This concluding book in the Multilateral Development Bank series draws on the insights presented in the other volumes to summarize the present and future of multilateral development banks as a genre of development agencies.
Culpeper goes beyond the scope of the previous volumes in two ways. First, he provides extensive discussion of the World Bank Group - the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association, and the International Finance Corporation. Secondly, he discusses the evolution of development theory and development-promotion which sets the context for the growth of multilateral development bank activity over the last half-century.
For those with an interest in the role of the multilateral development banks, this book provides an excellent overview of the group.

List of Tables xi
Foreword, John Lewis xiii
Preface, Roy Culpeper xv
Acknowledgments xvii
List of Acronyms xix
1 Introduction 1
Three Timely Reasons, 2
MDBs at the Crossroads, 10
Overview, 11
2 History and Evolution 23
Origins, 23
Institutional Characteristics, 29
The RDBs and the World Bank:
Comparisons and Relationships, 37
3 MDBs in the 1990s: Reflection and Reform 47
Key Policy Implications of the MDB Project, 48
The Portfolio Reviews, 58
Conclusion: Relations Between the MDBs and
Related Organizations, 67
4 MDBs as Agents of Change: The Development Impact 71
The First Three Decades (1945-1975): From Investment
to Growth, 72
Impact of Multilateral Bank Assistance, 79
The Past Two Decades: From Poverty Reduction to Adjustment
and Back, 83
Poverty Reduction, 85
Conclusion: Achievements and Prospects for Eliminating
Poverty, 99
5 MDBs in the Family of Development Cooperation Agencies 107
Africa, 108
Asia, 110
The Americas, 113
Eastern and Central Europe and Central Asia, 225
Systemic Principles and Structures, 118
Harmonizing Evaluation Systems, 223
Putting Borrowing Clients in the Driver's Seat: Harmonizing
Country Strategies, 224
Creating a Client Satisfaction Unit, 226
Conclusion, 128
6 Key Challenges for the Multilateral Banks:
Resource Flows and Debt 133
Resources, 133
Multilateral Debt, 138
Nonconcessional Debt, 143
Concessional Debt, 246
The September 1996 Debt Deal, 247
Summary, 249
7 Do the Multilateral Banks Have a Future? 153
The Future of Development, 253
Toward a Vision for the Twenty-First Century, 255
From Vision to Reality, 256
From Assistance to Cooperation: A Role for the MDBs, 258
From Resource Transfers to Quality Assurance, 260
Challenges to the MDBs: Falling Resource Flows and Debt, 262
Titans or Behemoths? 264
Conclusion, 266
Appendix 171
Bibliography 177
Index 185
About the Book and Author 191

Roy Culpeper
Roy Culpeper has been president of The North-South Institute in Ottawa, Canada, since 1995. Before joining the Institute in 1986, he was for three years adviser to the Canadian executive director of the World Bank.