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The Implications of Multi-bi Financing for Multilateral Agencies: The Example of the World Bank

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The Fragmentation of Aid

Part of the book series: Rethinking International Development series ((RID))

Abstract

Over the last decade, earmarked voluntary contributions to international development organizations (referred to as multi-bi financing in this chapter) have become a significant source of donor funding. Reinsberg discusses how multi-bi financing channeled through trust funds shapes the organizational practices of multilateral agencies, using evidence from a large number of interviews conducted at the World Bank. The analysis covers seven types of possible consequences raised by a primarily policy-driven literature, including differences in the portfolio of activities of trust funds and core resources, the alignment of trust-funded activities with development needs, undue donor influence upon agency operations, insufficient recovery of maintenance costs, long-term budget implications, transaction costs and administrative burdens, and institutional fragmentation.

I thank Chris Humphrey, Christina Kükenshöner, Timo Mahn, Katharina Michaelowa and participants in the German Development Institute conference, “Fragmentation or Pluralism? The organisation of development cooperation revisited”, for their helpful comments. Financial support from the Swiss Network for International Studies is gratefully acknowledged.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Zurich, Center for Comparative and International Studies, Zurich, Switzerland

    Bernhard Reinsberg

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  1. Bernhard Reinsberg
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Bonn, Germany

    Stephan Klingebiel

  2. German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik, Bonn, Germany

    Timo Mahn

  3. The World Bank German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Bonn, USA

    Mario Negre

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Reinsberg, B. (2016). The Implications of Multi-bi Financing for Multilateral Agencies: The Example of the World Bank. In: Klingebiel, S., Mahn, T., Negre, M. (eds) The Fragmentation of Aid. Rethinking International Development series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55357-7_13

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