This is my take on the appointment which draws on Bond's article.
Cheers, ken
Blog: http://kenthink7.blogspot.com/index.html
Blog: http://kencan7.blogspot.com/index.html
________________________________
From: Robert Naiman <[email protected]>
To: Progressive Economics <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 1:30:17 PM
Subject: [Pen-l] CEPR: Kim's Selection as World Bank President is a "Rare
Historic Event" CEPR Co-Director Says
>
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Center for Economic and Policy Research <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 12:11 PM
Subject: Kim's Selection as World Bank President is a "Rare Historic Event"
CEPR Co-Director Says
To: [email protected]
Kim's Selection as World Bank President is a "Rare Historic Event" CEPR
Co-Director Says
Could Lead to Significant Improvements In Health Care and Education for Poor
People
________________________________
For Immediate Release: April 16, 2012
Contact: Dan Beeton, 202-239-1460
Washington, D.C.- The announcement that Jim Yong Kim will be the next president
of the World Bank is positive news for people living in poverty or struggling
with illness, Center for Economic and Policy Research Co-Director Mark Weisbrot
said today. Kim’s track record at Partners in Health and the World Health
Organization (WHO) shows that he has what is needed to take on a tough
challenge, Weisbrot added.
Weisbrot called Kim’s appointment a “rare event, historically” and noted that,
despite being a U.S. citizen, he was as least as unlikely to take orders from
Washington as anyone that might be appointed from another country.
“There’s just no comparison between him and any of the prior World Bank
presidents,” said Weisbrot. “The others were political insiders; they spent
most of their lives getting rich or becoming politically powerful, or worse.
Kim, by contrast, has spent most of his life trying to improve the lives of
poor people.”
“He’ll have battles ahead with the Board of Directors, against Washington and
its allies, but I would bet he will have some significant accomplishments to
show by the end of his term,” said Weisbrot.
Weisbrot noted that, even looking at the appointment from the viewpoint of U.S.
politics, it was an anomaly. “Many millions of people who voted for President
Obama had great hopes that he would appoint someone like Kim to a cabinet
position, but it didn’t happen.” He compared Kim’s nomination to President
Obama offering Nobel Laureate economist Paul Krugman the position of Secretary
of the Treasury.
Weisbrot added: “The Bank has often tended to prioritize corporate interests,
and historically the U.S. has used the Bank to promote its own political and
economic agenda. Kim can help limit the damage that the Bank does, and steer
some money into positive projects that improve health and education.”
Weisbrot noted that “Kim fought tenaciously at the WHO to get treatment for 3
million people for HIV/AIDS. This is the kind of leadership that will be needed
at the Bank.”
This year was the first time in the Bank’s 68-year history that countries
besides the U.S. have put forward candidates for the World Bank president.
Developing countries nominated two candidates, Jose Antonio Ocampo, and Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, who competed openly against Kim for the position. Several
developing countries broke Washington’s monopoly on the selection process by
nominating economist and health expert Jeffrey Sachs at the beginning of March.
Sachs withdrew following the announcement of Kim’s nomination, throwing his
support behind Kim.
“This could be the last time the U.S. gets to pick the World Bank president,”
Weisbrot said. “But it is truly good fortune that Kim was the choice this time.”
###
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