History and histories of the World Bank

The history of the World Bank must take into account debates over alternative policies, the roads not taken, and different visions of development that competed for preeminence. In this chapter, we recapitulate the history of the Bank with a focus on how historians and social scientists more broadly have discussed the complex interactions of political, ideological, and economic dynamics. The chapter provides readers with a synthesis of the World Bank’s general evolution and, at the same time, offers to those more versed in this history some references and historiographical analyses that may be the starting point for further, more in-depth study.