Reforming international financial institutions 

Bretton Woods Project

This project supports a global movement that seeks a more just global economic system in the (post-)Covid era. It puts pressure on two key international institutions—the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank—to adopt reforms that address unsustainable debt burdens and facilitate the creation of more just economies. Specifically, the project seeks to reform IMF and World Bank voting rights structures to better represent the Global South; counter the promotion of austerity economics as a solution to pressing debt concerns; and establish the long-term use of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) as a non-debt creating tool for development finance.  

Why it matters

The IMF and the World Bank are pivotal to the global macroeconomic system. These institutions play a critical role in setting global economic policy. For this reason, it's important that they promote economic practices that avoid perpetuating debt problems and unequal power relations between the Global South and North—and instead promote policies that create just economies and societies, in accordance with international human rights norms. While Covid-19 has exacerbated the problems caused by debt, it has also created a moment of unprecedented opportunity to effect change. The IMF’s current willingness to use SDRs presents an important opportunity to reconceptualize the role of this mechanism to promote development in the long term.