Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

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Glossary
international institutions that provide advice on long-term
finance and policy issues to developing countries: the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD), the International Development Association
(IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and
the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
The IBRD, established in 1945, has the primary purpose of
providing loans to developing countries for productive
projects. The IDA, a legally separate loan fund administered
by the staff of the IBRD, was set up in 1960 to furnish
credits to the poorest developing countries on much easier
terms than those of conventional IBRD loans. The IFC,
founded in 1956, supplements the activities of the IBRD
through loans and assistance designed specifically to
encourage the growth of productive private enterprises in
the less-developed countries. The president and certain
senior officers of the IBRD hold the same positions in the
IFC. The MIGA, which began operating in June 1988,
insures private foreign investment in developing countries
against such noncommercial risks as expropriation, civil
strife, and inconvertibility. The four institutions are owned
by the governments of the countries that subscribe their
capital. To participate in the World Bank group, member
states must first belong to the International Monetary
Fund (IMF q.v.).
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