ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with some discussion about ways the United States (US) can legitimately maximize its policy influence within the banks. It demonstrates that the US has a good deal of influence in the banks and that they have often been responsive to US policy concerns through a detailed examination of the guiding criteria for US policy. From a political and national security perspective, administration spokesmen have often cited three basic ways in which participation in the multilateral development bank program satisfies US foreign policy goals. The US is a powerful country and a major donor to these organizations, and its voice should carry a great deal of weight inside the international agencies. Critics of US policy have long maintained that the executive branch--under both Democratic and Republican administrations--has been too accommodating to adequately protect the US interests in the banks. “Influence” is an amorphous concept and, in absence of a solid definition, it can mean almost anything to anybody.
