Introduction

Abstract

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are looming figures in the field of international development. Since the Bank’s move into concessional lending back in the 1960s, and the Fund’s ramping up of its low-income country lending in the mid-1980s, these international organisations (IOs) have become increasingly central actors in the global development industry. With research departments that are well resourced and highly regarded by policy-making elites, the Bank and Fund are purveyors of agenda-shaping expertise; with their control over vast reserves and flows of finance, they are providers of large volumes of money to governments with limited alternative means of accessing international currency. Owing to the high visibility of the World Bank and IMF’s dealings with low-income countries, much ink has been spilt analysing the operations of these institutions. However, despite — or perhaps because of — the quantity of existing work, heated disagreement remains around an issue of foundational importance: who controls the World Bank and IMF?