The World Bank - Friend or Foe to the Developing World?

When poor countries become desperate for economic help, they turn to the World Bank for loans. However, these loans come with strings attached - the World Bank imposes certain harsh conditions on debtor countries to ensure that their loans will be repaid. The Fund's standard package is designed to "get the economy going again", but the consequences for the poor are catastrophic because the World Bank, to put it loosely, "encourages" more land to be put into exports (increasing dependence on costly food imports), wages to be cut, reduction in state assistance to the poor, and increased ease…