New look for the World Bank
- By Wei Liang
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E-mail Beijing Review, May 11, 2012
![World Bank President-elect Jim Yong Kim (right) with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala in Lima on April 16 [XINHUA/AFP]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20120511/001ec949c22b111700a103.jpg "World Bank President-elect Jim Yong Kim (right) with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala in Lima on April 16 [XINHUA/AFP]") |
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World Bank President-elect Jim Yong Kim (right) with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala in Lima on April 16 [XINHUA/AFP] |
The World Bank appointed a new president on April 16. Jim Yong Kim, who was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1959, is going to officially replace current World Bank President Robert Zoellick on July 1 and become the 12th president of the bank. The world is hoping the new president can help the World Bank take on a new look.
Qualified nominee
Kim, who is president of Dartmouth College, is an experienced expert on public health and an anthropologist. He is one of the founders of Partners in Health. He was in charge of the World Health Organization's project to offer HIV/AIDS prevention assistance to the least developed countries. But Kim has no experience in economic and financial fields, which is why some are concerned about his appointment.
Although its official name is the World Bank, the bank has more functions than financing. So its president is expected to have a strong background in international organizations, be good at communication, management and coordination, have the sincerity of helping poor countries and understand developing countries' desperation for development. These are more important than just an economic and financial background, because the president of the World Bank is the manager of a multilateral institute aimed at promoting world development.
A qualified World Bank president should be able to utilize all kinds of personnel, including politicians, economists, sociologists, anthropologists and international observers. In terms of helping the least developed nations, Kim is more suitable than economists who know only economic theories. If the World Bank continues to select senior executives with a focus on development, the reform of its governance structure will be advanced.
Changing times
For a long time, the World Bank president has been under U.S. control, and usually has work experience in Wall Street or the U.S. Government. Therefore, past World Bank presidents always brought their experience in government and financial companies into their new job. As a consequence, the World Bank has focused more on maintaining U.S.-led financial order than on development and poverty reduction. The Washington Consensus, which overstresses liberalization, marketization and privatization and was designed to be suitable for all countries, represents the existing World Bank style.
While forcing the world to adjust its economic and financial systems, the global financial crisis and the sovereign debt crisis have hindered progress in fulfilling the UN's Millennium Development Goals. The excessive liberalization advocated by the Washington Consensus is causing problems for both developing and developed countries, prompting the world to rethink the past development path and philosophy.
Kim will be the first World Bank president without a background in Wall Street or the U.S. Government. His appointment shows the World Bank has started to correct its flawed practices. However, the old pattern that has existed for nearly 70 years is hard to break. The new president is still nominated by the U.S. president. Developed countries retain their dominance in the World Bank, and developing nations' voices are weak and disunited. A new face is not enough to change the old thinking.
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