Actors in Public Development Financing

During the last fifty years or more, international financial institutions have played an increasingly important role in development. Although some, such as the World Bank or International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, initially supported the reconstruction of war-ravaged countries such as Norway, Holland, and others, their function and prime responsibility soon became to assist newly independent countries in Africa and Asia, and poor developing countries in Central and South America. Various regional development banks were also established, one for each continent (except Australia-New Zealand). In some parts of the world, such as Central America and the Caribbean, regional and sub-regional international development banks spring up to assist in the specific requirements of smaller areas. Development banks mainly and often exclusively financed projects requested by governments through loans to such governments.