The International Finance Corporation: Accountability or Immunity: Accountability mechanisms at the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman

Over the years, large multilateral banking institutions like the World Bank have attracted substantial criticism regarding their private sector investments. However, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) branch, the largest private sector focused global development institution, and the IFC’s independent accountability body, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), have not received much scholarly attention. By means of a thematic content analysis, this research seeks to investigate the following research question: How do different accountability mechanisms shape the Dispute Resolution and Compliance role of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman? The theoretical foundations of this research build on agent-centric constructivism and the forum-based accountability model. Based on the Wilmar Jambi case in Indonesia and the operational policies of the CAO and IFC, it can be concluded that social accountability is integrated to different extents, depending on which role the...Show moreOver the years, large multilateral banking institutions like the World Bank have attracted substantial criticism regarding their private sector investments. However, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) branch, the largest private sector focused global development institution, and the IFC’s independent accountability body, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), have not received much scholarly attention. By means of a thematic content analysis, this research seeks to investigate the following research question: How do different accountability mechanisms shape the Dispute Resolution and Compliance role of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman? The theoretical foundations of this research build on agent-centric constructivism and the forum-based accountability model. Based on the Wilmar Jambi case in Indonesia and the operational policies of the CAO and IFC, it can be concluded that social accountability is integrated to different extents, depending on which role the CAO performs. Furthermore, the analysis finds that the CAO’s authority as an administrative accountability body ultimately depends on the IFC’s voluntary compliance.Show less

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The International Finance Corporation: Accountability or Immunity: Accountability mechanisms at the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman