Policy Lab:World Bank, Development Finance & Sustainable Development: Goals, Guidelines & Grievances

(1 Credit Hour) · Undergraduate

Using the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the course will introduce students to the 17 SDGs adopted by 193 member countries in 2015. The SDGs provide a shared blueprint for ending poverty while improving health and education, reducing inequality, and spurring economic growth – all while tackling climate change and protecting the global commons. The course then will turn to the role of Bretton Woods institutions — particularly the World Bank Group — in promoting sustainable development, especially the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework and IFC’s Performance Standards, which have been insufficient to effectively end extreme poverty. The final third of the course will examine emerging challenges, including fragility and conflict, natural disasters, and economic downturns, which have derailed development efforts, impacted global supply chains, and exacerbated poverty in affected regions.