At a time when populists and nationalists around the world are challenging the legitimacy of leading multilateral institutions, the World Bank Group must select a new president. The preferred candidate should be someone who will double down on the Bank's mission of helping developing countries address urgent challenges.
ITHACA/WASHINGTON, DC – Jim Yong Kim’s sudden resignation as president of the World Bank Group (WBG) offers an opportunity to reflect on the direction, legitimacy, and effectiveness of that 75-year old institution. Like other multilateral institutions, the Bank in recent years has been criticized for its elitism and for championing outmoded models of economic globalization that have failed to deliver broad-based benefits. It has also become another staging ground for the geopolitical great-power rivalry between the United States and China.
ITHACA/WASHINGTON, DC – Jim Yong Kim’s sudden resignation as president of the World Bank Group (WBG) offers an opportunity to reflect on the direction, legitimacy, and effectiveness of that 75-year old institution. Like other multilateral institutions, the Bank in recent years has been criticized for its elitism and for championing outmoded models of economic globalization that have failed to deliver broad-based benefits. It has also become another staging ground for the geopolitical great-power rivalry between the United States and China.