The World Bank prepares for the polycrisis

It turns out ending poverty is hard, especially in hard times

The World Bank evolution roadmap paper is out (not officially released yet, though). The document outlines the Bank’s perception of the “crisis of development” and its vision for its (expanded) mandate moving forward.

I: The polycrisis as the Bank sees it:

The world is facing a crisis of development. After decades of progress, growth and poverty reduction have stalled. Routes to shared prosperity for low- and middle-income countries have become more challenging, with growing debt burdens, inflation, rising costs of finance, and other macroeconomic imbalances. Climate change impacts, ranging from floods and droughts to locust invasions, are jeopardizing hundreds of millions of lives and livelihoods, creating hunger, conflict and forced displacement. Together, these trends threaten the prosperity, peace, and sustainability of the world.

II: Imagining the way forward

To address the crisis facing development and support climate action and other GPGs [global public goods], the WBG must evolv…