The need to increase accountability is frequently invoked in discussions of governance reform of international financial institutions (IFIs). The World Bank (Bank) and International Monetary Fund (Fund) have been subjected to criticism on the grounds that their impacts on citizens the world over are disproportionate to the institutions’ accountability to those they affect. At the same time, their executive boards are seen to lack accountability vis-a-vis borrowing governments because of a weighted voting structure heavily skewed towards donors. In addition to being overwhelmed with a variety of governance functions, decision-makers in these bodies do not necessarily represent all of their member constituents, making formal accountability to many member states perhaps as difficult to realise as accountability to civil society. Moreover, while the current discourse on accountability has sometimes focused on evaluation processes, evaluation alone does not lead to increased accountability to states and/or affected people.

Despite the rhetoric surrounding accountability, there has been no systematic evaluation of the increasingly complex structures and practices designed to create accountability, referred to here as the ‘accountability architecture’. Furthermore, tensions embodied within the current accountability architecture have not been examined adequately. For example, formal structures of accountability, such as Executive Boards made up of representatives of member states, can be at odds with mechanisms intended (in rhetoric or in practice) to increase accountability through civil society participation in decision-making. Finally, there has been little analysis of the ways in which perceptions of a lack of accountability may affect the way member states engage with the institutions or the roles these institutions fill.

This project first seeks to identify the accountability architecture of the Bank and Fund, and then to assess the implications for the core roles of these institutions. The first phase of the research will shed light on potential gaps in accountability, the value of the accountability mechanisms that do exist, and potential points of conflict among different sources of accountability. In addition, gaps between processes of evaluation and the monitoring and implementation of measures drawn from evaluations will be examined. The second part of the project will examine the implications of the accountability architecture for the roles filled by the IFIs. In turn, the findings may elucidate the ways in which the accountability architecture, the roles of the institutions, or both, may need to change to be consistent with their desired goals.

Publications

Ngaire Woods (2006) ‘Understanding Pathways Through Financial Crises and the Impact of the IMF—An Introduction’ Global Governance, 12(4)
Notes: Part of a Special Issue on ‘Understanding the Pathways Through Financial Crises and the Impact of the IMF’, edited by Ngaire Woods.

Calum Miller (2006) ‘Pathways Through Financial Crisis: Turkey‘ Global Governance 12(4)
Notes: Part of a Special Issue on ‘Understanding the Pathways Through Financial Crises and the Impact of the IMF’, edited by Ngaire Woods.

Cyrus Rustomjee (2006) ‘Pathways Through Financial Crisis: South Africa‘ Global Governance 12(4)
Notes: Part of a Special Issue on ‘Understanding the Pathways Through Financial Crises and the Impact of the IMF’, edited by Ngaire Woods.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram (2006) ‘Pathways Through Financial Crisis: Malaysia‘ Global Governance 12(4)
Notes: Part of a Special Issue on ‘Understanding the Pathways Through Financial Crises and the Impact of the IMF’, edited by Ngaire Woods.

Leonardo Martinez-Diaz (2006) ‘Pathways Through Financial Crisis: Indonesia‘ Global Governance 12(4)
Notes: Part of a Special Issue on ‘Understanding the Pathways Through Financial Crises and the Impact of the IMF’, edited by Ngaire Woods.

Arunabha Ghosh (2006) ‘Pathways Through Financial Crisis: India‘ Global Governance 12(4)
Notes: Part of a Special Issue on ‘Understanding the Pathways Through Financial Crises and the Impact of the IMF’, edited by Ngaire Woods.

Brad Setser and Anna Gelpern (2006) ‘Pathways Through Financial Crisis: Argentina‘ Global Governance 12(4)
Notes: Part of a Special Issue on ‘Understanding the Pathways Through Financial Crises and the Impact of the IMF’, edited by Ngaire Woods.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram (2004) Malaysia’s Pathway through Financial Crisis GEG Working Paper 2004/08

Cyrus Rustomjee (2004) South Africa’s Pathway through Financial Crisis GEG Working Paper 2004/07

Arunabha Ghosh (2004) India’s Pathway through Financial Crisis GEG Working Paper 2004/06

Calum Miller (2004) Turkey’s Pathway through Financial Crisis GEG Working Paper 2004/05

Alexander Zaslavsky and Ngaire Woods (2004) Russia’s Pathway through Financial Crisis GEG Working Paper 2004/04

Leonardo Martinez-Diaz (2004) Indonesia’s Pathway through Financial Crisis GEG Working Paper 2004/03

Brad Setser and Anna Gelpern (2004) Argentina’s Pathway through Financial Crisis GEG Working Paper 2004/02

Ngaire Woods (2004) Pathways through Financial Crises: Overview GEG Working Paper 2004/01

Brad Setser, with Nouriel Roubini (2004), Bail-outs or Bail-ins?: Responding to Financial Crises in Emerging Economies, (The Peterson Institute for International Economics) (2004)
Notes: Note: Written by Setser during his time as a GEG Research Associate.