World Bank Group, 2012

Topic 1

Improving Trade through Transportation Infrastructure

Transportation plays a key role in the facilitation of trade and individual mobility, both of which are crucial factors in the reduction of poverty. The general aim of the World Bank is to alleviate poverty and it is mandated to do so by providing monetary or technical support for sustainable economic development. Poor transportation infrastructure can severely impede a country’s ability to flourish and compete in the global economy. In the past, the World Bank has funded various projects aimed at improving transportation. The most notable of these initiatives was the 1961 loan for the construction of the bullet trains in Japan, which greatly improved the country’s economy. The improvement of transportation infrastructure can encompass various types of transportation projects. The focus on trade-related transportation narrows the prospective projects to those that would best improve trade for the nation in question. This topic will encourage delegates to research the particularities of their country’s economy and evaluate where the improvement of transportation infrastructure would be most beneficial. The scope of this topic should give the delegates enough room for creativity in terms of determining which kinds of transportation they want to focus on.

Topic 2

Anticorruption Efforts for Economic Growth

Governmental corruption is one of the largest obstacles to combating poverty. It causes citizens to lose faith in their government and encourages black market trade and other illegal means of making money. It strips citizens of a fair ground on which to compete in trade markets. Corruption sabotages anti-poverty efforts and discourages organizations from initiating anti-poverty efforts within such areas. Since 1996 the World Bank has initiated over 600 anti-corruption programs. Each of these programs has helped restore integrity within country governments, but fighting corruption is an everlasting battle. While all corruption should be dealt with, for the moment it is most important to focus on corruption that directly affects economic growth, particular that which impedes the functioning of the government and corporations. For this topic, delegates will submit loan proposals conducting a study within their nation. Based on this study, the proposal will then provide for its analysis and the implementation of appropriate anticorruption efforts. These proposals will vary greatly and can be done in many ways. For example, in a recent anti-corruption proposal sponsored by the World Bank, the study investigated randomly chosen road-building projects in various villages in Indonesia. The study found that the increased possibility of government audits on road projects was a much more effective deterrent than increasing grassroots participation in government. This topic will stimulate delegates to come up with creative and multi-faceted solutions to approach the problem of corruption.

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