ESG Academy
2019-07-24

What's the difference between the IMF and the World Bank?


What's the difference between the IMF and the World Bank?

What's the difference between the IMF and the World Bank?

If you’re confused by the difference between the International Monetary Fund, the IMF, and the World Bank.
如果你搞不清楚國際貨幣基金組織,簡稱"IMF"以及世界銀行的差別。

Well, you’re not the only one.
別擔心,你不是孤單的。

Famed economist John Maynard Keynes, who was a founding father of both institutions, said that he was confused just by their names.
這兩所機構的創始者是著名的經濟學家,約翰·梅納德·凱因斯,卻也被它們的名字所搞混。

The IMF and the World Bank are closely linked.
國際貨幣基金組織及世界銀行是息息相關的。

So close that their headquarters are across the street from each other here in Washington.
彼此華盛頓總部只有一條街的距離顯示了雙方密不可分的程度。

So what’s the difference between them?
所以兩者的差別到底是什麼呢?

It all started at this hotel in New Hampshire in July 1994, where 44 countries gathered for the Bretton Woods Conference. 
一切起源於1994年七月的新罕布夏州,44個國家為布列敦森林會議而齊聚一堂。

The goal of the conference was to agree on a new framework for the international monetary system, which is the rules and institutions that keep the global economy running smoothly.
會議的目標是要建立新的國際貨幣體系的架構,那些機構與規則們讓全球經濟能順利地運行。

After World War II, most people agreed that the old system has failed. 
第二次世界大戰後,許多人都認同舊系統已經崩盤。

It had seen the Great Depression, unfair trade policies and unstable currencies.
經歷過了經濟大恐慌,不良貿易政策以及不穩定的貨幣。

After three weeks of heated negotiations at Bretton Woods, especially between Keynes
who was representing the United Kingdom and Harry Dextor White, the U.S. Treasury representive, a deal was reached. 
經歷了三個禮拜激烈的商談,尤其是英國代表凱因斯與美國財務部代表哈里·德克斯特·懷特之間,終於在布列敦森林敲定一份協議。

The agreement created the IMF and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, soon to be known as the World Bank.
此協議創造了國際貨幣基金組織以及國際復興開發銀行,後來則被稱為世界銀行。

Eash institution was given a distinct role.
獨立的機構都被給予不同的角色。

The IMF’s job was to oversee a system of fixed exchange rates, which tied the value of a country’s currency to the U.S. dollar, which is pegged to gold.
國際貨幣基金組織負責監管固定匯率制度,約束須按照黃金或美元之計算。

The main purpose of this was to make sure exchange rates stayed stable to encourage global trade.
主要目的是為了確保匯率的穩定性以鼓勵全球交易。

The IMF was also tasked with providing short-term loans to countries struggling to pay their debts.
國際貨幣基金組織也負責提供短期的貸款給那些努力償還債務的國家。

Meanwhile, the main goal of the World Bank was to give financial assistance to countries, mainly in Europe, that needed to rebuild after the war.
同時,世界銀行主要目標是提供不同國家經濟的支援,尤其是戰爭後需要重建的歐洲。

The roles of both the IMF and the World Bank have changed a lot since the days of Bretton Woods.
從布列敦森林會議後,國際貨幣基金組織與世界銀行的角色時常改變。

President Nixon unpegged the U.S. dollar from gold in 1971, essentially dissolving the fixed exchange rate system that the IMF oversaw.
尼克森總統在1971年中止美元到黃金的兌換,基本上瓦解了國際貨幣基金組織所監控的固定匯率制度。

Since then the IMF has taken on a bigger role fighting financial crisis around the world.
從那之後,國際貨幣基金組織在抗衡全球金融危機上扮演著更重要的角色。
  
It keeps tabs on the global economy and puts economic policies in place in member countries.
密切關注著全球經濟並為成員國擬定經濟政策。

The World Bank focuses its efforts on development and reducing poverty.
世界銀行專注於開發以及降低國家的貧困。

It provides funding and resources in projects in some of the poorest countries in the world.
提供專案資金以及資源給某些非常窮困的國家。

Both institutions include 189 member countries but the IMF has around 2,700 employees, compared to the World Bank’s staff of 10,000.
兩所機都包含了189個成員國,但對比於世界銀行的1萬位員工,國際貨幣基金組織僅有將近2千7百位員工。

The IMF is funded mainly by quotas, basically subscription fees, from member countries.
國際貨幣基金組織資金來源主要為定額,基本上來自成員國的訂閱費。

It receives around 675 billion dollara in quotas, with the U.S., Japan, China, and Germany contributing the most. 
得到將近六兆七千五百億元的定額主要來自於美國、日本、中國以及德國的貢獻。

The World Bank is finaced mostly by issuing bonds to global investors.
世界銀行主要資金來源為發行債劵給國際投資者。

The groups lending commitments reached nearly 59 billion dollars in fiscal year 2017.
貸款承諾在2017的會計年度達到將近五千九百億元。

The IMF has committed 160 billion dollars under its current lending arrangements.
國際貨幣基金組織在目前的借貸安排投入一兆六千億元。

Today the IMF biggest borrowers include Greece, Ukaine, Portugal and Pakistan.
如今希臘、烏克蘭、葡萄牙以及巴基斯坦為國際貨幣基金組織最大的借款國。

The places where the World Bank is running the most projects are in Africa and East 
Asia.
世界銀行的專案計畫進行則聚集在非洲以及東亞國家。

One thing the IMF and the World Bank have in common is that they both have some opponents.
些許對手的存在為國際貨幣基金組織與世界銀行的一個共通點。

Critics point to the conditions attached to their loans, saying they don’t always address the specific economic issues within a country.
批論家指出它們貸款的狀況,表示通常並不會針對處理各國特定的經濟問題。

The IMF has come under fire for continuing to bail out Greece even as the country has failed to clean up its finances.
儘管希臘無法清理自家金融狀況,國際貨幣基金組織依舊為放棄它而遭受批評。

Human rights groups have criticized the World Bank for ignoring the environmental and social impacts of some of its projects in countries like Ethiopia or Myanmar.
人權組織也控訴世界銀行在埃塞俄比亞或是緬甸的計劃忽略了環境以及社會影響。

But the IMF and the World Bank say they promote global economic stability, they make countries less vulnerable to crisis, promote higher living standards and provide vital help to countries that need it.
但國際貨幣基金組織以及世界銀行表示推崇全國經濟穩定性,它們讓許多國家較不受危機影響,促進更好的生活品質還有適時為那些需要幫助的國家提供不可缺少的幫助。

 

Copyright Announcement: The above videos are  from the official Youtube channel of the organization. What's the difference between the IMF and the World Bank?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN3qrFA4jXc. The videos we selected are all publicly available on the official channel, and we do not own the copyright of these videos. Our work on Chinese translation for this film is free for the 1.2 billion audiences in Mandarin Chinese around the world to watch and learn SDGs and SROI advertising campaigns

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