Institutions

World Bank

Also Known As IBRD

Citation Formats

General Reference

Economics Atlas. "World Bank." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-economics.interactiveatlas.org/institutions/world-bank.

APA Style

Economics Atlas. (n.d.). World Bank. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-economics.interactiveatlas.org/institutions/world-bank

BibTeX

@misc{economicsatlas-world-bank,
  author = {Economics Atlas},
  title = {World Bank},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-economics.interactiveatlas.org/institutions/world-bank},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The World Bank was established alongside the International Monetary Fund by the agreement reached at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, initially under the name the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It was created to provide long term financing for the reconstruction of countries devastated by the Second World War and, over time, expanded its mission to development financing for lower income countries around the world. The World Bank is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and today comprises several affiliated institutions that together form the World Bank Group, financing infrastructure, education, health and other development projects primarily through loans and grants to national governments.

Facts

Founding Year

1944 1

Founding Date

1944-07-22 2

Dated to the Bretton Woods Articles of Agreement signed at the conference's close, matching the entity's own founding-year of 1944; the World Bank Group formally came into existence after ratification on 27 December 1946.

Headquarters

Washington, D.C., United States 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Development Economics

Source Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of LabourW. Arthur Lewis

Latin American Debt Crisis

The World Bank joined IMF-led restructuring and adjustment lending across the affected countries.

Source How Jacques de Larosiere and Paul Volcker Contained the 1982-89 Global Debt Crisis

Critiqued Here

Herman Daly

Daly served as senior economist in the World Bank's Environment Department 1988-1994, using the position to press the institution's own project appraisals to account for natural-capital depletion, then continued to critique its growth-oriented lending after leaving.

Source Steady-State EconomicsHerman Daly