Bank 10-Year-Battery Watch #AW80V-3BV
$29.95
I'll probably never use all the features this watch has, but it's nice looking and a good value. The night light feature is not as good as the Timex Indiglo, but I very much prefer the day/date box which, with my ageing eyes, I can read easily, unlike the teeny squares on most watches.

Gund Happy Moments Ceramic Train Bank
$18.53
Gund Happy Moments Ceramic Train Bank The Gund Happy Moments Ceramic Train Bank is a wonderful gift idea or a great way to encourage savings. This bank measures 6 x 3.5 x 5 inches and is gift boxed. So it makes a great gift for a baby shower or any occasion. A removable plug allows for collected coins to be easily recovered. Your child can store all sorts of change for future surprises!