THE 1818 SOCIETY

BULLETIN

Volume 3, Issue 30 May 2016

CONTACT US…

President: Inder Sud, isud@1818alumniwbg.org Office Managers: Miren Fernandez, 1society@worldbank.org Swati Srivastava, 1society@worldbank.org Office hours: 10.00am to 4.00pm, Monday-Friday. Mailing Address: 1818 Society, P.O. Box 27388, Washington DC 20038-7388 Physical Address: MC-1 852, Main Complex, World Bank Group. Use 19th Street entrance opposite the IMF building World Bank Mail Stop no: MSN MC 1-104. Telephone: 202-458-1956 202-458-1957 Fax: 202-522-2417 E-Mail: 1society@worldbank.org, Website: www.worldbank.org/1818

Medical Insurance and Benefits : HR Service Center

Ph: +1 (202) 473-2222 Fax: +1 (202) 522-2150

Email: hroperations@worldbank.org ALWAYS include your UPI

Web: http://www.worldbank.org/hrs

Pension Administration

Ph:+1 (202) 458-2977 Fax: +1 (202) 522-1723

E-mail: 1pension@worldbank.org ALWAYS include your UPI

FROM THE 1818 SOCIETY PRESIDENT’S DESK Dear Members, As I write this letter, there are signs of Spring breaking out. The sun is shining bright. Cherry blossoms are in full bloom. And I see a lot of WBG colleagues taking a stroll after lunch. In this ambience, I thought I should give you some positive news about the Society. Indeed, we have been busy. Our new hiking and yoga clubs are going strong. The forthcoming Bhutan trip has been over-subscribed, but Anis has managed to create three groups to accommodate the demand (thanks, Anis). In March, I attended the reunion of the Florida Chapter in Cocoa Beach (good choice) and learnt about all their various activities. It was good to see old colleagues staying connected. A lot of interesting talks recently by our various thematic groups. There was a highly successful joint event with the World Bank Group Archives, Transport and ICT Global Practice on urban transport that looked back at the past WBG work to draw lessons for the future. I really enjoyed a recent talk on prospects for recovery in Argentina (“don’t be too hopeful about things improving quickly”. Ooops. That is not in the spirit of good ambience). And there were many others. There has been a lot of positive feedback from members about the fact that the Society is so active. Our pension and health insurance groups continue to be proactive in dealings with the WBG. The health insurance group particularly has had to deal with a lot of issues with the change in the prescription drug plan in the US to Silver Script and the requirement now to have to enroll in Part D of Medicare. I really admire the hard work of the group and the extent to which they spend their own time pursuing issues on behalf of members. There have been a lot of teething problems that they are doing their best to resolve. Please be patient with them and support them. Pauline Ramprasad is taking the lead in revising and updating the handbook on retirement communities that was last issued in 2004. And Paula Donovan and Khalid Siraj are actively pursuing the Members Helping Members initiative. But alas, all is not well around the WBG. We still sense a lot of gloom among staff. The ill-effects—real or perceived—of the organizational restructuring are still far too common. I rarely meet happy campers. In this context, I have been wondering what should be the role of the Society. It will be unfortunate if we too become a part of the negativity. We all have far too much invested in the institution and many of us still have fond memories of our work. I also think the WBG still has an important role to play, contrary to the talk of WBG having no future. I still find a lot of countries where the WBG is still respected and indeed wanted. Maybe the EBG is still living off its cachet. Or maybe our clients still have needs they see the World Bank Group being in the best position to meet. More parochially, a good part of the life of many of us is intertwined with the WBG’s reputation. So I have been wondering how the Society with all its vast experience and knowledge can be helpful.

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My feeling is that we need to find ways to become a source of support for the WBG. How can we bring our expertise and experience to help? How can we become positive proponents for the institution, but without becoming its apologists. Not an easy challenge, but I think we must find ways. Let me know if you have thoughts. Finally, I still am unclear how we can deepen our involvement with our overseas Chapters and make our activities accessible to them. In return, how can they support the Society. No easy answers. But if you have thoughts, particularly on how you as an overseas member can help, do let us know. Hope Spring is as bright for you and your family wherever you are. Best wishes, Inder Sud President, The 1818 Society

SIGN UP FOR THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THE “BULLETIN”

Many of you will have noticed significant delays in delivery of the printed copies of The 1818 Society Bulletin. These delays occurred in the printing and mailing processes, and were beyond our control; no such delays occurred for those receiving the electronic version. To avoid inconvenience resulting from any such future delays in delivery, you are encouraged to sign up for receiving the electronic version of The 1818 Society Bulletin. This does not prevent you from also receiving a printed copy. In my own case, living in Alexandria, VA, I received my copy of the printed version just short of one month(!) after receiving the electronic version. To sign up for the electronic version, send an email to 1society@worldbank.org with Electronic Bulletin in the subject line. Chuck Ziegler, Editor

SAVE THE DATES

The 2016 Annual Meeting of The 1818 Society

The 2016 Annual Meeting of The 1818 Society will take place on October 25-27, 2016. As in the past few years, in addition to the Annual Business Meeting there will be separate sessions on Pensions and on the Retiree Medical Insurance Program. All of these events will take place in the Preston Auditorium. Further details will follow.

Chapter Events

ANZ CHAPTER Much of the activities of the ANZ Chapter have been concerned with the aftermath of the appeal to the High Court related to the taxation of the WBG’s pension in Australia. As reported, the appeal was unsuccessful. The Court found against the exemption of the pension from income tax in Australia. This case has awakened the interest of many colleagues in other countries. Unfortunately, the Australian legal challenge was not in line with the successful challenge of UN colleagues in the Spanish courts. It is planned to have a Chapter meeting in Sydney on Sunday 5 June 2016, at a place to be determined. This will be an opportunity to bring colleagues together after the successful joint dinner with UN colleagues in Canberra in October.

BRAZIL CHAPTER The first annual meeting of the Brazil Chapter of the 1818 Society took place on December 17, 2014 at the Jockey Club in Rio de Janeiro. With so many colleagues spread around Brazil, the group has been maintaining contact mostly via e-mail. The Brazil Chapter welcomes spouses and former WBG consultants to the meetings as well as WBG colleagues, still active or retirees. A report on a recent trip to the Pantanal in the interior of Brazil will appear in the next issue of The 1818 Society Bulletin. Maria Teresa Serra (tserra@jurea.com)

BRITISH CHAPTER

The British Chapter is holding its Spring Reunion in Winchester from May 13-15, 2016. The program includes a walking tour of the town, including possible visits to the famous Winchester Cathedral and the Great Hall with the "famed" King Arthur’s Round Table. On Saturday, there will be a boat/coach trip to Queen Victoria’s summer home, Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight. A report on the Spring Reunion will appear in the next issue of The 1818 Society Bulletin.

CANADIAN CHAPTER The Canadian Chapter welcomes new members. Any former WBG staff who have not joined are welcome to contact Jim Smith at jsmith.econ@gmail.com. Jim would also welcome help in the task of contacting other Canadians who may potentially be interested in joining the Chapter. Assistance in maintaining the Chapter and promoting its activities would be greatly appreciated.

CHILEAN CHAPTER

Policy Colloquium: A dinner took place on April 7 in Santiago to discuss lessons from the agrarian reform on current structural policies in Chile. The speaker for the event was Alberto

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Valdés, who based the presentation on his recent book (see The 1818 Society Bulletin of December 2015, page 7). The event took place in the British Fire Company Social Club Hall, where Ernest Fones is part of the Leadership Team, and where the Chapter has had several of its gatherings. The discussion was highly interactive, since several members lived through some of the phases of agrarian reforms, and the issue had particular resonance because of several structural reforms currently under way in Chile, which confront similar issues stemming from the underlying diagnoses, design and implementation of such efforts. The publication of A. Valdés’ book triggered much wider debate, with all major newspapers in the country carrying letters from readers for various weeks with differing opinions on the success or failure of past reforms. In this sense, A. Valdes' main contribution to such debate has been the drawing of lessons based on empirical evidence for a more informed and objective grounding of debates. Local Health Insurance: The Chile Chapter Health committee, comprised of María Angélica Correa, María Raquel Rodriguez, Gloria Moreno, Silvia Lay and Jorge García Mujica has started a series of meetings with local and international health insurance companies to explore coverages that may complement coverages under the WBG’s MIP, particularly for “catastrophic” events, with a view of offering to Chapter members additional options, possibly by year-end. Accomplishments and Publications * Daphne Jeffery received the 2016 award for "Outstanding Women in Viña del Mar" city for her social and community activities in the area. http://www.vinadelmarchile.cl/articulo/municipio/1/3751/municipio-de-vina-del-mar-reconocio-a-10-destacadas-mujeres-de-la-comuna.html. * Over the past weeks, several unexpected “reviews” have started to come in concerning Duncan Campbell’s and Gladys Grace’s book on the Patagonia (see The 1818 Society Bulletin of December 2015, page 7). These are now starting to be gathered together on the following web page: http://patbrit.org/patagonia_wild_and_free.htm#comments under the heading of “Comments from Readers”. * Alberto Valdés and William Foster published a paper in the recent World Food Policy Journal on "Measuring the Size of the Renewable Resource Sector: The Case of Chile” at http://www.ipsonet.org/publications/open-access/world-food-policy/volume-2-number-1-spring-2015. * Andrés Solimano was featured in an exhibition of paintings entitled "Landscape and Color" at the UN Economic Commission for Latin America. * Vittorio Corbo has by now become a feature columnist in the country’s main newspaper (El Mercurio), publishing regular analyses about economic issues impacting on Chile. On March 13, his comments were on “Welcome to Concerns on Growth” at http://www.elmercurio.com/blogs/2016/03/13/40101/Bienvenida-la-preocupacion-por-el-crecimiento.aspx, and on April 10 on "World Economic Growth and the Hypothesis of Secular Stagnation" at http://www.economiaynegocios.cl/noticias/noticias.asp?id=241572. * Two papers on governance and policy implications by Miguel Schloss have been published by the Center of International Studies of the Catholic University in Chile on “Climate Change: Issues and Actions Pursuant to the Paris Summit” at http://ceiuc.cl/Recomendados/el-cambio-climatico-la-problematica-y-acciones-a-tomar-tras-la-cumbre-en-paris; and by the Government and Public Management of the University of San Martin USMP in Peru, on “International Experiences for Strengthening Governance” ISSN 2414-4991 http://www.revistagobiernoydegestionpublica.com/index.php/REVIGGP/article/view/2/3.

