A Death Knell for the EBA: Why the World Bank Must End its Ranking Programs Now
Image: Women farmer organizations march to defend farmer seeds at the 2011 World Social Forum in Dakar. Credit: Awa Tounkara
A new brief by the Oakland Institute urges member states to deliver the final blow to the Bank’s ranking programs — the Doing Business Report (DBR) and Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA). The DBR and EBA face a growing crisis of legitimacy and confidence. Since last year, two anchor donors have ceased funding the EBA; in January 2018, former World Bank Chief Economist Paul Romer resigned after exposing politically motivated manipulation of the DBR rankings in Chile, leading the country to demand a full investigation of the rankings. In February, France withdrew from the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (NAFSN), another pro-corporate initiative closely related to the rankings.
“For years, civil society groups have rejected these programs, which are driving a regulatory race-to-the-bottom that prioritizes corporations over people and farmers,” said Frédéric Mousseau, Policy Director at the Oakland Institute. “It is now time for governments in developing countries to reject being ranked and force the Bank to cancel the programs for good.”
