2005 Reports

Scoring Millennium Goals: Economic Growth Versus the Washington Consensus

Noman, Akbar

According to the IMF and the World Bank, "on current trends, most Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will not be met by most countries." This assessment of a joint report of the staffs of the Bank and Fund issued in 2004 is widely shared, including by a UN report that came out at the beginning of 2005. The joint Bank-Fund report identifies the first of "the three essential elements" urgently needed if most countries are to reach the MDGs as: "Accelerating reforms to achieve stronger economic growth – Africa will need to double its growth rate." The other two pertained to the more and better delivery of human development and related services and of support from developed countries and international agencies. All these three elements have also been emphasized by the UN report, which paid particular attention to the case for increasing aid.