Discoursing development: the case of the European Investment Bank [Discoursing development: the case of the European Investment Bank]

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has recently become a relevant development player; nevertheless, its theoretical competence to operate in developing countries has not been scrutinised. This paper aims, first, to reconstruct the development argument of EIB, i.e., to map how EIB claims its investments contribute to the economic development of developing countries. Second, we confront the reconstructed Bank's development discourse with development economics theories in an effort to identify its theoretical inspirations. Third, we apply Critical Discourse Analysis to identify EIB's discursive practices. The paper argues that EIB's development discourse is inspired predominantly by the Washington Consensus, that it is minimalist and underdeveloped, and that it uses discursive techniques to promote and perpetuate EIB's hegemonic and ideological positions. We conclude that, from a development economics perspective, EIB is theoretically limited and unqualified.