As the keynote speaker today at the launch of a civil society report on global financial governance, Congresswoman Maxine Waters discussed the challenges of globalization, the importance of the international financial institutions, and the problem of growing inequality in both advanced and some emerging market countries. 

In a speech that touched upon a range of issues related to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Waters also discussed some of the challenges posed by the increasingly integrated nature of the global economy.  The lawmaker also stressed the critical role of public policy in allowing the capitalist system to flourish and create wealth in a way that is equitable and more broadly shared.

“Left entirely to its own, the market system will produce more inequality than is economically necessary,” said Waters. “And excessive inequality not only undermines social and political cohesion, it has also been shown to have negative effects on growth.”

The event, sponsored by the New Rules for Global Finance, was part of the civil society policy forum events hosted by the World Bank during the World Bank-IMF annual meetings currently underway in Washington, DC.

Congresswoman Waters is the senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over U.S. participation in the international financial institutions, including the IMF and the World Bank.

At the event, the New Rules for Global Finance coalition released its inaugural report examining the governance of the major international organizations responsible for the regulation of global finance and their impact on developing countries. 

A copy of her full remarks is available HERE.

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