Ravi Kanbur, a distinguished development economist and T.H. Lee Professor of World Affairs at Cornell University, was appointed by the Bank in Spring 1998 to lead a team in writing a World Development Report (WDR) on poverty. At Kanbur's request, the Bretton Woods Project and New Policy Institute ran an electronic conference to discuss the WDR first draft and hundreds of experts contributed ideas. Eventually, Kanbur resigned in June 2000, due to what he saw as unreasonable pressure to tone down WDR sections on growth and economic redistribution. Some believe that US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers himself insisted on some of these fundamental changes. Many called it outright censorship.
Articles and Documents
2000
World Bank Dilutes Report (September 13, 2000)
Development charities accuse the World Bank of censoring the World Development Report (WDR), the Guardian reports, substantially altering it since its draft phase. The Bank countered that Ravi Kanbur's key messages had survived the editing stage.
Don't Bank on It: Factions at The World Bank Argue (July 4, 2000)
The resignation of Kanbur and Stiglitz highlights the rifts within the World Bank. This article from the Guardian details the rivalry between the 'ultra-orthodox school' and its critics.
A Fork in the Road to Riches (June 25, 2000)
The idea of allowing developing countries to choose their best path for development is not welcomed by the World Bank. "Experimentalists" like Kanbur and Stiglitz, who believe that governments can set their own path and pace to the market, both ended up going back to their cozy academia. (New York Times)
Ravi Kanbur's Resignation as World Bank Report's Lead Author (June 14, 2000)
Alex Wilks, Coordinator of the Bretton Woods Project, raises questions about Kanbur's abrupt resignation and its implications for the Bank's openness to a diversity of opinion on poverty reduction policies. (Bretton Woods Project)
(50 Years) Author of World Bank Report Resigns in Protest of Muzzling (June 14, 2000)
Ravi Kanbur recently resigned as the lead author of the World Development Report on Poverty, after the US Treasury Secretary became involved in rewriting some sections of the report. The resignation of Kanbur may be viewed as counterproductive as he yields to US pressure, yet there is not much he can do. (Bretton Woods Project)
Another One Bites the Dust (June 2000)
The resignations of Stiglitz and Kanbur from their posts at the World Bank were generally seen to indicate an interior power struggle. But this is not the only conflict rocking the organization: Nicola Bullard points out that the Bank is also caught in the middle of partisan politics in the US Congress. (Focus on Trade)
