World Bank should relocate

Of the three pillars of the global economic architecture created after World War II, the World Trade Organization is based in Switzerland, while the other two, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, are headquartered in Washington D.C. The time has come to move at least one of the two out of the United States.

Moving the World Bank makes more sense than moving the IMF. The World Bank has no mandate to carry out operations in the United States. By contrast, the most important function of the IMF - which few people understand - is to assess the economic policies of countries that play the largest roles in international monetary and financial systems. As long as the US has the world's biggest economy and the deepest financial markets, it makes sense for the IMF to be based in Washington.

However, the World Bank's operations are overwhelmingly conducted in developing countries. A solid case can be made for moving the World Bank. There are compelling reasons for doing so: