95) Compare and contrast the purposes of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Answer: The World Bank is an agency created to provide financing for national economic development efforts. The initial purpose of the World Bank was to finance European reconstruction following the Second World War. It later shifted its focus to the general financial needs of developing countries, and today it finances many economic development projects in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an agency created to regulate fixed exchange rates and enforce the rules of the international monetary system. Today, the IMF has 185 member countries. Some of the purposes of the IMF include promoting international monetary cooperation; facilitating expansion and balanced growth of international trade; avoiding competitive exchange devaluation; and making financial resources temporarily available to members.