Econ Essay

1. In the video IMF and World Bank are weapons of war, John Pilger begins by talking about how the IMF and World Bank are weapons of war, causing people to die without bullets because they are constantly paying almost half of their national budget to pay off debt due to bad decisions forced on by the IMF and World Bank. They required developing countries to cut government spending and increase exports and privatize if they wanted any chance at receiving new loans. It was hard on developing countries because it seemed as though they picked on these countries because they had little control. The world Bank attempts to portray itself as an organization which is there to look out for poor people and countries when really this isn't the case. An example of this crisis is given in the Philippians and the bride scandal that arose with the 2 billion dollar electricity plant that never made an ounce of electricity due to the fact that it was built on 2 earthquake zones. To this day they are still paying of this debt with 44% of its national budget while only 3% is spent on health services and facilities. Another huge issue in the Philippians is that it is a country in which agriculture is rich and what keeps them going. Land is continuing to be taken away from farmers to build new plants for exports which is funded for foreign investors like Japan, also demanded by the IMF. These factories do nothing but produce new revenues and profits for foreigners and cause debt for natives because of the missing land depended on by 8 million people.

2. After watching the video and reading the article I do feel that the World Bank and IMF are beneficial to countries in economic downturn to a certain extent. I do believe that in order for these to continue to be beneficial some changes need to be made. For example, how developing countries exports tend to seem more expensive because of improper currency exchange therefore making their country experience a fall off and in turn borrow more money from the IMF or World Bank. When they are lending money to these countries I feel that a more comprehensive plan needs to be in place in order to pay off the debt and to be sure they understand the countries strengths and take advantage of those. Rather than just tearing down agricultural land from a country that has 80% of its income from agriculture each year. Without the IMF and the World Bank I do feel that countries would not be able to flourish, and would continue to be poor. However, I think that more planning and responsibility needs to be taken into account when money is borrowed to these countries as right now it is just hurting them and causing more debt due to drastic measures.

3. Chapter 2 talks in the Elusive Quest for Growth begins by talking about Ghana and its project with the Volta. They had intended to create a ease for transportation. This plan ended up falling through however, and although they were still able to use the