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DUTCH CHAPTER Seventeenth Annual Reunion, September 1-3, 2016, Breda Breda is a city in the southwest of the Netherlands, more precisely in the western part of the province of Brabant. The first written historical reference to Breda dates from 1125. In 1350, the Duke of Brabant sold the Breda territory to Jan van Polanen. His daughter married Count Engelbert of the house of Nassau in 1403. This is how Breda became the residence of the house of Nassau (later Oranje-Nassau) the present royal dynasty of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. From the 14th to the 17th century, Breda was a fortified city of political and miltary signifance, as it was a border town between the forces of the northern and southern parts of the Republic of the Netherlands. But after the 80 Years War—the Dutch war of independence—the House of Oranje-Nassau left Breda, and while it remained a military city, its development stagnated. However, in 1828 the Royal Military Academy was established, and in the second half of the 19th century, Breda developped as an industrial center of the food and beverage industry. More recently, barracks were abandoned and industry disappeared. Breda is now much more focussed on the service industry, and has become a center of education and a lively student town. Breda is well known for its 15th century Gothic church, its military academy, its beautiful historic center, its dense network of sidewalk cafés, and its southern atmosphere and hospitalty. We have made arrangements with the Golden Tulip Keyser Hotel in the center of Breda for accommodation. The details of an interesting program are being finalized. It will include a tour of the castle of Breda and the Miltary Academy, a boat tour of the city canals, and exploration of the Nassau past of the city, as well as a visit to the museum, where the history of Breda is presented. While the formal dinner will be in the hotel, we will have the other dinner in one of the taverns around the main square (less than 10 minutes walk from the hotel). For further information . and preliminary registration (pending full details end March) contact Jan ter Vrugt at jtervrugt@ziggo.nl or Robert-Jan van der Lugt at rj@laovan.demon.nl Future Reunions (dates fixed, plans tentative) 2017 – August 31 – September 2, De Betuwe 2018 – August 30 – September 1, Texel 2019 – September 5 – 7 (20 years), Hart of Holland

FLORIDA CHAPTER

Florida "Space Coast" Reunion – and Beyond Well – this was a wonderful reunion! Great company, activities, hotel, beach and weather! Forget cold, snow, rain – we barely saw a cloud. And, we are so sorry that several of you were unable to join us, including Shiva and Charu, as Shiva was recovering from shoulder surgery.

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We stayed in Cocoa Beach, close to the historic town of Cocoa on the Indian River. Participants had various explanations for the town name of Cocoa - that it came from ‘cocoa’ plantations, slavery...but historians claim a more mundane origin. Namely, that mail to Cocoa used to come by river boat and was placed in an empty tin box labeled “Baker’s Cocoa”. The box was simply nailed to a piling in the river. Our ‘Inn at Cocoa Beach’ was a wonderful, friendly beach front hotel, with chatty parrots, splendid views, breakfasts on the beach front patio, and free wine and cheese daily. In the evenings, we ate in great restaurants that readily accommodated our exceedingly noisy group. And, close by was the iconic Ron Jon surf shop—built in the guise of a giant sand castle and lit like a Christmas tree at night with revolving colors. Ironically, there were few surfers – except us! Our first day was spent in the Kennedy Space Center—a superb combination of science and grand theater where we could have spent an entire week. The KSC is absolutely fascinating, and well worth visiting. Day 2 we went kayaking on the Banana River, where we saw dolphins, manatees and ‘smiley’ (a 10+ foot gator); fortunately, he was swimming away from us. In the afternoon we went to the Port Canaveral Tower, which oversees the container and cruise ships in the port, but appeared to be more museum/tourist attraction/movie house/café. Magnificent architecture, but it was not clear why tax-payers’ dollars should have funded this. We were very fortunate that Inder Sud, our new 1818 President and lovely wife, Peg were with us and Inder brought us up to date on happenings in HQ, and with the 1818 society. But thanks must go to Robin and Connie Broadfield for their superb organization, and the wonderful activities and restaurants that they arranged for us! Moving forward, it seems that most Florida residents/snowbirds prefer to meet locally for lunch or outings, rather than a reunion. So, although Karin, Robin, and I are thinking of possibly trying to get a group for a cruise to Cuba in the winter of 2017; regional events will be planned for the fall and 2017 season. If you would be interested in a Cuban cruise, please email me. I am especially pleased that Aulikki Kuusela has offered to organize a lunch/event in the Sarasota area, and Maureen Miller in the Jacksonville area, while Karin continues to dream up all manner of events for the Boca/Miami area. So, I hope you all had a wonderful season here, and see you back in the Fall! Till then, if you have ideas for events or activities for the Chapter – I am very open to your suggestions. Sandra Hadler, sachadler@gmail.com Chair, Florida Chapter

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FRENCH-SPEAKING CHAPTER

The General Assembly will take place on May 24th in the Bank Office in Paris. It will be followed

by a presentation and discussion of the book Africanistan by our colleague Serge Michailof.

Christian Merat, former President of the French-Speaking Chapter and member of the Board, and

Elke Kreuzwieser, member of the German-Speaking Chapter, met recently in order to exchange

information on the organization of the 2017 meeting in Strasbourg (France) and the Alsace Wine

Region. This trip, organized jointly by the German-Speaking and French-Speaking Chapters, will

take place in September 2017. The exact date (second week end of September) has been finalized

after coordination with the Dutch Chapter (as some members of the German-Speaking Chapter

would like to also attend the trip organized by the Dutch Chapter).

Regarding 2016, French members are invited to participate in the German-Speaking Chapter trip

in Kiel (September 2 to 5). A number of French-Speaking Chapter members are already registered

Information concerning the French-Speaking Chapter is available on the website:

http:www.1818france.org.

For additional information please contact Joëlle Le Vourc’h at jlevourch@gmail.com.

GERMAN-SPEAKING CHAPTER

As previously announced, the 2016 Annual Meeting of the German-Speaking Chapter will take place

from September 2 - 5 in Kiel, a port city on the coast of the German part of the Baltic Sea. Fritz

Fischer and Nico Nissen have prepared an excellent program which can be found with details

regarding hotels and participation fee on the www.kreis-1818.de website. All 1818 Society members

are entitled to register.

For further information, please contact: fritz.fischer@ki.tng.de or fkaps@t-online.de.

IRAN CHAPTER The Iran Chapter met in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2016 to celebrate the Iranian New Year (Nowruz), and to listen to a presentation by Mr. Nader Majd regarding Iranian classical music, and to a briefing by Mr. Ali Salehizadeh on a unique feature of the Iranian calendar system. The topic of Mr. Majd’s presentation was “Aesthetics in Persian Classical Music”. He provided a rich description of various modalities in Iranian classical music, as well as discussing both the aesthetic and ontological traits of music in Iran. Mr. Majd, an economist by training and a retired WBG colleague, is one of the founders of Iranian Cultural Society in Washington, D.C. He has established the Center for Persian Classical Music in Vienna, Virginia, where he is presently its director. He has written many articles on aspects of Persian classical music, has composed many songs, and is a renowned Tar player, a key instrument in the Persian classical music.

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Mr. Salehizadeh, also an economist by training and a retired IMF colleague, provided an informative perspective on the difference in the observation of leap years in Iranian and Gregorian calendars and the reasons for superior accuracy of the Iranian calendar. If you need any further information, please contact Mohammad Farhandi at mmfarhandi@yahoo.com.

JAPAN CHAPTER The 2016 Annual Meeting of Japan Chapter will be held on Friday, July 15. The venue is at the restaurant “KOKIDEN” of Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in Tokyo (Tel 813-3447-1139). We are now arranging a special guest speaker (most likely on the current global economic turmoil). As usual, we are expecting a cheerful get-together this year. As Japan Chapter’s membership rules are more liberal than The 1818 Society’s rules in terms of eligibility, we always welcome new members. Please contact our administrator through e-mail: 1818societyjapan@gmail.com for details. The Japanese and English language version of the Japan Chapter’s web homepage can be found at http//www.1818societyjapan.com/. For further information and/or details, the contacts in Japan are: Ms. Y. Okamoto, Director, at okamoto.tea@gmail.com; and Mr. H. Hamaguchi, President, at harutaka_hamaguchi@kenedix.com. For the Washington, D.C. area, contact Mr. K. D. Kikuchi, HQ Liaison at kunio_kikuchi@yahoo.com.

ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT LUNCHEON The staff of the former Engineering Department got together once again for an enjoyable lunch in the IFC building on October 30. Twenty-two colleagues were able to join Mak and Andreas. Another luncheon is planned in late October 2016 which should include staff of the former Technical and Environment Department. Based on the feedback from participants, the luncheon will probably take place in the MC dining room. All former colleagues are encouraged to attend. An invitation will be issued approximately three months beforehand. Please keep Corinne informed of your current e-mail address (cmoore52@gmail.com).

REVISED HANDBOOK FOR ADVANCE PLANNING BY RETIREES & FAMILIES

Now Available On Our Website

A revised version of the Handbook for Advance Planning by Retirees & Families (previously called, Handbook for Survivors of World Bank Group Retirees) is now available on our website. The revised version and its title underscore the fact that advance planning for our inevitable, eventual end of life can prevent many problems that survivors would otherwise face, and also simplify their very difficult tasks. To that effect, the revised Handbook exhorts us to think and act ahead, and it

Page 11 1818 Staff Retirement Plan Group May 2016

provides useful information to help us to do this. Of course, the Handbook is a 'living' document, so suggestions, questions, and comments are encouraged and can be addressed to ksiraj@1818alumniwbg.org.

EVENTS IN D.C. If you live in the D.C. area, or are visiting, we hope you will sign up for our interesting activities and visits in the D.C. area! Details are, or will be, posted on our website. An e-mail is normally sent to those living in the D.C. area by The 1818 Society office with the details of the planned visits. Please join us whenever you can!

1818 STAFF RETIREMENT PLAN GROUP

The past two months have been busy for the SRP Group. The Pension Finance Committee (PFC) held its yearly retreat late in March. The purpose is to enable the Committee to review in detail the performance of the investment portfolio supporting the Staff Retirement Plan (SRP), discuss market prospects, and provide input on asset allocation. In early May, the PFC will hold its yearly meeting to review the required contribution by the World Bank Group (WBG) to the pension fund. The amount is determined by an independent actuary prepared and presented by Buck Consultants, a leading external independent actuary based on informed estimates concerning future benefits payable and projected investment returns. The PFC reviews and approves a contribution amount based on the Buck recommendation, which it then reports to the WBG boards of directors as the contribution required by the SRP plan document. The SRP Group also met with the WBG's VP for Budget, who reported that the WBG has budget for FY17-19 to cover both what it anticipates will be the actuarially required pension contribution plus an amount to be held in the Post-Retirement Contribution Reserve Fund (PRCRF) established several years ago to mitigate volatility in required WBG contributions that can occur due to fluctuations in the market value of the pension fund. The WBG projects that the reserve fund will reach around $120 million by end-FY18. In the meantime, the $16 million reserve fund contribution otherwise due for FY15 will be postponed to FY19 to avoid impairing an equity capital increase for IDA to which IBRD committed. The Pension Benefit Administration Committee (PBAC) also met in early April. It reviews unsolved retiree pension issues, and ensures that the plan is administered consistently and with due care of its beneficiaries. A large share of cases presented to PBAC stem from miscommunication between staff and the Pension Department at the time of retirement. While it is understandable that retirees may be overwhelmed with forms and papers when leaving the WBG, and that pension issues may be complex, one nevertheless cannot overstress the need for utmost care and caution by prospective retirees in making important decisions. Revisions and changes are not easy, and often impossible ex-post due to legal constraints grounded in the agreements underpinning the SRP, and other applicable provisions of law. Finally, a number of retirees who had opted for irrevocable non-dollar pension payments have raised concerns that their pension deposits have been declining in the past months. As you may know, while the exchange rate for pensions is fixed at the time of a retiree’s decision, the RIMP

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is always denominated in US dollars, and its conversion rate changes from year to year. As such, when the US$ appreciates, the deductions for non-US$ pensions will be higher. This has always been WBG policy. Please see Inder Sud’s email of April 25, 2016, for further details. By Nadereh Chamlou

NOW AVAILABLE! Appointments for HR Operations Services WBG retirees can now schedule appointments for services offered by HR Operations. Pre-booked appointments save time by providing guaranteed time slots that don’t involve any waiting time. To book an appointment, please use the WBG’s HR website. Appointments are available for face-to-face services in Washington, DC or via telephone worldwide. Please note that scheduled appointments can be changed or cancelled as necessary. HR Operations will continue to provide face-to-face services without appointments on weekdays between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have any questions, please send a message to hroperations@worldbank.org.

