Development News, or DevNews, is the World Bank's daily Web-based newsletter. Available in English, French, and Spanish, DevNews offers feature stories on recent advances and challenges in world development. The newsletter also links to a daily summary of approved loans, speeches given by World Bank officials, an events calendar, and World Bank press releases. Articles from February 1999 to the...

On December 2 the World Bank released a new 200 page annual report on the global economy which contained thinly veiled criticism of the International Monetary Fund and US Treasury's handling of the Asian financial crisis. The crucial mistake, the report maintains, was their decision to push Asian nations into easing their interest rates, which set off the almost-worldwide recession. While it warns...

This annual publication from the World Bank predicts growth patterns in developing countries. It reports that "recovery from the financial crisis is 'fragile and uneven,' with some regions recovering much faster than others." According to this year's report, growth in Asia will be strong through 2000, as the countries slowly pull themselves out of recession. The average per capita income of Third...

This 127-page report from the Commonwealth Secretariat/ World Bank Joint Task Force on Small States considers the unique development issues that affect the sovereign, developing small states of the world (states with a population of less than 1.5 million people). This report examines the ways in which small states differ from their larger counterparts, especially the large states that make...

The 1997 edition of this report, which chronicles the activities of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) for the last fiscal year, discusses Bank programs, operations, financial highlights, and approved projects. Central to this report are the detailed regional progress reports. The full report, excluding the financial...

"Fiscal year 1999 (FY99) was a year of continued -- and formidable -- challenges," begins the World Bank Annual Report 1999. It goes on to list the financial crises in Brazil, Asia, and Russia and the natural disasters that struck the Caribbean, Asia, and Central America. And through it all, the World Bank was there. This report charts global economic progress and explains the World Bank's...

The World Bank group consists of IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development); IDA (International Development Agency); IFC (International Finance Corporation); MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency); and ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes). Visitors to the site will find information on the goals and activities of these agencies. Press...

A carefully weighted, well-conceived document, the World Bank’s World Development Report 2002 (last mentioned in the October 5, 2000 Scout Report) discusses the viable options available to developing nations attempting to open their markets to the world and thereby better the circumstances of their peoples. Honestly recognizing that free market economies are not one-size-fits-all, the report...