World Bank lending and other financial flows: Is there a connection?

At a time when there is a serious debate about reforming the international financial architecture, it is important to understand how existing multilat eral agencies affect financial flows to emerging and less-developed countri es. This article extends past research - which has focused on the Internati onal Monetary Fund - by examining the various mechanisms through which the World Bank may be associated with other financial flows, and by presenting new empirical evidence based on regression analysis. Little support is foun d for a positive connection. The implications of this finding for effective reform of the Bank and its various activities are then discussed.