What Is the World Bank and What Does It Do?

什麼是世界銀行？它又做些什麼呢？

https://www.youtube.com/timedtext_video?ref=share&v=MErGK9FKL7I

We're talking about one of the world's most powerful institutions with a total portfolio of almost 400 billion dollars.
我們現在要來講，世界上最強大的機構，投資組合高達4億美金。

It's one of the world's largest sources of funding for developing countries and it has a triple-a credit rating.
對於發展國家來說是世界上數一數二資金來源，並且有最高債卷信用評級: AAA。

We are of course talking about the World Bank.
我們現在要講的就是世界銀行。

But the question is what exactly is the World Bank and what does it do.
但問題是，到底什麼是世界銀行？它又做些什麼呢？

The World Bank was created in 1944 in response to the second world war.
因應於第二次世界大戰，世界銀行創立於1944年。

Since so many countries were shattered by the war, the organization was established to try to help with the reconstruction and development of these countries and to reduce global poverty.
世界銀行組織的建立是為了幫助許多戰後的國家重建、降低世界貧窮概況。

The intention was to provide temporary loans to low-income countries which were unable otherwise to get these loans on their own.
用意是提供暫時的貸款，給那些無法借款的貧窮國家。

Since that point in time at the World Bank has now taken on over 13,500 projects with total lending commitments over this time of over a trillion dollars.
因此，世界銀行現在已經處理超過13,500個項目，至今貸款承諾也超過數兆美元。

Now, although the World Bank clearly has the word Bank in its name, it's not your typical style of bank.
現在，雖然世界銀行感覺像是個銀行，但它並不是你所認知的銀行。

I think this can best be seen if we take a look at its mission which is to end extreme poverty and to promote a shared prosperity.
最好的解釋方法，就是來看看它如何結束貧窮概況，提升經濟繁榮。

The main focus is therefore shifted from reconstruction after the war to development of countries in areas such as roads, electrical infrastructure and irrigation systems.
原本主要是戰後重建，但最後轉變成幫助國家發展，例如道路、電動基礎設施、灌溉系統。

Now essentially the World Bank is an international organization with 189 member countries.
現在，世界銀行實質上是一個國際組織，擁有189個會員國。

These member countries are referred to as shareholders since they actually hold shares in the organization.
這些會員國也可說是股東，因為他們擁有組織的股份。

The number of shares that our country owns will depend on the fees that they've paid to the World Bank and those fees will largely depend on the size of the economy. 
國家所擁有的股份取決於他們給世界銀行多少費用，而這些費用取決於經濟規模。

These shares that are owned by the countries translates into voting power.
這些國家所擁有的股份，會轉變成他們投票的權利。

I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of one share counting for one vote similar to a company.
我想你應該知道，一股一票，如同公司的運作方式。

And this is for most of the organizations that make up the World Bank Group that one share will equal one vote.
這就是大多數的組織組成的世界銀行集團。每一股份相當於一票。

So this means that the U.S. has the largest voting power with 15.85 percent.
所以這就表示，美國有最大的投票權，佔了15.85％。

This is then followed by Japan with 6.84 percents. 
再來就是日本，佔了6.84%。

That's a big gap.
這中間差距很大。

And then China, Germany and the UK and France are quite equal with each other.
接下來的是中國、德國、英國、法國，佔了差不多的投票權。

Now something that you may have picked up on there is that China is obviously a huge economy but they only have a relatively small percentage of the boats and shares.
你可能會有疑問，像經濟規模如此大的中國，居然只佔了相對較少股份。

One of the big reasons for this is that they were actually one of the big beneficiaries of the lending.
最主要的原因，他們其實是貸款最大的獲利者。

They were a borrower rather than a lender.
中國是借款人，而非貸款人。

Although that seems to now be changing a bit and that's partly thanks to the U.S. which strongly objected to so much money being lent to China.
雖然現在情形有些改變，部分原因是美國強烈反對中國龐大借款。

And you know what the U.S. says and things about the World Bank is going to be very influential.
你也知道，美國的一句話對世界銀行的影響力相當大。