FUND-BANK SKI CLUB

The 2016/17 Ski Club program is still being finalized but these are the proposals:

December 8-14, 2016: Vail, Colorado

January 13-22, 2017: Austria (possibly Ischgl)

February 4-11, 2017: Taos, New Mexico

February 25-March 4, 2017: Telluride, Colorado

The club website will be updated in due course www.fundbankskiclub.org.

DID YOU KNOW?

In introducing the first installment of what is planned as a regular feature in "The 1818 Society Bulletin" of helpful tips contributed by 1818 Society members, it was noted that “whether there is a second and subsequent installments depends on YOU, so keep your tips coming! Send them to the Editor at cziegler1@hotmail.com.” As we go to press, no further tips have been received. The Editor finds it difficult to believe that Society members, with their extensive educational, professional, and travel experience have not accumulated a vast store of helpful tips! As hoarding is entirely antithetical to the spirit of the World Bank, the Editor chooses to believe that only a little cajoling is all that is required for Society members to come forth with a vast store of tips that would be helpful to their fellow Society members. So, we’ll keep this feature open for one more issue of the Bulletin.

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1818 SOCIETY HIKING CLUB

Dust off your hiking shoes and let’s hit the trail 2015 # 5: Cherry Blossom Walk Following its first four hikes of 2015, the 1818 Hiking Club organized a Cherry Blossom Walk on March 25 to celebrate the arrival of Spring. A walk around the Tidal Basin, especially under the cherry blossoms, is always invigorating. 2015 # 6: Three Falls Hike The first outing of the year to Shenandoah National Park was on March 27. The Three Falls Hike brought 18 of us from the Big Meadows Amphitheater, along the Appalachian Trail, across Skyline Drive to the Rose River Falls and Dark Hollow Falls, then a steep climb up to Skyline Drive. While a few opted to end the hike there and headed off to the restaurant where we had made reservations, most of us continued on the final loop down to Lewis Falls before returning back to the Amphitheater. This was a 9.3-mile hike, with a total elevation gain of 2,205 ft. Not bad for a Sunday outing and a well-earned lunch in Sperryville. For other members who would like to visit these waterfalls in a more leisurely fashion, we recommend staying at Big Meadows Lodge at 3,510 ft. above sea level, in the middle of Shenandoah National Park (Milestone 51). All three falls are easily accessible from the Lodge. The 2016 season opens on May 11. 2015 # 7: Little Devils Stairs Hike This is a hidden treasure closer to Washington, D.C. The steep, rocky trail along Keyser Run up the first two miles of the hike earns it the label “Little Devils Stairs.” This hike is more picturesque in the spring when more water flows down the run, but is also makes it more slippery, and hikers need to tread carefully, since you have to cross Keyser Run multiple times. The rocky gorge is well worth the view, as long as you don’t do it immediately after a heavy rainfall, or while it is raining. Twenty adventurous souls ventured out to this hike on April 17, and were rewarded by a good workout along rocky and forested trails. In keeping with the 1818 Hiking Club tradition, while 15 hikers tackled the rocky gorge, five opted to hike up the longer fire road to the top. Both achieved an elevation gain of 1,480 ft., and were rewarded by a pleasant walk through the pine and hemlock forest on the way.

1818 YOGA CLUB The 1818 Yoga Club has been organizing a free weekly yoga class every Tuesday since January 2016. The yoga club is run by Davinder Sakhuja, who has been volunteering his time to promote yoga among 1818 alumni. The class is held from 11 am – 12 noon in the “I” Building. Some alumni have become regular participants, while others come intermittently. Beginners and advanced yoga practitioners are welcome to join. Davinder is looking for yoga practitioners or trainers among 1818 alumni, who are willing to share the responsibility of running the yoga club or be a substitute teacher occasionally. Interested volunteers are encouraged to contact Davinder at dmsakhuja@yahoo.com.

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DO MORE WITH YOUR 1818 E-MAIL ACCOUNT

By Lesley Shneier

Did you know that your 1818 e-mail account offers you far more than simply e-mail? To start

with, your username is your secure ID to log in to the Member Area on the 1818 Society website.

So, even if you don’t use the e-mail itself, you still need a username as an ID.

However, if you do use the email, then you have access to many other applications and functions.

Amongst other things, you can:

Store files in the cloud: each one of us has 30GB of storage space across Gmail and

Google Drive

Securely access your data from all your mobile devices, synced in real time

Collaborate in real time with colleagues on proposals, meeting agendas, and more through

Google Docs, Sheets and Slides

To access the above tools and functions, simply click on the App launcher, which can be found

in the top right corner of your e-mail and looks like a small square of 3x3 dots. The drop down

menu will show you what’s available to you. If you don’t see what you want, click “More” at the

bottom, and others will open up to you.

In subsequent issues of the Bulletin, we will provide instructions on using each of these tools. For

now, let’s just talk about using Docs, Sheets and Slides. I must confess to have been completely

mystified at a recent Google MeetUp (aka conference) where they all talked very knowledgeably

about Docs, Sheets and Slides, which I’d never heard of. Well, it turned out that these are Google’s

version of tools for writing, spreadsheets, and making presentations, for which most people use

Microsoft Office (so, aka Word, Excel, PowerPoint). The major advantage of using

Docs/Sheets/Slides is that there is no need to purchase or renew any licenses. It is part of the

Google suite of tools provided with your email account. Simply click on the App launcher (the

square of 3x3 dots in the upper right corner), then click on whichever tool you want to use.

I am actually writing this document in Docs. As I write, everything is automatically saved in Drive.

The typical editing tools appear at the top as they do in other document programs, such as bold,

italic, font, undo etc. What’s really useful is that you can easily share the document with others by

clicking “share” at the top right corner of the document and entering their e-mails. They can

comment, and they can also edit in real time, so you can actually collaborate and work together

even if you’re not in the same place. Sheets and Slides work in the same way. The one caveat is

that Microsoft’s PowerPoint and Excel offer greater functionality, but since I have no need for

fancy slides nor exotic spreadsheet functionality, they work well for me, and I haven’t yet found

anything that I couldn’t do with the Google tools!

If you don’t yet have your email account, please click here. If you need help with email or using

these tools, please send an email to webadmin@1818alumniwbg.org.

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RETIREE ACCESS TO MATERIALS IN THE LIBRARY NETWORK

From time to time the issue is raised of retiree access to materials in the Library Network. As

demonstrated in the excerpt below from the web site of the World Bank’s Library Network,

retirees have many resources available to them.

Retirees of WB Group and IMF Library Access

Most Library Network facilities are open to retirees of the IMF and the World Bank Group during regular

library hours. Materials may be used in the libraries and photocopied. To gain admittance to the building and the

library, retirees must have their Fund or Bank ID cards.

Borrowing

The Joint Library and the World Bank Group Library extend borrowing privileges to retirees. The terms and

conditions of borrowing are listed below.

Retirees are entitled to borrow a maximum of five (5) books or items for a period of two (2) weeks

without renewal privileges.

The retiree must have a permanent domicile address in the Washington metropolitan area.

The retiree must register a daytime contact telephone number and home or work address with the Library

system.

Items on loan may be recalled at any time if requested by a staff member, and the retiree must return the

recalled item(s) within 24 hours of notification.

All items must be returned by hand to the Library.

All items must be returned before the retiree leaves the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Periodicals, reference items, and other materials available for loan to Bank or Fund staff for less than

two (2) weeks may not be borrowed by retirees.

For lost items the staff member must pay in full the invoice cost plus a $25 handling fee.

Interlibrary Loan service is not available to retirees.

Research

Our services support staff's business activities. Because of copyright and licensing agreements, Library

staff will search and download items from electronic resources only for active staff.

Library access and borrowing privileges may vary among libraries. Please contact the libraries directly.

The matter of access to electronic journals and other such materials are necessarily restricted, as

contracts with external information providers are based on number of staff (i.e., any staff member

legally recognized as a consultant or employee of the institutions). Adding the number of retirees

to the contracts (approximately 10,000) would raise the cost of databases regardless of whether

the retirees made use of them or not. Even adding a smaller number of retirees would require re-

visiting each contract.

Questions should be addressed to LADevelopment@worldbank.org and in the subject line, write

“Attn: Eliza McLeod”.

Thematic Group Events

Each 1818 Thematic Group would like to link up with new retirees from its Group. Right now, leaders of the Thematic Groups review the list of new members in each 1818 Society Bulletin to spot newcomers affiliated with their sectors. Please help us improve on this hit-and-miss system by alerting the Thematic Group contacts mentioned below about new members affiliated with Operational Thematic Groups.

1818 AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1818 Society Agriculture and Rural Development Chapter and the Agriculture Global practice co-hosted a seminar on “Addressing Second Generation Challenges of the Green Revolution While Managing Natural Resources and Climate Change” on Monday, March 21, 2016 at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. It was presented by Dr. Raj Paroda, Chairman of the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS) and former Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Government of India. He has been bestowed with numerous honors for his contributions for advancing agricultural development. He also has been the founder chairman of Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR,) and served for more than two decades as Executive Secretary of Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI). The seminar was a full house, attended by around 70 participants from the World Bank Group, 1818 Society, Embassy of India, India Agriculture Group, CGIAR, USDA, USAID, universities and local NGOs. The session was introduced by Mr. Jitendra Srivastava, 1818 Society, and chaired by Ms. Preeti Ahuja, Practice Manager, Agriculture Global Practice. Ms. Eija Pehu, Senior Advisor, Agricultural Global Practice was the discussant. The speaker pointed out that agriculture in India is a victim of its past successes—especially the Green Revolution. It has become cereal centric, regionally biased and input intensive. Second generation challenges for the Green Revolution have surfaced prominently, such as factor productivity, decline in soil health and water table, loss of soil organic carbon, ground and surface water pollution, water-related stresses, increased incidence of pests and diseases, increased cost of inputs, decline in farm profits, and the adverse impacts of climate change. He emphasized that it now requires increasing productivity by getting “more from less,” agricultural diversification, of growing less water-requiring crops, promoting water saving measures, promoting landscape-based production systems, facilitating large-scale adoption of proven technologies, support for new inventions, and ensuring market reforms. He pointed out that building partnerships, ensuring effective implementation, coordination, and accountability at all levels are the needs of the day for agriculture to meet the emerging demands of the 21st century. Ms. Eija Pehu, pointed out that while India has made remarkable progress in achieving food sufficiency, it is imperative to continue development of new innovations, human skills, support for large scale use of new technologies and practices, better management of natural resources with necessary policies, institutions and investments. She mentioned the need to resolve the on-going debate on genetically engineered crops.

