Can The IMF, World Bank Reinvent Themselves?

At best, it could be that the IMF and the World Bank have outlived their usefulness. During the Marcos dictatorship, they did serve the purpose of putting pressure on the kleptocracy so as to manage the damage done on the nation's economy. Of course it could be said that they did not do enough and the desperate state of the economy and the large amount of wealth siphoned out of the country and into Swiss banks is proof of failure.

Just before the Holy Week, a conference in Washington DC of the IMF and the World Bank was attacked by groups of NGOs, labor unions and assorted do gooders. The police took care of matters in the streets. But the issues brought forth by the demonstrators as well as by establishment economists deserve proper consideration by both the IMF and the World Bank.

Almost everybody observed that the IMF in particular seems to be looking out more for the interest of the big banks in the industrialized countries rather than the health of the developing economies. Still another observation I read described the IMF leadership as simply lacking in imagination, and that the IMF itself attracts second rate economists as staff members.

The IMF's response to the Asian crisis was often cited as proof of the agency's incompetence and irrelevance. Noted economists criticize the IMF for prescribing by rote the medicines of high interest rates and clamping down on government budget deficits to the Asian countries afflicted by the 1998 crisis. The IMF prescriptions only made things worse for the affected countries and almost brought them to the edge of political crisis and an economic depression.

Joseph Stiglitz, former Chief Economist of the World Bank accused the IMF of being more interested in seeing to it that the Western financial institutions with exposures in the affected Asian countries got paid first rather than the revival of the Asian economies. The political repercussions of stringent IMF conditionalities, as we saw in Indonesia, is still another aspect of its policies crying out for rethinking.

Well, even the US government now wants the IMF and the World Bank to do a lot of rethinking. US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers now wants the IMF to focus on financial rescues rather than long term financing. He also wants the World Bank to do more about Third World poverty.

Change in these institutions is inevitable. The IMF, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization have become symbols of what is wrong with global economic trends captured by the catchall term, globalization. The protests in Seattle, Davos and now in Washington DC have become violent, as various groups from the left and the right converge in a single anti establishment theme.

Can the IMF and the World Bank change to address the frustration of disadvantaged groups in both the developed and developing world? They will have to fashion a strategy to make themselves relevant quickly. Otherwise, there will be increasing political pressure that will affect their funding in the years to come.

Drove up to Vigan and then to Baguio where I spent the Holy Week break with my family. It was a pleasant drive, having managed to avoid the crowds and the traffic jams even on the trip back to Manila early on Easter Sunday. It was good to be a domestic tourist, specially to the Ilocos region. It was the first time for me and my family to visit this part of the country.

I found Vigan interesting and definitely a good potential for drawing local and foreign tourists. Crisologo Street, with its Spanish era houses, reminded me of the French Quarter in New Orleans. Maybe the area should be expanded beyond Crisologo St. and special attention paid to what will interest or enchant tourists visiting it. Right now, the short strip only had handicraft stores, a funeral parlor and a restaurant that didn't serve Ilocano food, at least, not on the night I was there.

Crisologo Street needs a good sidewalk café where tourists can sit down and people watch. They also have to constantly clean after the horses. A calesa ride may be something tourists will remember but the stench from the horseshit can be overpowering on a warm summer day. Maybe a sound and light show can be a principal attraction during the tourist season.

Vigan's principal disadvantage is distance from Manila. Somebody should start to package tours that will include Laoag and use the international airport there. While the highway to Ilocos ensures a pleasant drive, it still takes too much time to get there. The tourism authority should coordinate with the DPWH in putting up appropriate road signs. Unlike in other countries, our road signs are awful if you find useful ones at all.

The DPWH should also plan more roads that bypass town centers, like the one they have in San Fernando, La Union. We need these bypass roads urgently in Urdaneta and Villasis in Pangasinan and in Capas and Tarlac City. That will cut travel time significantly to the tourist centers up North. Traffic jams along the national highway have made people think twice about going to Baguio.

During my week as a domestic tourist, it is obvious to me that infrastructure development is the first priority in our tourism promotions effort. We should not stop with a basic road network. We need to constantly cater to the interests and comfort of the tourists. Otherwise, the tourist industry will remain what it is today, a lot of promise.

There is an obvious effort in Baguio to reclaim its old glory as the country's vacation capital. Even the Boy Scouts were out directing traffic on Session Road. And the cool weather was perfect. But population pressure on the environment is obvious. Outside of the Baguio Country Club area, the haphazard growth of the city has made it ugly. It is definitely not the Baguio I first visited as a boy in the late 50s.

Camp John Hay is a mess. Maybe it is because it is under redevelopment. But it used to be a place where one could visit and feel like you are in another country. From what I saw there, I am afraid the area could be overdeveloped as a tourist center. I just hope good taste does not give way to profit objectives.

Only the people of Baguio can make sure the environment is not compromised by overdevelopment. The biggest selling point of Baguio is its natural environment. If they lose that, they lose the city's primary attraction. As I said, only the Country Club area allows you a view of the pine trees like in the old days. The worst thing that can happen to Baguio is for it to become just another squatter infested, haphazardly growing urban area.

STAR reader Rachelle L Echipare e-mailed today's joke.

A guy is touring a factory that produces various latex products. At the first stop, he is shown the machine that manufactures baby-bottle nipples. The machine makes a loud "hiss-pop" noise. "The hiss is the rubber being injected into the mould," explains the guide. "The popping sound is the needle poking a hole in the end of the nipple."

Later, the tour reaches the part of the factory where condoms are manufactured. The machine makes a "Hiss. Hiss. Hiss. Hiss-pop" noise. "Wait a minute!" says the man taking the tour. "I understand what the 'hiss, hiss,' is, but what's that 'pop' every so often?"

"Oh, it's just the same as in the baby-bottle nipple machine," says the guide. "It pokes a hole in every fourth condom."

"Well, that can't be good for the condoms!"

"Yeah, but it's great for the baby-bottle nipple business!"

(Boo Chanco's e-mail address is [email protected])