The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are trying to evolve and prove they are fit for purpose, but the jury is out on just how far that evolution process has gone. 

While numerous announcements were made at the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings last week in Washington D.C., the pace of reform is too slow, according to several experts.

“The rhetoric in terms of the important pronouncements that have been made are saying the right things, but they're not giving you the next three things that could get done in the next month, in the next three months, in the next six months, in the next 12 months,” Afsaneh Beschloss, founder and CEO of investment firm RockCreek, told Devex.  

“And so what I would urge the shareholders to do is really get serious, put pressure on the World Bank to start getting things done, not to look at the negativity, but look at the need,” she said, adding that “so much can get done today as we speak.”

This gap between rhetoric and reality, between policy making at 10,000 feet and the impact on the real ground-level economy, was evident in the meetings, experts tell Devex in this podcast episode.

"The world is in a very, very difficult place. There is progress, but not enough. Reforms need to broaden and deepen to address the grave situation," Rachel Kyte, professor of practice in climate policy at the University of Oxford, told Devex.

We also speak with John Denton, the secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce.Want to understand what played out at the meetings and what’s next? This podcast episode will give you the rundown.