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The chair made the concluding remarks by thanking Dr. Raj Paroda for his inspiring presentation, and hoped that he will continue to share his knowledge and experience with development partners. The world is a better place with the achievements of India in achieving fivefold increase in foodgrain production using Green Revolution technologies and other necessary support. However, it is worrisome that in the last decade the growth rate has declined, and the issue of sustainability of current production systems has emerged. She emphasized the importance of appropriate policy support, technologies, institutions, human resources and partnerships. She also thanked the organizers, discussants and participants for their interest in this important topic, and for sharing their valuable experience, which is useful for strategic development of agriculture to meet the new challenges. The link for PowerPoint presentation of Dr. Paroda is on the Agriculture Chapter page. We would very much like to form an advisory group for the Agriculture and Rural Development Chapter of The 1818 Society, and would appreciate an indication of your willingness to serve on such a body by sending a note to Jitendra Srivastava at jitendras573@gmail.com and Shawki Barghouti at shawkibarghouti@gmail.com.

Send your feedback and suggestions to Shawkibarghouti@gmail.com with issues you would like the Chapter to share with members of The 1818 Society.

1818 SOCIETY ECONOMISTS' CHAPTER

In March, the group enjoyed a presentation by Lorenzo Perez (ex-IMF) on “Cuba in Transition,” which highlighted the past record of reform efforts in Cuba, and prospects for the future. Dr. Perez noted that history of Cuba during the period of 1959 through 2005 included the various attempts at introducing market-oriented reforms in times of crisis, only to be reversed when conditions improved. The pattern in recent years, under President Raul Castro, has seen more substantial and permanent reforms, but with some back tracking as well. Hopefully, the resumption of diplomatic relations by the U.S., and easing of travel restrictions, will eventually lead to an end to the economic embargo and help support continued reforms. On April 27, Deepak Mishra made a presentation on the World Development Report 2016, Digital Dividends. Dr. Mishra is co-director of this year’s report. Society member Dr. Nagy Hanna served as discussant. The 2016 WDR documents the profound and transformational effects of digital technologies that are boosting growth, expanding opportunities, and improving services. But it also finds that all too often the benefits have fallen short, and sometimes have gone just to those better equipped to take advantage of the digital revolution: the wealthy, the skilled and the powerful. Dr. Mishra noted the benefits and risks posed by digital technologies, and what can be done to ensure that digital dividends reach those at the bottom of the global income distribution. Future seminars are being planned, and members are encouraged to send suggestions to the chairman at nhicks4@cox.net.

1818 EDUCATION SECTOR GROUP

Steve Heyneman, Professor Emeritus, International Education Policy, Vanderbilt University, a

Bank staff member from 1976 to 1998, and former Chief of the ECA Social Sector Division, gave

a well-attended talk on April 21, 2016 on “Corruption in Education: Consequences and Proposals

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for Amelioration.” He described his experiences observing corruption in higher education in ECA

and elsewhere, including cases when wealthy students privately pay to raise their grades, faculty

falsify data in their publications, and rectors bribe to have their university accredited. Other cases

discussed included teacher corruption in Mexico, procurement corruption in Kenya, and massive

cheating on examinations in India.

The discussion defined the categories of corruption and the prevalence of each category in

geographical regions, and proposed steps needed to return the education sector to meritocratic

principles. Using data on perceptions of corruption in education in 68 countries, Steve found that

a nation’s perceived corruption significantly reduced the payoff to higher education. Regular

published surveys of corruption show that the possibility of exposure and professional

embarrassment reduce the propensity to engage in corruption.

The Education Advisory Group invites its audience to propose speakers and topics at future

events. The Group consists of: Sverrir Sigurdsson (tssigurdsson@gmail.com), Marlaine Lockheed

(mlockheed@verizon.net), Eluned Schweitzer (elunedrob@hotmail.com), Larry Wolff

(larrywolff@live.com), Michael Mertaugh (michaelmertaugh@gmail.com), Eduardo Velez

(evelezbustillo@hotmail.com), Susan Hirshberg (shirshberg1@gmail.com) and Jee Peng Tan

(jeepengtan@gmail.com).

1818 ENERGY GROUP The Energy Group held a successful and well-attended panel discussion on February 17, 2016,

COP Climate Change Conference in Paris: The Challenges Still Ahead. The discussions

were very educative and informative on the (more than 180) recommendations agreed upon by

the many countries (about 190) that participated. The panel consisted of Dana Younger who has

been responsible for developing IFC’s portfolio in renewable energy; James Bond, a member of

the Energy Group and a former Director of MIGA and current Senior Adviser to the Executive

Director of the Green Climate Fund, and who was recently awarded the Legion d’honneur by

the French Government in recognition of his services to the nation; and Joshua Melzer, Senior

Fellow in Global Economy and Development at the Brookings Institution.

The panel explained the objectives of the Green Climate Fund with regard to promoting clean

energy and reduction in carbon emissions; the impact of improved technologies in reducing costs

in the development of solar energy; and the level of investments that would be required if the

recommendations agreed to in Paris are to be implemented.

However, it was disappointing that there was a very limited presence at the discussions from

current World Bank Group staff from the Energy and Extractive Industries Global Practice, or

from the environmental and climate change areas of the Bank, despite considerable publicity

provided from Chas Feinstein’s office in advance of the meeting. In general, we have not been

successful in attracting many current WBG staff, and would welcome any suggestions you may

have.

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Our next presentation will be given on Tuesday, May 24, by Pierre Larroque, who will speak on

“Outlook for Unconventional Oil and Gas Production and its Impact on Future Oil

Prices”. Pierre, who worked in IFC in his early career, has been advising the Saudi government

closely in recent years, and will also discuss Saudi Arabia’s objectives, capabilities, and options as

part of his presentation. We still hope to be able to arrange presentations later this year on the

USAID- sponsored Power Africa program as well as on India’s New Energy Development Strategy.

For further information about activities of the Energy Group, please contact either Mike Gillette (mj_gillette@yahoo.com), Mohammad Farhandi (mmfarhandi@yahoo.com), Akin Oduolowu (oduolowu@yahoo.com); Eugene McCarthy (emcc8940@aol.com); Alain Barbu (abarbu@hotmail.com); Istvan Dobozi (isdobozi@gmail.com); or Hal Wackman hal.wackman@gmail.com.

GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER

On the occasion of the International Women’s Day on March 8th, the 1818 Gender and Development Thematic Group organized a guided tour for 25 visitors to the National Museum of Women in the Arts, thanks to the efforts of Dominique Lallement, the co-chair of the Thematic Group. The Museum was founded in 1981 by Wilhelmina Holladay to celebrate the work of women artists. Holladay and her husband were collectors of women’s art, and inspired to establish the museum when they realized they could not find works of women artists or exhibitions in the mainstream museums around the world, despite the fact that there were numerous renowned female painters, sculptors, photographers, etc. As a result, such works were hardly mentioned in art history books, or covered in academic studies. This led to an under-representation of women’s work in auctions and undervaluation in the art market. This omission naturally reduced women’s access to patrons, and the ability to pursue the arts as a profession. In many ways, the conditions of women in the art world resembled the condition of women in many other professions, which were male-dominated throughout centuries. The museum’s permanent collection contains more than 4,500 works in a variety of styles and media, spanning from the 16th century to present day, and houses one of the richest art history libraries on women’s arts. Its current exhibition called “She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World” that is highly recommended and runs through July 31, 2016. Our former colleague Aida Haddad has kindly prepared a report about the visit in English and Arabic that can be read in full in the following link: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTSTAFF/1818SOCIETY/0,,contentMDK:23717125~pagePK:64156201~piPK:64156133~theSitePK:444067,00.html The next quarterly event of the Thematic Group will be a discussion of the various initiatives to increase the number of women in corporate board rooms. It will be announced shortly. For suggestions and comments, please contact: Nadereh Chamlou at Nchamlou@gmail.com, Dominique Lallement at dominique.lallement@gmail.com and Mark Blackden at mblackden@comcast.net.

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GLOBAL FINANCE CHAPTER Our Chapter’s objectives for 2016 are to cover financial, economic, and social development issues in two Regions we have so far somewhat neglected, Latin America and the Caribbean and Sub Sahara Africa, to open a first discussion on global financial markets; to follow up on the implementation of financial regulations; and, to analyze what are the financial resources available to address environmental issues. We are also looking at new ways to liaise with our colleagues in the World Bank Group. Finally, we intend to publish a booklet on all our presentations since the creation of our Chapter in November 2013. In pursuing these objectives, we held two important sessions early in the year: one as an introduction to the LAC countries economic and financial performance since the global financial crisis of 2008; the other having a discussion on the performance of Argentina, for its new government’s economic orientation, if successfully implemented, might become a real case study of public management. On February 3rd, Claudio Loser, a national from Argentina, a Senior Fellow at the Anti-American Dialogue, with a Master of Arts and a PhD from the University of Chicago, former Director of the Western Hemisphere Department in the IMF, presently President of Centennial Group Latin-America, talked to us on the economic performance and development perspectives of the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Claudio’s main messages were clearly delivered to a large and attentive audience. These countries had been part of the emerging market economies that were seen as a promise for renewed world economic growth after the 2008 global financial crisis that affected the United States and Western Europe, followed by their slow recovery. Good economic growth, sensible improvement in human development and income distribution, were the strong characteristics of the LAC economies. Unfortunately, the global picture changed dramatically in 2014. At the outset of 2016, the LAC countries are suffering from the external shocks that have developed in the wake of substantial decline in commodity prices, which remains the essential backbone of the region’s exports. The key question is whether the LAC countries will be able to counteract even stronger adverse external constraints in the future. This will call for a transformation of their economies that can only be achieved by reducing their exposure to the volatility of exchange rates, the introduction of innovative technological approaches, increasing production diversification and orientation to export, with new emphasis to regional integration, and, of course, reforming their education system and having a fresh look at governance in both the public and private sectors. We welcome Claudio’s optimism regarding the LAC countries ability to undertake such changes. Yet, political uncertainties may very well jeopardize their presently mediocre long-term economic prospects. On March 11, 2016, Silvina Vatnick, an Argentine national, a former WBG staff member, co-founder and former President of the Center for Financial Stability in Buenos Aires, currently Managing Partner at Global Outcomes; and, Marcelo Giugale, an Argentine and Italian national, who holds a PhD and an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics, and a Suma-Cum-Laude BA in Economics from Universidad Católica, Argentina, a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, presently Senior Economic Adviser of the World Bank Group’s Cluster of Global Practices for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions, opened a general discussion on the topic of Argentina following the unexpected 2015 electoral victory of market-oriented reformer Mauricio Macri.

