Candidate gossip spreads, real issues begin to rear their heads…

The self-nomination of Jeff Sachs into the ‘race’ has certainly livened things up. David Bosco reports that Bank staff don’t think much of Sachs – which may be a good or a bad thing depending on your opinion of Bank staff. Sachs has shown he has some political nous by highlighting one central weakness of the Bank under Zoellick – the desire to prioritise everything.  It always looked suspiciously more like empire building than strategic direction. Continue reading

Sachs’ candidacy sets stage for public debate over Bank reform

CEPR Co-Director Mark Weisbrot  yesterday issued a statement supporting  Jeffrey Sachs’ reform candidacy for the World Bank. Reform is the operative word here. It is the nature of Sachs’ candidacy – the changes he proposes for what the World Bank does, coupled with his undeniable credentials – that makes his candidacy “unprecedented” and important.

Sachs’ candidacy sets the stage for a public debate over the issues that World Bank reform advocates consider most important, Continue reading