Wolfensohn's planned retirement receives some coverage from the international press, despite more pressing concerns in South Asia.

The Australian headlines its report: "Aussie bank chief falls foul of US," and reckons that the next President will switch the Bank's focus back to major infrastructure projects.

Bloomberg, meanwhile, digs up a number of the great and good to assess Wolfensohn's presidency.

Nobel Prize Winner, Joseph Stiglitz, is enthusiastic: "The magnitude of the change was really very significant. He saw development in human terms. It wasn't just a bank, it was the impact that the World Bank had on the lives of individuals.''

Carnegie Mellon University's Allan Meltzer disagrees: "The Wolfensohn era is over. I don't think that his way of going about economic development fit with the Bush administration... The bank is a dysfunctional institution, it puts a premium on making loans. It lacks the idea that there has to be incentives for development.''

Paul O'Neill, former Treasury Secretary, suggests the bank has been slow to demonstrate results: "One of the things that would be useful for the World Bank to have is monthly regular reports on changes that affect people's lives. We have a fascination on how many jobs are created in America each month, yet we don't have the same interest in more basic measures elsewhere.''

David Steven ~ January 03, 2005

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