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Silvina’s snapshot on the inheritance of the former government, which has left the country in dire economic straits saddled by a recurrent fiscal deficit, double-digit inflation and critically low foreign exchanges reserves, was particularly enlightening. But she also cautioned that most figures were to be taken with a grain of salt, for the state statistics agency is largely discredited. Consequently, the country’s disappointing economic performance could become even worse. She then explained that the new government is enjoying a political honeymoon that it wants to use to introduce a series of reforms not heard in Argentina for the past few decades. Within a general policy framework of achieving poverty reduction, fighting narco-trafficking, and uniting the population, sweeping decisions are being taken, from the modernization of the public sector and the normalization of the country relations with the international financial community and creditors, to reducing inflation while maintaining a social safety net for the most vulnerable of the population. The audience, already reasonably informed by the media, was almost speechless listening to the kind of reforms the WBG has been always recommending with its structural adjustment programs. Marcelo did raise three complementary points regarding the diagnostic explained by Silvina. They concerned the failure of past monetary policy, the difficulty to introduce any relevant cost of living statistics where everything is distorted and administratively controlled, and perhaps more important, the quasi nonexistent value of public assets. He also underlined that the government had not established yet a well thought strategy for growth. Indeed, despite the high level of population, education and talents, the world’s largest reserves of shale oil and gas, and world’s third largest exporter of soya, the implementation of reforms would face the key issues of lack of project availability and preparation, of a real agenda for achieving poverty reduction, and last but not least, a good framework to reestablish country links to the financial community. These two discussions were presaging another interesting and informative year for our Chapter. Information on the Global Finance Chapter's program of activities and feedback on presentations and minutes

of meetings is available on our Chapter's Section in the 1818 Society Internet site. You may also contact either:

Rene Costa, Chairman (renelcosta@verizon.net), or John Nellis, Co-chairman and Senior Adviser, public

administration and finance Gohn.nellis@gmail.com); or, Wolfgang Schaefer, Co-chairman and Senior

Adviser, private sector and PPP (Schaefer@georgetowninternational.com); or Jed Shilling, Co-chairman and

Senior Adviser, economics and trade (jedshilling@verizon.net).

GOVERNANCE THEMATIC GROUP The Governance Thematic Group was formed only in 2015, and adopted the following four objectives: (a) keeping members up-to-date in the professional discipline; (b) debating and analyzing specific developmental initiatives in the governance arena; (c) serving as a repository of knowledge available to interested institutions; and (d) fostering social, cultural or professional interests by members of the Group. Details can be found at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/1818SOCIETY/Resources/Governace_Thematic_Group_Statement_of_Objectives_FINAL_NOV15.pdf . The group has organized three well-attended speaking events and established contact with management of the Governance Global Practice. It is welcoming many new members, who all

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signed up to be group members in March 2016. The Group is planning to reach out to all group members for help in making the group more active and useful to all the members. The group is also planning speaking events and discussion groups this summer. For more information, please contact Vinaybhargav@gmail.com.

1818 SOCIETY WORLD BANK HISTORY THEMATIC GROUP The purpose of The 1818 Society World Bank History Thematic Group is to foster greater appreciation for and understanding of the history of the World Bank Group, its successes and failures, and the staff who have served it. On April 21, the History Thematic Group (HTG) sponsored a panel discussion organized by Nagy Hanna, former Senior Advisor and Lead Strategist, World Bank entitled How Did the Bank Respond to the Information and Communication Technology Revolution? In addition to Nagy, other panel participants, representing a good mix of current and past WBG staff members, were Samia Melhem, Lead ICT Policy Officer, Transport and ICT Global Practice; Carlo Rossotto, ICT Regional Coordinator, Transport and ICT Global Practice; and Mike Trucano, Senior Education and ICT Expert, Education Global Practice. The panel moderator was Jean Louis Sarbib, CEO, Development Gateway Foundation, and former VP, World Bank, and currently Chief Executive Officer at Development Gateway. For the last three decades, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) have undergone exponential change, and diffused quickly across the world, perhaps more than any other general-purpose technology in history. Meantime, ICT practice within the WBG has undergone many reorganizations, but remained primarily focused on telecommunication infrastructure. Most recently, the World Development Report of 2016, has been devoted to realizing the Digital Dividends, demonstrating the high stakes involved for developing countries. Yet, Bank lending for ICT is estimated to have declined from about 6-10 percent of investment projects (and present in about 60-70 percent of them) in the 90s to about 3-5 percent total today. Moreover, the relatively small budget and staffing of the ICT Global Practice are currently planned to be cut even more dramatically, under the ongoing reorganization. Why? What lessons can be learned from this history of underinvestment by the World Bank in such an important, transformative technology? What has constrained Bank response? What can the Bank learn from the demand of clients, and past performance? These are among the questions the panel members considered during their discussion. An audio recording of the panel discussion will soon be available on the History Thematic Group portion of The 1818 Society’s web page: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTSTAFF/1818SOCIETY/0,,contentMDK:23631131~menuPK:9708600~pagePK:64156201~piPK:64156133~theSitePK:444067,00.html On June 9, Dr. Devesh Kapur, co-author of The World Bank: Its First Half Century, is scheduled to present a talk tentatively entitled "Vexing Strands: The Persistent Institutional Dilemmas of the World Bank". Details to be announced.

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If you are interested in joining this Thematic Group, or have suggestions for topics and presenters, please contact Chuck Ziegler, History Thematic Group Coordinator, at cziegler1@hotmail.com. Chuck Ziegler, Coordinator, 1818 Society World Bank History Thematic Group

HNP GROUP

Thanks to the recent survey of the 1818 Society in which people were asked about their affiliations, the HNP Chapter now has more or less doubled in size. A warm welcome to all the new members, and I hope you won't regret your choice. When I became a member and coordinator of this group about a year and a half ago, we held a short survey amongst the members to know what one expected from the 1818 Chapter. Given that we have so many new members I think we may need to repeat that survey. We will likely do so in the coming weeks. The HNP sector is blessed by great interest of development partners, and therefore there are plenty of interesting seminars, Brown Bag Lunches and workshops organized in the D.C. Region. I will forward to you all invitations which I receive, including WBG events. Tim Evans, the Senior Director of the HNP Global Practice has graciously accepted that we as retirees are invited at no cost to any World Bank Brown Bag Lunches or seminar organized by the HNP Global Practice, It was good to see that e.g., several of us attended recently the seminars on Mental Health and on Financing for Universal Health Coverage, both organized in relation to the World Bank Spring Meetings. To old and new members, I would like to say: Remember, I am just the coordinator, the activities of the HNP Group depend largely on the actions of its members. Kees Kostermans, Coordinator of the 1818 HNP Chapter

THE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHAPTER

Social and Environmental Chapter & 1818 Hiking Club – joint seminar April 21, 2016 A joint seminar was organized on “Bhutan: An Outsider-Insider's Perspective” by Dr. Mark LaPrairie, Senior Education Specialist, the World Bank. Mark was the World Bank’s first Resident Representative in Bhutan, and has a long association with Bhutan since his days as a Canadian volunteer. This seminar was the first of several briefing sessions on Bhutan being organized in view of the upcoming trips to Bhutan in September-October 2016. Mark’s long experience in Bhutan since 1988, when he was a Canadian volunteer school teacher, until 2008, when he established the World Bank Group office in 2008 and served as its first Resident Representative, made him an ideal choice for this seminar. Mark first went to Bhutan in 1988 as a volunteer junior high school teacher under the auspices of the World University Service of Canada. He taught English and Social Studies in two rural schools in eastern Bhutan. Mark returned to Bhutan in 1997 for a two-year assignment as Education Project Officer with UNICEF, based in the capital, Thimphu.

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In 1999, Mark joined the World Bank as an Education Specialist and continued his work on Bhutan as Task Team Leader for two World Bank-financed education projects between 1999 and 2009. At the time, these represented the largest single investments by the Bank in Bhutan, signaling Bhutan’s strong commitment to the development of its system of public basic education. In 2008, Mark again moved to Bhutan to establish the first joint World Bank-IFC country office and serve as the Bank’s first Resident Representative to Bhutan. Mark’s Ph.D. in Education from the University of London was also based on his research on the effectiveness of Bhutan's policy of English-medium education. The seminar covered a wide range of topics aimed at providing a basic briefing on Bhutan combining an overview of the history and culture with a flavor of development challenges, and was illustrated with stunning pictures of Bhutan’s photogenic landscape and people. Social and Environmental Chapter seminar, April 26, 2016 The Chapter hosted a seminar on “Pro Bono Consulting for World Bank Retirees: Opportunities with DC-based Nonprofit Organizations,” by Quentin Wodon, Lead Economist at the World Bank and President-Elect of the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill. World Bank Group alumni often have unique professional skills that could be highly valuable for local and in some cases international nonprofit organizations. The seminar was aimed at stimulating such interest among World Bank Group alumni, and of illustrating how this could be organized. The first part of the seminar consisted of recent examples of pro bono consulting work done by the speaker with various nonprofits in DC, and the impact that this work has had. The second part discussed a number of opportunities for pro bono consulting that are being put together by the speaker for the period July-December 2016. For each pro bono consulting opportunity, a team of 3-5 volunteers is being created in order to support a specific DC-based nonprofit. In addition, the speaker also briefly mentioned opportunities for service work through Rotary clubs, and clarified that membership in Rotary is not required for participating in the pro bono consulting opportunities that were discussed. Social and Environmental Chapter & HNP Chapter A joint seminar was hosted by two Chapters to sponsor an unusual talk by Veronica Li, a World Bank retiree, about Confucius’ principles of elder care. Her new book, Confucius Says, is a novel about caring for elderly parents. In the story, a Chinese-American woman takes her ailing parents into her home. She has been taught to believe in the Confucian virtue of filial piety and wants to do her utmost for her parents. But when the pressure of caregiving builds, and her marriage and health suffer, she reads the classic Book on Filial Piety to find out what exactly Confucius says. The result is a rediscovery of filial piety as a universal formula for a functional, loving modern family. Elderly care is very relevant to many members of The 1818 Society, who are either facing the challenges of caring for others, or are approaching the age where they will need care. Veronica’s talk was purposely aimed at care-givers and care-receivers. Indeed, the audience comprised people from both groups. She described the conflicting emotions of the protagonist in wanting to care for her parents but being increasingly unable to do so, as they grew older and needed more specialized care. Both the care-giver and her parents felt they were violating the principles of filial piety laid down by Confucius when they were forced to rely on assisted living institutions. Reading

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the classics allowed her to discover that the ethical system laid down by Confucius was much more adaptable to contemporary institutions than she had assumed. To her pleasant surprise, she learned that the Area Agency on Aging, created by law in every county, is a valuable resource where residents can find out what public or private institutions exist in their counties and what state support systems they can utilize to plan and sustain elderly care. The moral of her experience is that with more thorough research on local resources it is possible to combine family obligations with support from public institutions. For further information, you can contact Anis Dani at adani@1818alumniwbg.org or Kees Kostermans at keeskostermans@gmail.com. For information on the Social and Environmental Chapter contact Anis Dani (adani@1818alumniwbg.org) or John Redwood (jredwood@1818alumniwbg.org).