First of all, books they obviously own the most shares and voting power but also because of something else as well.
首先，因為美國佔了最大股份與投票權，但還是有其他原因。

You see the board of directors for the bank consists of a president and 25 executive directors and that president has traditionally always been an American.
銀行的董事會成員是由一位總統和25位執行董事所組成，傳統上那位總統一直是美國人。

And this is due to an informal agreement that was made when the organization was established.
因為當初建立組織時，就有這項不成文規定了。

So basically the World Bank and the IMF, the International Monetary Fund's, were both created as part of the Bretton Woods Agreement.
所以基本上，世界銀行和國際貨幣基金組織IMF都是布列敦森林體系的一部分。

And following this agreement, an informal agreement was made which is that the U.S. would choose the head of the World Bank and Europe would choose the head of the IMF.
遵循這個體系，一項不成文規定就是美國人擔任世界銀行首領，而IMF首領由歐洲人擔任。

So it sounds kind of fair, right?
聽起來很公平吧？

So that's why the president is usually always going to be an American.
所以這就是為什麼那位總統一直都是美國人。

The World Bank group consists of five international organizations.
世界銀行集團由五個國際組織組成。

When people refer to the World Bank rather than the World Bank Group, they usually reference just two of these which are the IBRD and the IDA.
當人們談到世界銀行而非世界銀行集團，他們通常會聯想到 IBRD和IDA。

So the IBRD stands for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
IBRD的全名是國際復興開發銀行。

For a poverty-stricken country, this institution offers an invaluable service.
這個機構提供無價的服務給貧窮國家。

You see these countries would really struggle to take on a traditional loan since it would be practically impossible with interest payments being extremely high.
因為高昂的利息，這些貧窮國家在傳統的貸款有很大的困難。

Instead, the World Bank has step in and really helped them out with this. 
因此，世界銀行想採取行動幫助他們。

The World Bank has one of the strongest triple-a ratings with the credit rating agencies.
世界銀行有世界最優的債卷信用評級AAA。

Thanks to the fact that their death instruments are backed up by the capital commitments of the member countries and the fact that they have large financial reserves.
幸好有這些會員國的資本承諾，可以挽救走投無路的貧窮國家。

This means that they can borrow money from the capital markets relatively cheaply, mainly through sell-off bonds which are known as World Bank bonds and then channel this money through to developing countries at an extremely low interest rates.
透過世界銀行發行的債卷，會員國能以便宜的費用從資本市場借款，再進而貸款給發展中的國家，讓他們可以用比較低的利息來借錢。

Making borrowing more affordable for these countries that really need it. 
這會使需要借款的國家更容易負擔得起。

And in fact, the rate is usually below the rate that the bank is paying to its bondholders.
而且實際上，比銀行付給債券持有人的比率還低。

So to offset this, there will also sometimes lend money at a higher rate to more wealthy countries who will pay a higher rate of interest.
為了彌補，有時也會以較高的利息，貸款給較富有的國家。

The second institution I mentioned the IDA is the International Development Association.
第二個提及的機構是IDA，全名是國際開發協會。

This is similar to the one that we just discussed.
這跟我們剛剛討論的很相似。

Except this agency works with the really poorest countries.
唯一不同的，是這個機構運作於極度貧窮的國家。

Like to be in this group,  the country must have an average income per person otherwise known as per-capita income below 885 dollars per year.
要加入這機構的條件，是國家平均每人一年的薪資，也就是人均國民收入必須一年少於885美金。

Now let's put that in perspective. 
讓我們用其他角度來看看。

In the U.S., the per capita income is around 60,000 dollars per year.
在美國，人均國民收入大概一年60,000美金。

So you can see there's a huge gap there.
所以你了解這中間差距有多大。

Now the countries in this group can receive interest-free loans or grants.
現在，在IDA的國家可以取得免利息的貸款或是補助金。

And in many cases, the borrower country may not even have to start repayment until 10 years after the loan has been issued.
在很多情況下，借款的國家甚至過了十年，都還不沒開始還款。

