The Global Economies

 The Global Economies
Introduction
Bretton Woods’s institutions can be defined as monetary institutions which were created in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, the USA in July 1944 (Stephey 2008, n. p.). The institutions were founded during the United Nations Conference and were aimed at rebuilding the fallen after war economy and promoting global economic cooperation (Peet 2010, p. 42). The members of the committee agreed to form a group of institutions to address issues in the international monetary system. Examples of the Bretton Woods institutions include the following; the International Monetary Fund, IMF, which works to maintain a global financial stability through training, offering technical assistance, and giving loans to member states. The World Bank is also an international institution that consists of five agencies that function in providing technical and financial help to the underdeveloped nations with the purpose of lowering global poverty (Peet 2010, p. 44).
Another institution is the International Finance Corporation, IFC that falls under the World Bank agencies and it works in providing assistance to the private business investors. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, also under the World Bank works to promote foreign direct investments in the developing states by giving non-commercial risk insurance to the private investors. Moreover, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes is an independent global institution of the World Bank that seeks to remove restrictions to the free flow of private investments by providing methods of dispute settlements (Peet 2010, p. 47). The World Trade Organization, WTO, also an autonomous institution provides a forum for negotiation and implements rules of trade that should govern exchanges between the member countries. The African Development Bank, AFDB, functions in promoting both private and public investments and economic development in Africa. It also offers technical and financial help to its member states. Furthermore, the Asian Development Bank, ADB, provides financial as well as technical advice to the private and public investors in Asia and Pacific (Stiglitz 2002, p. 50). The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, EBRD, provides financial assistance in Central, Eastern, and Central Asia so as to promote open and democratic market economies. The Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, offers support to the private and public investors in Latin America (Stiglitz 2002, p. 54).
The Bretton Woods institutions are important financial and monetary systems that have been there since the end of the Second World War. These institutions exist to offer technical, financial, and advisory services to the members. They worked to ensure the countries recovered after the war which had shattered the economy of many countries. Today, they are recognized as the primary financial supporters to private and public sectors especially in the developing countries. They provide loans to investors and ensure economic integration and cooperation by removal of trade embargos and restrictions to ensure a free market and movement of goods and services globally (Legrain 2003, p. 103). Business has expanded due to these financial institutions NIL the support with many third world countries developing to be medium income economy. This as a result of the technical and financial assistance being provided by the Bretton Woods institutions.  An example is the case of Kenya, once a developing state, but it has moved to a middle-income economy in the last two years (Ahmed 2010, p. 3). This is in support of the continuity of the Bretton Woods institutions which have shown to be critical in the growth of the global economy. The paper will assess the criticisms made to these establishments in the last decade and explain how they can be addressed.
Criticism
The Bretton Woods institutions have faced controversy from critics who offer different opinions as to why these institutions should be closed down. Criticism of the IMF and World Bank involves issues that are centered on the approaches adopted by the two organizations in designing their policies. It also touches on the way the institutions are governed. It has become a major concern to the public because of the social and economic impacts these policies and regulations have to the countries who seek financial and technical assistance from the institutions. The accountability of these policies has also being a primary concern to the critics (Poddar 2003, p. 23). The World Bank and the IMF have come up with many conditions to their borrowers. Their loan status is attached to conditionalities based on the Washington Consensus that focuses on liberalization of investments, financial sector, and trade. They also concentrate on the strict regulation and privatization of the public and national industries. Mostly, the conditionalities are imposed without considering the borrower’s individual circumstances a