TRANSPORT CHAPTER

High Speed Passengers Trains: What Next? A very thoroughly documented presentation prepared by Graham Smith, focused on the future of high speed passenger trains, prompted extensive discussion in the most recent Transport Chapter session. Navigating between detailed statistics and impressive pictures of different generations of train engines, Graham walked us at quite a swift pace—high speed it was, obviously—through the history of high speed trains, starting with the early days of the Shinkansen in Japan, then the blooming in Europe, the halfhearted beginnings in the US, the enthusiastic uptake in South Korea, all to be capped by the behemoth of the China program, which today accounts for two-thirds of the high speed network worldwide. Graham’s personal knowledge and experience of China, where he spent a few years in the Beijing Office, added to the liveliness of the discussion that followed, which if left unchecked could have likely lasted well over the time it takes to go today from Beijing to Guangzhou in a train peaking at 350 km/h. All passengers left the Irish Inn safe and in good spirits. Contributed by Marc Juhel

URBAN AND WATER GROUP

Water Week. The Bank’s traditional Water Week was held the week of April 4th. A three-day course on “Understanding the Financials of Water Utilities” preceded Water Week the week before, and three days of training courses followed the week after. Included with the opening events on April 4th was the John Briscoe Memorial Lecture by Benedito Braga, Secretary of State for Sanitation and Water Resources for the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and President of the World Water Council. He spoke on the subject of water security under extreme climate conditions. On April 5th, the U&W Group was invited to participate, and organized a two-hour panel discussion on “Learning and Innovating.” Panelists were Alain Locussol and Rory O’Sullivan for the U&W Group, Bill Kingdom, Global Lead for Water Supply and Sanitation, and Rita Cesti, Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist for the Bank. Bank guest Pablo Bereciartua, Argentina’s Secretary for Water Resources, also served on the panel. The moderator was U&W Group

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member Leticia Obeng. Besides the participants, the following U&W Group members participated in the planning: Klas Ringskog, Bob Roche, Ventura Bengoechea and Herve Plusquellec. A lively question and answer period followed. We are looking forward to being invited to be participants in future Water Weeks. A video of the session is available for viewing on the Society’s web site. Social Get Togethers. On April 1st, the group held its first social get together. Leading the effort was Coordinating Committee member Amir Al Khafaji. Fourteen attended. The purpose was to have members describe their activities since retiring from the WBG. For this first meeting, three speakers volunteered in advance to make presentations. Dick MacEwen was the first to speak. He told about his interest in biking, and how it resulted from his commuting to the Bank by bike during most of his 22-year Bank career. He gave a slide presentation of his latest bike ride in Patagonia with fellow Society member, Walter Schwermer. For the past four years, during the Winter, he and Walter have done three and four-week bike rides to locations where it is warmer. Earlier rides were in New Zealand, South Africa, and Florida. This year’s ride in Patagonia was a 600-mile circuit along the Seven Lakes Route from Bariloche to San Martin de los Andes in Argentina, and then across the Hua Hum Pass into Chile. In Chile, they went first northwest up to Villarrica and Pucon, and then headed south along various lakes--Lago Panguipulli, Lago Ranco and Lago Puyehue, until they crossed the Andes again, at the Cardenal Samore Pass back to Bariloche. The second speaker was Michel Pommier, who unfortunately several years ago was diagnosed with throat cancer that resulted in the removal of his larynx. After the operation, he was not able to speak. Michel described how he underwent a laryngectomy, the installation of a neck breathing devise that now allows him to speak. Michele is active in an organization that assists people that have experienced conditions similar to his. Our third speaker was Shyamadas (Bob) Banerji, who spoke about his intention to apply for a grant of between US$250,000 and US$1m in seed money being offered by the Water Window of the Global Resilience Partnership for teams offering innovative solutions to issues affecting flood-prone communities across the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. He is seeking members from our group to join his team. If you are interested in joining Bob’s team, or would like more information, please contact Bob (banerji1@comcast.net). Following the meeting, we gathered in the MC Cafeteria for lunch, and further socializing. The next social get together is scheduled for Friday, June 3rd in the MC Building. They are not meant to replace our technical meetings; these will continue as before. We are always happy to welcome visiting retirees coming to Washington, D.C., and having exchanges with them, whether formally through presentations or informally. Please contact Edouard Motte (emotte@1818alumniwbg.org) if you are planning a trip or if you are not currently on our email list and would like to be added.

Page 27 May 2016

FROM THE EDITOR I was quite startled to realize that this is the 30th issue of The 1818 Society Bulletin under my editorship. It induced a spirit of reflection. What have I liked best about being the editor? It has permitted me to maintain a closer connection to both The 1818 Society and the WBG than I might otherwise have had. It has also given me the pleasure of meeting—if only via e-mail in some cases!—many more of the interesting people who populate The 1818 Society. On the downside, I had hoped, and tried to generate, more feedback from members. Yes, I know, “Be careful what you wish for; you may get it.” But I’ll take that chance. Most significantly, I had hoped that the Special Historical Supplement feature would generate more contributions than it has. It was instituted as a means by which Society members could reflect on their careers, bringing to light experiences and events that would increase our understanding of the work of the World Bank. Such contributions to the Special Historical Supplement are also shared with the World Bank Group Archives. To date, despite a number of high-quality contributions, response has been disappointingly meager. It is hard to believe that so educated, articulate, and experienced a group as those who compose the membership of The 1818 Society have so little to contribute to our historical understanding. Yes, I know, we’re all busy, even those of us in retirement (a misnomer for many of us!). So, I renew my request for contributions from Society members of about 1,500 words or so that would enhance aspects of World Bank history that might otherwise go unrecorded. Chuck Ziegler, Editor, “The 1818 Society Bulletin” Cziegler1@hotmail.com

The "World Bank"

By Chuck Ziegler

We all refer to the institution of which we are alumni as the "World Bank." But when it opened for business in 1946 it was known as the "International Bank for Reconstruction and Development," a name it still retains as a member of the "World Bank Group." So, how did it become known as the "World Bank"? I received one response from Etienne Linard, who wrote, “My ‘Remembrance’ attributes that term to the British magazine, The Economist. Indeed, following the creation of IFC (1956) and IDA (1960) as separate legal entities from IBRD, but forming all together a group with worldwide activities, The Economist introduced the term of ‘The World Bank Group’ to refer, in a shorter way, to the three institutions! “Unfortunately, I have no remembrance of where and when I heard about that origin, but this seems to be another plausible story ... paternity can sometimes be a presumption!” I did a little digging myself, and found that the first use of “World Bank” in the Annual Reports was in the Tenth Annual Report, 1954 – 1955. Also, Society member Barbara Murek sent the following excerpt from the oral history of Mary Wolfe, who joined the Bank in 1951, and was one of the founders of The 1818 Society:

Page 28 May 2016

“Well, in the early days it was nothing but the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. I never heard the expression World Bank for quite a few years. I can distinctly remember when the memorandum came out and said that from then on we would call it the World Bank, officially. Those of us who had been here for a long time couldn't believe that this slang expression, as we had thought, and one that could never be used--you could not use it in correspondence, you just didn't refer to it in anything official--was being adopted… When it became official that we would be the World Bank, I think we may have lost something. I'm not sure what, but for those of us who had been here for a long time, it took a certain dignity away from the institution and its work.” Any other thoughts out there?

The (Still Late) World Bank Stamp Club . . . Readers may recall that in the last issue, in my response to the notes kindly sent by John Vincent-Smith and Nimrod Raphaeli, I wrote, “If anyone is interested in reconstituting the World Bank Stamp Club, please contact the editor at Cziegler1@hotmail.com, and he will act as a collection point for expressions of such interest.” Perhaps reflecting the demise of certain pastimes by former World Bank staff (e.g., duckpin bowling), no such expressions of interest were received.

ARTISTS’ AND WRITERS’ CORNER

FRASAR - An Improbable Life Francesco P. Sarno, a retired World Bank staff, who many of you may remember as a procurement expert for the Asia, Africa and MNA Regions both as staff and consultant, has written a series of books called FRASAR - An Improbable Life. The series may be considered a thriller with a difference. Every episode, place, date and person is real, and many people around the world, including World Bank staff and retirees, may recognize themselves in some of the characters of the book. Book I, the first of the series, published in February, includes two critical episodes that occurred in Jerusalem during a March 2009 Bank mission to the West Bank. It was perhaps those episodes—which include a possible miracle in the ancient home of St. Mark the Apostle, and a terrifying aggression inside the Tomb of Absalom in the Kiron valley of Jerusalem—that convinced the author that all of his experiences, including the dramatic ones that took place at the dawning of his life, as well as the memories of his extraordinary adventures in all Continents, could be lost forever, perhaps in the dirt of a tomb in the valley of the Apocalypse or in the jaws of a mountain lion on the South California hills. The book, in its second edition, counts on a cover by P. Puggioni, the painter of George R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones” and will be followed in September 2016 by Antipodium, Book II of the series, centered on Australia and New Zealand adventures. The book may be bought through Amazon and other sources, or directly from the author. He may be contacted at francescopaolo.sarno@gmail.com, or frasarwriter@gmail.com, or by phone at 301-366 3909.

New Articles of Professional Interest Delfin S. Go and Sherman Robinson:

Page 29 May 2016

"Budget Rules and Resource Booms and Busts: A Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Analysis," World Bank Economic Review. Co-authored with Shantayanan Devarajan and Yazid Dissou. Online version dated Oct. 26, 2015, http://wber.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/10/26/wber.lhv059; printed version forthcoming. "Natural Resource Revenue, Spending Strategies and Economic Growth in Niger," Economic Modelling. Co-authored with Karen Thierfelder. Online version dated Oct. 24, 2015, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264999315002837; printed version forthcoming. “Estimating Parameters and Structural Change in CGE Models in Using a Bayesian Cross-Entropy Estimation Approach.” Economic Modelling. 52 (2016): 790-811. Online version http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264999315003132. Also, as World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 7174, January 2015. Co-authored with Hans Lofgren and Fabian Mendez Ramos.

NEW MEMBERS

We welcome the following World Bank Group retirees/alumni to The 1818 Society. Country of intended residence other than the USA has been added after their names.

Esme Abedin

Lessie Abonyo-James

Victoriano C. Arias

Varadarajan Atur

Sankaran Balasubramanian

Les Barker

Stefania Berla

Gregor Binkert Switzerland

Oliver Bley Germany

Ana Maria Bobbio

James T. Cantrell

Margarita Caro

Venu Madhav Chennupati

Moira Coleridge-Taylor

Edward C. Cook

Elizabeth Crespo

Nanda B. Culos

Marinela E. Dado

Maria Dalupan

Timoteo A. Dar Juan

Muriel Z. Darlington

Jyotirmaya Das

Raul A. de Campos Brazil

Dharshani De Silva

Keith Defty United Kingdom

Christina Dhanraj

Maria Alicia Dimatulac

Joerg Duenzen

Philip English

Eduardo Fernandez-Arias

Gary J. Fine

Reza S. Firuzabadi

Hamish D.C. Flett

Maria Theresa Franco

Page 30 New Members May 2016

Maria E. Freire

Maria Gamboa

Anita M. George India

Henry F. Gordon

Mohinder Gulati

Hesham M. Hallouda

Doris A. Herrera-Pol

Yurie T. Hoberg

Timothy C. Irwin Fiji

Daniele A. Jaekel

Andrea M. James

Arthur S. Karlin

Veronique Kessler

Sibophay Kong

Motoo Konishi

Chandra Kumar

Andrey V. Kushlin

Gerard M. La Forgia

Laura J. Lalime-Mowry

Jeffrey D. Lewis

Andrei Markov

Rebecca Martin

Tomoko Matsukawa Japan

Gordon W. McIntosh

Glenn S. Morgan

Christian B. Mulder Malta

Yugandhar R. Nallari

Josphine T. Ngou Mawamba

Dominique Njinkeu

Jaime Olazo

Minerva R. Patena

Beatriz S. Pinto

William A. Poole

Sanjay K. Pradhan

Anand Rajaram

Milagros B. Reyes

Juan Carlos Rodrigues

Khadidiatou Samb

Sarah B. Sanders

Mimi Shaghaghi

Marie Sheppard

Magdalena D. Smoot

Carlos E. Sobrado

Sari Soderstrom Feyzioglu

Edward Strawderman

Pattabiraman Subramanian

Luzviminda S. Tatlonghari

Charles R. Taylor

Cesar S. Totanes

Merrell Tuck-Primdahl

Susan Verghese

Marie-Claude Verlaeten

Joachim von Amsberg

Pu-Chin H. Waide

Azeb Yideru

Aaron Zazueta

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

John Nellis of the Global Finance Chapter has kindly provided what should be a most interesting summary of a presentation sponsored by the Global Finance Chapter on global financial markets.