The final three agencies out of the five are less well known.
除了這兩個，另外三個機構鮮為人知。

And these include The International Finance Corporation, which promotes growth through financing private sector investments.
這其中包含了國際金融公司，以私營金融部門投資幫助經濟成長。

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, which helps to promote foreign investment by protecting investors from losses through guarantees.
另外一個是多邊投資擔保機構，任務是保護投資者規避風險，以提升外商直接投資。

And finally The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, which deals with disputes between foreign investors and host countries.
最後一個則是國際投資爭端解決中心，專門解決外商投資者與東道國的爭端。

In 2018, the banks lending commitments were 47 billion dollars.
在2018年，世界銀行的承諾貸款為47億美金。

However, it's not just about lending big amounts of money. 
然而，它並不是只有放款大量金額。

The bank also offers advice and expertise in an attempt to tackle a range of issues including agriculture, education, climate change, conflicts, food security, trade, finance.
世界銀行也提供建議與專業知識，嘗試處理很多領域，例如農業、教育、氣候變遷、戰爭、食品安全、貿易、經濟。

The bank has a twin goal: the first one, being to end extreme poverty by the year 2030.
世界銀行有兩個首要目標。第一個是在2030年終結極度貧困。

And the second one, being to boost the shared prosperity of the poorest 40 percent of the population in all countries.
第二個是在全國40％最貧窮國家，促進經濟共享繁榮。

Now that obviously all sounds great.
聽起來很棒。

But actually the World Bank has also got his own controversies and criticisms as well.
但其實世界銀行也遭受很多批評與爭議。

There have been allegations of corruption in some cases and criticisms of the way they operates which some people believe causes harmful effects.
在一些事件中，世界銀行被指控貪污，還有很多很人批評其運作方式將帶來有害影響。

Some analysis shows that they actually increased poverty in some cases and were detrimental to the environment, public health and diversity as well as pushing an agenda which in some cases imposes damaging policies.
部分研究學者指出，世界銀行反而增加了貧困程度，並且危害環境與人民健康，如推動一些其實會帶來傷害的政策。

Now one particular critic who's received a lot of media attention especially recently is David Malpass who president Trump has nominated to be the next head of the World Bank.
近期有位備受媒體矚目的評論家：大衛·馬爾普斯，美國總統川普提名他為下一任世界銀行領導者。

He's been crisco of many aspects which include the World Bank's huge loans to China rather than to countries that cannot secure the capital elsewhere.
他批評了很多層面，其中包括世界銀行不幫助無法穩固資本的國家，反而借巨款給中國。

And what he believes to be a lack of accountability in the organization.
他還覺得世界銀行缺少問責制度。

However rather than burning the world bank to the ground or undermining it as some people have been sensationally suggesting Malpass may do based on his previous criticisms.
然而他不會因此覺得世界銀行應該消失殆盡，有些人反而強烈表明馬爾普斯會根據自己的批評來做改善。

I think it's much more likely that he will attempt to reform the World Bank which may actually be good for the long-term future of this very powerful institution.
我想他會試圖改革世界銀行，這可能會對這強大的機構有美好長遠的未來。

So guys that was a brief overview of the World Bank and what it does. 
以上就是簡短介紹世界銀行的內容。

I hope you found it useful and if you did I'd really appreciate it if you hit that thumbs up button!
希望你覺得很實用。如果你喜歡的話，別忘了按讚！

And subscribe to the channel so you don't miss out on similar videos in the future.
還有訂閱頻道，這樣你就不會錯過相關影片。

Don't forget to check the description box for links to extra content that will boost your economic knowledge.
也別忘了去看影片下的完整資訊，裡面有其他連結可以增長你的知識。

And I will see you in the next video.
那我們下一個影片見。

Thanks a lot for watching!
感謝收看！

 

Copyright Announcement: The above videos are  from the official Youtube channel of the organization. What Is the World Bank and What Does It Do? https://www.youtube.com/user/duomoinitiative. 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