Global Financial Markets: How Worried Should We Be?

On Friday, April 8, 2016, the Global Finance Chapter of the 1818 Society held the 20th presentation since its’ founding in 2013.1 Departing a bit from the format of past sessions, on offer this time was a four-person panel addressing the question: What’s likely to happen next in global financial markets? The speakers were Steven Pearlstein, who teaches Economics at George Mason University, and contributes occasionally to the editorial pages of the Washington Post; John Gandolfo, Director and Chief Investment Officer of the Pension and Endowments department of the World Bank Treasury; Sudhir Krishnamurthi, former Bank staff member and now Senior Managing Director of the Rock Creek Group money management firm; and Ismail Dalla, former Bank staff and presently an author and consultant on capital markets, with an emphasis on emerging markets. Mr. Pearlstein led off and pulled no punches: He sees little or no upside potential in either European or US markets. Presently high equity prices are due to the unprecedentedly long stretch of easy money policies of all major central banks. Sustained low interest rates have artificially boosted financial asset prices. These are now imbalanced and “all wrong” in many sectors. Current stock market prices thus bear no connection to the real economy. To make matters worse, the global surge in takeovers has added “froth” to markets. All this may be “great for day traders,” but perceptive money managers are increasingly worried. The situation is perhaps most acute in Europe, where many countries have lived far beyond their means, while studiously avoiding needed structural and fiscal reforms. The recession of 2008 revealed the depth of the global problem. Regrettably, it did not produce a substantial amount of painful but required corrective policy and structural measures. Yes, stimulus packages and quantitative easing contained the social pain of recession, but they blocked essential adjustment. The crisis was largely wasted; financial assets remain wrongly priced; poor policies remain in place. And, said Mr. Pearlstein, interest rates at zero cannot be the new normal. We run the risk of being “permanently hooked on cheap money.” Mr. Pearlstein said his analysis “sounds Austrian,” but he cheerfully admitted that he’s never actually read these theorists. What he does know is that Keynes saw economic stimulus as a temporary, not a permanent measure. Instead, as “monetary policy has become a tag team sport,” we see central bankers in Washington, London, Frankfurt and Beijing united in their unwillingness to upset financial markets. The needed adjustment will not take place under this approach. What to do? Taxes must be raised, and the added resources directed towards investment in infrastructure. Many European countries need to dismantle structural barriers to labor market

1 Let us all acknowledge René Costa, the Chapter’s founding President, for his initial effort in getting the Chapter off the ground, his continuing work in finding excellent speakers, and – with the help of the 1818 S0.211ociety secretariat – handling the considerable logistics involved: finding rooms for the events, publicizing them, and reporting on them to inform those unable to attend.

Page 32 Special Presentation May 2016

reform and private sector operations in general. Distributive efforts must be increased. “Things need to fall apart a bit to get the needed change.” Mr. Gandolfo was more guarded in his language. He nonetheless managed to convey considerable anxiety about the current and future state of global financial markets. He said: Many “negatives” are present; “Growth is expected to remain weak for some time.” The unconventional monetary practices that have become the norm have pushed returns on safe financial paper to close to historic lows. Commodity prices have fallen severely. Inflationary pressures are very low. The balance sheets of central banks have grown exponentially, with Japan as the extreme case. In early-2015 expectations were that central banks would “tighten” (i.e., raise) interest rates several times in the coming year; in reality one small increase was effected. Expectations for rate increases in 2016 are modest, as financial markets push for continued largesse. Forecasts suggest that near and medium term returns on all types of assets, in all regions, will be modest. Assessments show a widening range of possibilities, meaning uncertainties, and risks, are growing. His group’s forecasts suggest a 5 percent rate of return on US equities in the next 10 years. Emerging markets appear especially vulnerable. What happens to China will be key; a hard landing in their adjustment period could prove very costly to world markets. Mr. Gandolfo agreed that tightening must eventually occur, but the size and pace of the increase is the issue. Too rapid and large a rate increase would pose a major problem in financial markets. As would other events, including another collapse in oil prices and a UK vote to leave the European Union. Mr. Krishnamurthi spoke third. He dealt not with the macro and general issues, but rather with the steps individuals can and should take to protect themselves financially. Thus, I will postpone summarizing his talk, and present first that of Mr. Dalla, who continued on with the theme of large-scale events and risks. Mr. Dalla dealt with the prospects of emerging markets; he stated bluntly that this is presently “a damaged asset class.” No matter where one looks in this group – Brazil, China, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Russia -- one sees falling or negative growth rates, mismanagement, poor governance and growing social problems. At the moment, placing emerging markets investments in one’s portfolio results in sub-par returns. What accounts for the steep declines in this former “growth pole?” For Mr. Dalla, a principal cause is the fall in commodity prices. “There are very few beneficiaries of low oil prices,” he said. He thought low commodity prices would endure for some time. Other negative factors include the decline in China’s growth rate. This is part of the general collapse, post-2008, in capital flows to emerging markets. Since then capital flight from these markets has soared (leading to a net outflow in 2015, for the first time since the 1980s). Moreover, general indebtedness is growing in emerging markets. Easy money in the industrial centers led corporate sectors in many emerging markets to acquire large dollar-denominated debts. Many

Page 33 Special Presentation May 2016

countries that benefitted from debt forgiveness programs2 are now once more heavily indebted. Major repayment problems are possible, indeed likely, once interest rates start to rise. From an investor’s standpoint the region is too risky. “Stay out,” said Mr. Dalla; “let the professionals do it.” Mr. Krishnamurthi said that the more the general situation appears negative, the more the individual should go back to basics: Diversify, take a long term perspective (and don’t look daily at your portfolio), carefully gauge your tolerance for risk and loss, avoid both panic and euphoria, never invest in an area you don’t understand, look carefully at the fees and taxes associated with the investment, etc. Take heart in the fact that all projections are likely to be wrong. Mr. Krishnamurthi reviewed rapidly a few of the more recent and innovative investment tactics, including Smart Beta ETFs,3 market learning places, and peer-to-peer lending.4 He concluded with a warning re high yield corporate bonds, noting that US large banks, which used to devote major resources to making markets in these, have largely withdrawn from this activity. Getting out of high yields, in case of an interest rate spike, might thus cost 3-5 percent of one’s position, if not held to maturity. Question and Answer A flood of questions ensued. One participant asked: Post-2008, the recession did not reduce the debt overhang; on the contrary. Low or negative interest rates have clearly not solved the problem. So what action should now be taken? How about debt write-offs? Mr. Pearlstein agreed. This is “a no brainer;” debt write-offs are essential. And are beginning to happen; look at Chinese banks; quasi-bankruptcy in Puerto Rico, and other cases. Much more is needed; if write-offs are not expanded then the badly needed adjustment will not occur. Mr. Gandolfo said the premise behind low or negative interest rates was that this would stimulate investment, employment and spending. A modicum and beneficial increase in inflation would follow, easing debt and restoring predictability to financial markets. This has not happened, neither in the US, nor elsewhere. Given the continued shortcomings in anticipated results from monetary easing, it seems clear that write-offs should come next. A second participant wondered whether the presentations were not excessively pessimistic. After all, the US economy looks pretty good in terms of both growth and employment levels, and corporations are cash-rich. Are you sure the stock market has it all wrong?

2 By itself, the Bank’s Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative (HIPC) had, by 2016, provided a cumulative total of $76 billion in debt service relief. 3 Smart beta refers to quasi-active indices that rank stocks by traits other than their market value, the methodology employed by traditional benchmarks, such as the Standard & Poor’s 500. (Barron’s) 4 For example, Prosper, a website that brings together entrepreneurs looking for capital from individuals without any middlemen involved. The claim is that lenders get better returns and borrowers get cheaper rates. See Proper website.

Page 34 Special Presentation May 2016

Mr. Krishnamurthi said there has been no capital investment in the US economy in the last five years. Productivity has stagnated. Growth prospects outside the US are near universally poor. The bleak portrayal is justified. Ira Lieberman asked whether Korea was an emerging market growth pole? Mr. Dalla replied that Korea is no longer an emerging market; it is an OECD country. He felt that the US offers better prospects for investors; “you don’t have to worry about North Korea.” Sri Ram Ayer asked what the panel thought of the argument, recently summarized by Larry Summers,5 that fiscal policy should be used to make up for the deficiencies of monetary policy. Mr. Pearlstein there is “unanimity” on the need for public and private investments in US infrastructure. The problem is that the dysfunctional US political system prevents public leadership and funding on this matter. Mr. Gandolfo agreed that infrastructure a most important sector. However, investors are looking for 7 to 9 percent returns in this area, not easy in today’s circumstances. Still, this is a good growth area. A participant asked why governments, the US in particular, were floundering on the fiscal policy front? Mr. Krishnamurthi said the explanation was simple: Monetary policy is devised and managed by technocrats in central banks, while fiscal policy is largely in the hands of politicians in legislatures. Millard Long said he detected an inconsistency in the presentations. There is a call for expenditure restriction and living within one’s means, and at the same time a call for increased government expenditure to resolve the problem of stagnation. Are you saying we, Europe and Japan need more public debt? Mr. Pearlstein acknowledged this problem and argued that what is needed is a shift in public expenditure, from low-return areas such as social entitlements, to higher return areas, such as infrastructure rehabilitation and modernization. The solution is to switch government spending to high-return, high multiplier areas. Responding to a follow-up question on who will choose these high-return areas, Mr. Pearlstein said the issue inevitably involved the political process, and this was the most difficult, and presently discouraging, of matters. Peter Scherer asked the panel to point out any major differences among them. Mr. Krishnamurthi said one difference was in the length of the time horizon considered. The macro people looked at the broad, longer run scene; the short termers, such as him, focused more on the near and medium term. Mr. Pearlstein said he saw a difference between his views and those of Mr. Gandolfo, who had said he did not see assets as wildly overpriced. Mr. Pearlstein thought prices to be generally 25 percent or so over-inflated, and in “sort of a bubble right now.” The issue was that traditional methods of valuation were leading to “illusory” calculations.

5 See Larry Summers, “The Age of Secular Stagnation: What It Is, What to Do About It,” Foreign Affairs, February 15, 2016. “The core problem of secular stagnation is that the neutral real interest rate is too low. This rate, however, cannot be increased through monetary policy. Indeed, to the extent that easy money works by accelerating investments and pulling forward demand, it will actually reduce neutral real rates later on. That is why primary responsibility for addressing secular stagnation should rest with fiscal policy. An expansionary fiscal policy can reduce national savings, raise neutral real interest rates, and stimulate growth.”

Page 35 Special Presentation May 2016

Mr. Gandolfo disagreed. He said that financial crises, including the most recent, are not exclusively driven by high asset prices. For example, interest rate levels are a key driver. Our assumptions are now lower, he said, but have not sunk “to the level of pessimism.” Well, if this wasn’t pessimism it will do until the real thing comes along. John Nellis April 11, 2016

SPECIAL HISTORICAL SUPPLEMENT

WORLD BANK GROUP ARCHIVISTS’ CHRONOLOGY

1944-2013

The World Bank Group Archivists’ Chronology is a new and very valuable research tool for

development professionals, historians, and the interested public providing a comprehensive

timeline of key events in World Bank Group history. It should be of special interest to 1818

Society members.

Since its inception in 1944, the World Bank expanded from a single institution to an associated

group of coordinated development institutions. The Bank's mission evolved from a facilitator of

post-war reconstruction and development to its present day mandate of worldwide poverty

alleviation and shared prosperity. Whereas heavy infrastructure investment projects once

dominated the Bank's portfolio, a broadened focus now includes projects targeting agriculture,

health, education, and other aspects of the social sector.

Many of the items in the Chronology are "firsts", documenting the first occurrence of significant

events, such as the first lending for each member country, the first meetings of consultative

groups, the first lending in a particular sector, etc. The chronology also includes membership dates

for all member countries in each institution within the World Bank Group as well as appointment

and retirement announcements for prominent Bank staff.

The Chronology was initially conceived as a means of providing Archives’ staff with historical

information to aid their work with the archival holdings and to provide them with historical

context on the evolution of the World Bank Group. The product was maintained and added to

by numerous archivists over many decades. Thus, it contains some inconsistencies in style and

substance. 1818 Society members are encouraged to cross-reference any statements for

accuracy. Please send any responses to cziegler1@hotmail.com.

The Chronology can be accessed here:

http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/archives/history/chronology

Downloads are available in PDF (Laptops, desktops, and for printing), eReader (Apple iBooks,

Barnes & Noble's Nook) and Kindle (Amazon Fire/Kindle devices & apps).

IN MEMORIAM

We regret to inform you of the following deaths based on information provided by the Pension

Administration Division. We extend our sincere sympathy to the families.

If you would like to post information about a friend’s memorial service or family contacts, use the link

http://1818members.wordpress.com/in-memoriam/ or go to The Society’s website and click on the

member’s area (blog) in the quick links box. Look for In Memoriam, scroll all the way down, and post the

message in the comment section. Your information will appear as the first item on the page.

Samuel Amoah, 69, of Olney, MD, on February 27, 2016. He was the spouse of retiree Mrs.

Bernice Setse.

Esra Bennathan, 93, of Washington, DC, on March 21, 2016. Mr. Bennathan retired from the

Bank in 1987.

Robert H. Bernero, 74, of Gaithersburg, MD, on March 8, 2016. He was the spouse of retiree

Mrs. Gloria G. Bernero.

Branko Bjelogrlic, 89, of Bethesda, MD, on March 18, 2016. Mr. Bjelogrlic retired from the Bank

in 1988.

William E. Breidenbach, 82, of Springfield, VA, on February 18, 2015. He was the spouse of

retiree Mrs. Agnes Breidenbach.

Jonathan C. Brown, 71, of Harpers Ferry, WV, on April 12, 2016. Mr. Brown retired from the

Bank in 2008.

Jayarajan Chanmugam, 89, of Bethesda, MD, on April 4, 2016. Mr. Chanmugam retired from the

Bank in 1991.

Edna Chaufournier, 84, of Potomac, MD, on February 21, 2016. She was the surviving spouse of

retiree Mr. Roger Chaufournier.

Roberto Chavez, 68, of Falls Church, VA, on April 5, 2016. Mr. Chavez retired from the Bank in

2007.

Edward Chittleburgh, 94, of West Sussex, UK, on January 16, 2016. Mr. Chittleburgh retired

from the Bank in 1980.

Jessie Copeland, 73, of Camp Springs, MD, on February 8, 2016. Mr. Copeland retired from the

Bank in 1997.

Page 37 In Memoriam March 2016

Emily P. Corbin, 86, of Alexandria, VA, on January 30, 2016. She was the surviving spouse of

retiree Mr. John R. Corbin.

John K. Coulter, 90, of Sussex, UK, on March 17, 2016. Mr. Coulter retired from the Bank in

1986.

Valentine G. Desa, 91, of Washington, DC, on November 24, 2015. Mr. Desa retired from the

Bank in 1986.

Dhirajlal K. Desai, 91, of Ahemdabad, India, on February 16, 2016. Mr. Desai retired from the

Bank in 1980.

Augusta S. Gabianu, 75, of Accra, Ghana, on November 14, 2015. Ms. Gabianu retired from the

Bank in 1999.

Timothy Hallinan, 91, of Falls Church, VA, on April 17, 2016. Mr. Hallinan retired from the Bank

in 1975.

Richard R. Herbert, 77, of Washington, DC, on March 11, 2016. Mr. Herbert retired from the

Bank in 2002.

Jose Rogelio Pascua Hernandez, 70, of Quezon City, Philippines, on February 1, 2016. He was

the spouse of retiree Mrs. Josephine Z. Hernandez.

Lawrence L. Hooper, 91, of Sarasota, FL, on February 23, 2016. He was the spouse of retiree Mrs.

Marion M. Hooper.

Benjamin King, 99, of Washington, DC, on February 27, 2016. Mr. King retired from the Bank in

1981.

Pattie J. Koh, 84, of Fort Mill, SC, on February 26, 2016. Mrs. Koh retired from the Bank in 1993.

Arabinda Kundu, 84, of Falls Church, VA, on March 29, 2016. Mr. Kundu retired from the Bank

in 1988.

Johan De Leede, 83, of Mason Neck, VA, on March 11, 2016. Mr. Leede retired from the Bank in

1994.

Colleen Loughlin, 93, of Las Cruces, NM, on February 26, 2016. Ms. Loughlin retired from the

Bank in 1987.

Page 38 In Memoriam March 2016

Johan Olof Markgren, 88, of Kristinehamn, Sweden, on March 12, 2016. Mr. Markgren retired

from the Bank in 1989.

Abderrahmane Megateli, 80, of Boynton Beach, FL, on March 3, 2016. Mr. Megateli retired from

the Bank in 1997.

Philip R. Morris, 97, of Ontario, Canada, on April 23, 2016. Mr. Morris retired from the Bank in

1983.

Hyrum L. Oaks, 84, of Salt Lake City, UT, on February 27, 2016. He was the spouse of retiree

Mrs. Dorothy Oaks.

Gail O'Gorman, 76, of Salvador, Brazil, on April 7, 2016. Ms. O'Gorman retired from the Bank in

1997.

Nail H. Ozerol, 84, of Rockville, MD, on February 7, 2016. He was the spouse of retiree Mrs.

Tulay Akin Ozerol.

Edward Rice, 81, of Hilton Head, SC, on March 28, 2016. Mr. Rice retired from the Bank in 1997.

Evelyne Rovani, 94, of Washington, DC, on April 3, 2016. She was the surviving spouse of retiree

Mr. Yves Rovani.

Benjamin M. Rowland, 73, of Washington, DC, on March 1, 2016. Mr. Rowland retired from the

Bank in 2001.

John Charles Ryan, 90, of Twickenham, UK, on March 7, 2016. Mr. Ryan retired from the Bank

in 1985.

Jeanette Sanders, 95, of Arlington, VA, on March 8, 2016. Ms. Sanders retired from the Bank in

1981.

Raghuvir N. Vinekar, 97, of Hockessin, DE, on April 10, 2016. Mr. Vinekar retired from the

Bank in 1984.

Sheila C. Wilkerson, 87, of Gaithersburg, MD, on January 17, 2016. Ms. Wilkerson retired from

the Bank in 1993.

Hyacinth J. Wilson, 84, of Cooper City, FL, on March 10, 2016. Ms. Wilson retired from the Bank

in 1988.

Jinlin Yang, 55, of Beijing, China, on March 27, 2016. Mr. Yang retired from the Bank in 2007.

Chapters & Thematic Groups 2015-2016

Chapters:

ANZ – Jo. M. Martins, jmartins@tpg.com.au

Brazil – Maria Teresa Serra, tserra@jurea.com

British ― Nicki Marrian, Nickiedits@gmail.com

Canada – Jim Smith, jsmith.econ@gmail.com

Chile – Miguel Schloss, m.schloss@sur-invest.com

Florida ― Sandra Hadler, sachadler@gmail.com French-Speaking – Joelle Le Vourc'h, jlevourch@gmail.com

German-Speaking – Franz Kaps, fkaps@t-online.de

India – Vaikalathur Ravishankar, vjravishankar@gmail.com

Iran Chapter (DC) – Mohammad Farhandi, mmfarhandi@yahoo.com

The Netherlands – Robert Jan van der Lugt, rj@laovan.demon.nl

Japan – Harutaka Hamaguchi, harutaka_hamaguchi@kenedix.com

Thematic Groups/Chapters

Agriculture and Rural Development Chapter

Shawki Barghouti, shawkibarghouti@gmail.com,

Jitendra Srivastava, jitendras573@gmail.com

1818 Economists' Chapter

Norman Hicks, nhicks4@cox.net

Education Group

Sverrir Sigurdsson, ssigurdsson@1818alumniwbg.org,

Larry Wolff, larrywolff@live.com

Energy Group

Eugene McCarthy, emccarthy@1818alumniwbg.org

Gender and Development Chapter

Nadereh Chamlou, nchamlou@gmail.com,

Dominique Lallement, Dominique.lallement@gmail.com

Global Finance Chapter

Rene Costa, renelcosta@verizon.net

Governance Thematic Group

Vinay Bhargava, vinaybhargav@gmail.com

1818 Society WBG History Thematic Group

Chuck Ziegler, cziegler1@hotmail.com

HNP Group

Kees Kostermans, keeskostermans@gmail.com

The Social And Environmental Chapter

Anis Dani, adani@1818alumniwbg.org, John Redwood, jredwood@1818alumniwbg.org

Transport Chapter

Graham Smith, smith.grahamr@gmail.com

Maria Margarita Nuñez, marianunez1@gmail.com

Urban and Water Group

Edouard Motte emotte4@gmail.com

Responsibility Matrix 2015-2016

Board of Directors Inder Sud (President and Chair) Anis Dani Carlos Escudero Christine Wallich Damian von Stauffenberg Eugene McCarthy Hadi Abushakra Ines Garcia Lesley Shneier Nadereh Chamlou Pauline Ramprasad J. Shivakumar (Honorary Member)

Secretary Sverrir Sigurdsson

Treasurer Jeffrey Katz , Adrienne Guerrero

Committees:

Pension

Nadereh Chamlou(Chair, PBAC), Deane Jordan(Alternate member for PFC and PBAC), Javed Hamid(PFC Member), Jeffrey Katz, Kenneth Lay, Fred Wright

Health Insurance

Ines Garcia (Chair), Alan Siff, Carlos Escudero, Dileep Wagle, Hadi Abushakra, Ian Bannon, Jim Harrison, Kabir Ahmed (Mentor), Larry Hinkle, Lorraine Nagy, Pat King, Pat Neill, Richard Stange, William McGreevey

Tax Seminars Deane Jordan

Credit Union Davinder Sakhuja

Member Helping Members

Kahlid Siraj (Chair), Paula Donovan

Bulletin Editor Chuck Ziegler

Cultural Events Farida Dossani

Int. Retiree Organization Liaison

Lesley Shneier

Member Remembrances Frona Hall

Active LifestylesZ

Hiking Club Anis Dani

Yoga Davinder Sakuja

International Trips Miren Fernandez

Retirement Communities Pauline Ramprasad